Reggie Jackson contributed 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 17 as the undermanned Denver Nuggets secured a 114-106 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Denver secured their second consecutive victory, even though they had to play without Jamal Murray due to an ankle injury and lost star player Nikola Jokic to an ejection in the second quarter.
Nikola Jokic was ejected from the game with 1:08 left in the second quarter after disputing a no-call while running down the court. He ended the game with four points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Nuggets. Additionally, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was sidelined in the second quarter due to a head injury. Despite Coby White scoring 27 points and Nikola Vucevic contributing 26 points and 16 rebounds, the Bulls suffered their second consecutive loss following a four-game winning streak.
Celtics 120, Cavaliers 113
Boston was perfect from the free-throw line, making all 26 attempts, and extended their unbeaten home record to 11-0 by defeating Cleveland. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points each, while Kristaps Porzingis contributed 21 points. Tatum and Porzingis also grabbed 10 rebounds each, and Derrick White scored 17 points, making 5 of 8 3-pointers.
The game was tied at 106-106 with 6:05 remaining, but Boston then scored nine consecutive points, securing the win as Cleveland never came closer than seven points. The Celtics have now won 18 straight regular-season home games since March. Donovan Mitchell was the top scorer for Cleveland with 29 points.
Suns 119, Warriors 116
Devin Booker scored 32 points and dished out seven assists as Phoenix overcame Kevin Durant’s absence to defeat Golden State. Jusuf Nurkic contributed 17 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists as Phoenix extended their winning streak against the Warriors to 3-0 this season.
Durant was sidelined for the second consecutive game due to a sprained left ankle. Bradley Beal made a comeback after missing 12 games due to a back injury and scored 16 points in 27 minutes. Stephen Curry tallied 24 points and Brandin Podziemski added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State, which suffered their 11th loss in the last 15 games. Draymond Green was ejected in the third quarter for striking Nurkic in the face with an open-hand punch.
Mavericks 127, Lakers 125
Luka Doncic secured the lead for Dallas with 6:24 remaining, and Dante Exum made three consecutive 3-pointers on a career-best performance from long range as the Mavericks fended off the visiting Los Angeles team. Doncic scored 33 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 32, and Exum added 26 for the Mavericks. Exum made seven 3-pointers, marking his highest in a game during his seven-year NBA career. Anthony Davis scored 37 points, and LeBron James added 33 for the Lakers, who were behind by 15 points before Davis’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave them a 95-93 lead.
Clippers 119, Kings 99
Kawhi Leonard led the Los Angeles team to a victory over Sacramento, scoring 31 points and helping the team extend their winning streak to five games. Despite the absence of Paul George in the second half due to a groin injury, James Harden and Norman Powell contributed 15 points each.
Leonard’s impressive performance included scoring over 30 points for the third game in a row, shooting 11 of 14 from the field. On the opposing side, Keegan Murray scored 17 points and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points with 10 rebounds for the Kings, who suffered their second loss to the Clippers in two weeks.
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