MONDAY AROUND THE NBA

Wizards 121, Kings 115

WASHINGTON

Bradley Beal scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime, helping the Washington Wizards beat the Sacramento Kings despite twice giving back double-digit leads. Beal added nine rebounds and nine assists for the 11th-place Wizards. Jabari Parker added 18 points off the bench and Bobby Portis had 17 points and 13 rebounds as Washington began a five-game homestand. De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points for the Kings, who started Monday four games back of three teams tied for the last three Western Conference playoff spots. Reserve Nemanja Bjelica added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which has lost six straight in Washington dating back to 2013.

Nets 103, Pistons 75

NEW YORK

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points and the Brooklyn Nets routed the Detroit Pistons to move into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Allen Crabbe finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Rodions Kurucs scored 13 points, and Joe Harris and Caris LeVert each added 12 as the Nets took control early in the game and never let up. The Nets (36-33) won their fourth straight and leapfrogged Detroit (34-32) into the No. 6 spot in their final game before leaving for a seven-game road trip. Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 13 points and 20 rebounds. Blake Griffin finished with 10 points, but only shot 1 of 10 from the field as Detroit was held to its lowest point total of the season. The Pistons had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Rockets 118, Hornets 106

HOUSTON

James Harden scored 28 points and Eric Gordon added 22 as the Houston Rockets cruised to their season-high ninth straight win, beating the Charlotte Hornets. The Rockets won despite a big performance by Kemba Walker, who finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Hornets lost their second in a row. A 7-2 spurt by Houston, highlighted by a dunk from Kenneth Faried, made it 116-101 with about 90 seconds left. Houston got 19 points and 15 rebounds from Clint Capela. Chris Paul had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Harden had 10 assists and six rebounds.

Thunder 98, Jazz 89

SALT LAKE CITY

Dennis Schroder scored 24 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz to sweep the season series. Westbrook appeared to argue with fans of the Jazz, who knocked the Thunder out of the postseason last year. Paul George chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds. Steven Adams and Jerami Grant added 12 points apiece. Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points for Utah, which shot just 36 percent from the field. Royce O’Neale added 17 points while Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Associated Press