Morant hands out career-best 17 assists in Grizzlies’ win

The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Ja Morant had a career-high 17 assists and scored 19 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won for the first time in three games, beating the struggling Toronto Raptors 119-106 on Thursday night.

Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Desmond Bane had 16 before fouling out and Steven Adams had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Memphis won its third straight north of the border after losing its previous seven trips to Canada.

Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto before fouling out, extending his career-best streak with 25 or more to six. Gary Trent Jr. scored 20 points and O.G. Anunoby had 16 as Toronto’s home losing streak reached five. The Raptors have lost eight of 10 overall.

The Grizzlies came in having lost four of five, but beat Toronto by outscoring the Raptors 70-50 on points in the paint.

CELTICS 116, CLIPPERS 110

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 29 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown also scored 29 points and Boston beat Los Angeles.

Derrick White scored 15 points and blocked Paul George’s layup with 33 seconds left and Boston leading by three. Brown hit two free throws down the stretch and Tatum made one to ice it.

Marcus Smart had 17 points and nine assists, Grant Williams had 11 points and 10 boards and Al Horford added a blocked shot in the final seconds for Boston, which won its fourth straight game. It was the second in a row coached by assistant Damon Stoudamire, who was filling in for Joe Mazzulla because he had a corneal abrasion.

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 for the Clippers, George had 24 points and Ivica Zubac had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Los Angeles had won four of its last five games, sweeping a back-to-back against Detroit and Toronto earlier this week.

PACERS 135, CAVALIERS 126

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points, Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer three seconds into the game and added 25, and Indiana beat Cleveland.

Haliburton was 6 for 8 from 3-point range and Hield, who leads the NBA in 3-pointers, was 5 for 6. The Pacers finished 19 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points, Aaron Nesmith had 22 and Myles Turner 14 as Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cavaliers, who have lost three in a row.

All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points to lead a balanced Cleveland offense with seven double-digit scorers. Mitchell sank five of the Cavaliers’ 12 3-pointers.

MAVERICKS 129, ROCKETS 114

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic followed his 60-point triple-double two nights earlier with 35 points in his NBA-best eighth triple-double of the season, and Dallas beat Houston.

Doncic, who recorded the NBA’s first game with 60 points and 21 rebounds to go with 10 rebounds on Tuesday against the New York Knicks, had 12 rebounds and 13 assists in 34 minutes as Dallas ran its winning streak to a season-best five games. He clinched the triple-double with his 10th assist with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter, giving him consecutive triple-doubles twice this season.

Christian Wood, acquired from Houston last summer, had 21 points, hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers, and four blocks for the Mavericks, who led by as many as 25 points. Dwight Powell added a season-high 19 points off the bench and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18.

Jalen Green scored 23 points, Kevin Porter Jr. 17 and Jabari Smith Jr. 16 for the Rockets, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.

HORNETS 121, THUNDER 113

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Charlotte beat Oklahoma City for just its third victory in the last 14 games.

P.J. Washington added 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Charlotte got a huge game from rookie center Mark Williams with career highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with two blocks.

Mason Plumlee added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets. They outscored the Thunder 18-10 in the final 4:14 to break open a tie game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points for Oklahoma City. Luguentz Dort added 22 and Josh Giddey had 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder had won four of their last five.

SPURS 122, KNICKS 115

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Keldon Johnson scored 30 points and San Antonio overcame a season-high 41 points from Julius Randle to beat New York 122-115, handing the Knicks their fifth straight loss.

Spurs guard Romeo Langford added a career-high 23 points for the Spurs, who were without injured starter Devin Vassell. Tre Jones added 13 points and Jeremy Sochan had 12.

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley had a career-high 36 points while starting in place of injured point guard Jalen Brunson.

New York only led briefly after blowing a nine-point lead with 33 seconds left in regulation in an overtime loss to Luka Doncic and Dallas on Tuesday.

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