Rookie sensation Luka Doncic drained the game-winning 3-pointer, scored a team-high 29 points and finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a rare road win, 119-115 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in Minneapolis.
Doncic, the second-leading All-Star vote-getter in the Western Conference so far, went toe to toe with the Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with a game-high 30 points plus 11 rebounds and four blocks. Doncic had 12 assists.
Doncic's game-winner, shot over Towns' outstretched arm, swished through with 22.9 seconds left for a 117-115 lead. It came just seconds after he threw away an inbounds pass with Minnesota leading 115-114. However, the Wolves gave it right back to set up the 19-year-old's heroics.
Harrison Barnes added 23 points for the Mavericks. Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins, coming off a 40-point performance, finished with 17 points, and Derrick Rose had 21 off the bench.
Rockets 141, Cavaliers 113
James Harden posted his fourth 40-point triple-double on the season, and host Houston turned an early run into a blowout of Cleveland, which lost its 12th straight game.
Harden finished with 43 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter. His 13th 40-point game this season set a franchise record. Harden converted all 11 of his free throws. All 10 of his rebounds came on the defensive end.
Houston's Clint Capela had 19 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in 30 minutes. Cedi Osman paced Cleveland's starters with 15 points while the backcourt of Alec Burks and Collin Sexton totaled 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Warriors 146, Bulls 109
Klay Thompson buried three consecutive 3-pointers in the first 70 seconds as host Golden State ran away from Chicago in Oakland, Calif., and won its third straight game.
The win capped one of the highest-scoring, season-series sweeps in NBA history, with the Warriors having blown out the Bulls 149-124 in Chicago on Oct. 29. Thompson, who scored 52 points in the October game, scored a game-high 30 points.
Stephen Curry backed Thompson with 28 points and a game-high eight assists for the Warriors, and Kevin Durant added 22 points. Zach LaVine produced a team-high 29 points for the Bulls.
Jazz 113, Lakers 95
Donovan Mitchell finished with 33 points and a career-high nine assists to lead Utah's rout of Los Angeles Lakers in Salt Lake City.
Three Jazz players finished with double-doubles: Rudy Gobert (12 points, season-high 18 rebounds); Joe Ingles (14 points, career-high 12 rebounds); and Derrick Favors (15 points, season-high 13 rebounds).
Michael Beasley scored 17 points to lead the Lakers. Brandon Ingram added 15 points, and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds. Los Angeles lost for the sixth time in nine games without LeBron James, who remained in Los Angeles due to a groin injury.
Raptors 122, Nets 105
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and nabbed 11 rebounds as Toronto won its season-high seventh consecutive home game at the expense of Brooklyn.
Leonard has scored at least 20 points in a career-best 18 straight games for the Raptors, who avenged a 106-105 overtime loss in Brooklyn on Dec. 7.
Pascal Siakam added 16 points for the Raptors, and Serge Ibaka had 14 points and nine rebounds. D'Angelo Russell amassed 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists for the Nets.
Hawks 123, 76ers 121
John Collins hit the go-ahead jumper with 9.5 seconds remaining to lift Atlanta past host Philadelphia, which played without All-Star center Joel Embiid, sidelined due to a sore left ankle.
Kevin Huerter led the Hawks with a career-high 29 points, Collins added 25, and Dewayne Dedmon had 19. Rookie Trae Young scored 18 points.
Jimmy Butler paced the Sixers with 30 points, but he missed a pair of free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining after making his first 12. Philadelphia's Ben Simmons recorded his seventh triple-double of the season with 23 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. JJ Redick scored 20 points.
Blazers 127, Hornets 96
CJ McCollum scored 30 points despite sitting out the fourth quarter as host Portland won its fourth straight game and 11th in its last 15, romping past Charlotte.
Damian Lillard added 20 points and Jusuf Nurkic collected 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Trail Blazers.
Kemba Walker scored 18 points but made only 5 of 19 shots from the field for the Hornets, who lost for the seventh time in 10 outings. Jeremy Lamb added 15 points.
Wizards 113, Bucks 106
Bradley Beal scored 32 points and Tomas Satoransky had his first career triple-double as host Washington defeated Milwaukee, which was without Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sore right quadriceps.
Satoransky had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Washington, which has won two straight and five of seven.
The Bucks were paced by Khris Middleton with 25 points and eight rebounds. Eric Bledsoe had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.
Pacers 121, Knicks 106
Domantas Sabonis collected 22 points and 15 rebounds as Indiana won for the 15th time in 19 games as it ended a season-high, five-game road trip by beating New York.
The Pacers, playing without starting center Myles Turner for a fourth straight game due to a sore right shoulder, finished the trip 3-2. He shot 52.1 percent Friday.
Victor Oladipo added 19 points as the Pacers beat the Knicks for the 13th time in the past 14 meetings. New York's Emmanuel Mudiay scored all of his 21 points in the second half as the Knicks returned home from a 1-5 road trip and lost for the 16th time in 18 games since Dec. 1.
--Field Level Media