AROUND THE NBA

AROUND THE NBA

Saturday’s other games

Mavericks 107, Rockets 104

DALLAS

Luka Doncic started with a routine 3-pointer from the corner. Then the Dallas rookie skipped back several feet behind the arc to hit one over Houston center Clint Capela, followed by a floater in the lane for a tie. After faking a drive that sent Capela scrambling toward the basket, the 19-year-old Slovenian settled behind the 3-point line one more time, connecting again for the 26th lead change between the Mavericks and Rockets. So much for a rough shooting night. Doncic scored 11 straight points to erase an eight-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks went on to their ninth consecutive home victory. “It’s pretty clear that he’s got a flair for the moment,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s unafraid. You don’t see that every day. It’s a unique three or four minutes, whatever he put together there.” James Harden shrugged off early foul trouble to score 35 points, but missed all four of his 3-point tries in the fourth quarter. Two of them were during Doncic’s flurry, along with Chris Paul missing a pair of free throws before Doncic’s tying bucket. “The first thing I’d like to do different is make my free throws,” said Paul, who scored 23 points while matching Harden with eight assists. “I think that’s where, honestly, it ticked the game off. We were up two. Throws would have put us up four. They hit some step-backs.” Doncic was 3 of 13, and the Mavericks weren’t too far removed from a nearly six-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter when he made the first 3 with the Mavericks trailing 102-94, the largest Houston lead of the game.

Celtics 133, Bulls 77

CHICAGO

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Daniel Theis added a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Boston routed Chicago for its fifth straight victory. The 56-point loss was the worst in Bulls’ history, eclipsing a 53-point (127-74) defeat at Minnesota on Nov. 8, 2001. Jayson Tatum had 18 points and Terry Rozier added 15 as the Celtics used a 17-0 start and a balanced attack to roll their second straight lopsided win. Shaquille Harrison came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points for the Chicago.

Lakers 111, Grizzlies 88

MEMPHIS, TENN.

LeBron James had 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Kyle Kuzma added 20 points and nine rebounds, and Los Angeles dominated Memphis. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Josh Hart added 16 points apiece, and JaVale McGee had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wayne Selden led Memphis with 17 points.

Pacers 107, Kings 97

INDIANAPOLIS

Thaddeus Young had a season-high 20 points and nine rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points to help Indiana beat Sacramento. Playing their 10th straight game without injured All-Star Victor Oladipo, the Pacers relied on defense and scoring balance. Myles Turner contributed nine points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Domantas Sabonis and Darren Collison each scored 14 points. Buddy Hield scored 20 points for the Kings.

Hawks 106, Nuggets 98

ATLANTA

John Collins scored a career-high 30 points and reserves Vince Carter and DeAndre’ Bembry fueled a third-quarter rally to help Atlanta beat Denver. Collins also had 12 rebounds and five assists. Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Denver.

Nets 112, Knicks 104

NEW YORK

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 20 in Brooklyn’s victory over New York. Allen Crabbe scored 17 points, and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Enes Kanter led the Knicks with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Associated Press