NBA roundup: Thunder top Magic in battle of 2022 draft talent

On Saturday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were hosting, to a 112-100 victory over the Orlando Magic with 37 points.

 

The top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, Paolo Banchero of the Magic and Chet Holmgren of the Thunder, faced off in their first regular-season contest.

Banchero finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed last season due to a foot injury, had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Orlando cut what was a 16-point deficit to six on Cole Anthony’s pullup jumper with 2:14 left in the game. Jalen Williams

answered with a jumper on the next possession, sparking a 7-0 run for

Oklahoma City, which has won four consecutive games and nine of its past 11.

Celtics 145, Rockets 113

Boston defeated visiting Houston with a game-high 32 points from Jaylen Brown and 27 from Jayson Tatum.

 

Brown was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and made 11 of his 15 field goal tries.

Before being dismissed with 10:17 remaining in the game due to his second technical foul, Tatum also had eight

rebounds and five assists. The Celtics’ home record now stands at 19-0.

 

Cam Whitmore came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for Houston.

With 10 rebounds and 19 points in the end, Alperen Sengun

Jazz 132, Lakers 125

Lauri Markkanen recorded 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Utah

posted a season-high fifth straight victory by dispatching Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.

Collin Sexton added 27 points and Jordan Clarkson had 21 off the bench as Utah

won for the 11th time in the past 13 games.

D’Angelo Russell scored a season-high 39 points and matched his season best of six 3-pointers but couldn’t prevent the

Lakers from losing for the 11th time in 15 games. Los Angeles played without

LeBron James (ankle). It was his fourth absence of the season.

Wizards 127, Hawks 99

Kyle Kuzma poured in a game-high 29 points to help lead visiting Washington to a win over Atlanta.

Jordan Poole added 20 points for Washington, which snapped a six-game

losing streak overall and picked up its first road win since Dec. 21. Deni Avdija

chipped in 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 21 points and 10 assists, while Saddiq Bey added 16 points. The Hawks’ streak of 94 consecutive games with at least 100 points ended. It was the third-longest such streak in NBA history.

Bucks 129, Warriors 118

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton combined for 84 points and host Milwaukee overpowered short-handed Golden State.

Antetokounmpo led the way with a game-high 33 points. Lillard had 27 and Middleton finished with 24 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Bucks, whose only game since Monday was a 33-point breeze over the visiting Celtics.

Playing the second night of a road back-to-back and doing so without Stephen Curry (rest), the Warriors also had three players score 20 or more points, led by Jonathan Kuminga with 28. Brandin Podziemski had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Klay Thompson chipped in with 21 points.

Knicks 106, Grizzlies 94

 

Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 rebounds as visiting New York beat Memphis.

 

Miles McBride scored a career-high 19 points, OG Anunoby added 18 and Donte DiVincenzo had 13 for New York, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 12 points and matched his career high with 20 rebounds.

Rookie GG Jackson led Memphis with a career-high 20 points off the bench. Vince Williams Jr. scored 17, David Roddy and Luke Kennard added 14 apiece and Xavier Tillman finished with 12 points and a career-high six steals.

 

Pelicans 118, Mavericks 108

 

Rookie Jordan Hawkins scored 34 points and six teammates scored in double figures as visiting New Orleans defeated Dallas.

 

Herbert Jones scored 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado scored 14 points apiece for the Pelicans.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. each contributed 24 points, while Kyrie Irving scored 33 points to lead the Mavericks, who were missing Dante Exum (foot) and Luka Doncic (ankle).

 

Spurs 116, Bulls 122

 

After a crucial 3-pointer with 31.7 seconds remaining, Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds to help visiting Chicago defeat San Antonio in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams.

Returning to the field following a defeat at home to Golden State on Friday, the Bulls led by eight points at the half and by eighteen points halfway through the third quarter before San Antonio mounted a comeback to equal the score at 94 points entering the final frame.

 

With a career-high 30 points, Tre Jones led the Spurs, followed by Keldon Johnson with 26, Malaki Branham with 14, and Jeremy Sochan with 11. After defeating Charlotte on Friday, San Antonio was playing for the second consecutive night. However, rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama was out due to rest.