Jazz 110, Pistons 77
Dante Exum was back on court for the Utah Jazz in their crushing NBA win over Aron Baynes' Detroit Pistons just four days after the Australian guard was dropped to their lower-league affiliate.
Exum played 17 minutes in the Jazz's 110-77 win on Friday night after sitting out the previous three matches and contributed four points, two rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Monday was an eventful one for Exum, who was sent to train with their D-League affiliate the Salt Lake City Stars, but hours later recalled to Utah's squad.
The 21-year-old has struggled for court time in recent weeks.
George Hill added 22 points and Gordon Hayward chipped in 20 to lead the Jazz. Hood, Hill and Hayward combined to shoot 26-of-39 (66.7 percent) from the field and 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from the perimeter.
The Jazz put the game away in the third quarter with a 28-9 run highlighted by a heavy dose of George Hill, including a pair of back-to-back three-pointers.
76ers 102, Hornets 93
Joel Embiid had 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the surging Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets 102-93 on Friday.
Dario Saric added 15 points for the Sixers, who won their third straight and their fifth in six games.
Ersan Ilyasova finished with 12 points and Robert Covington and Sergio Rodriguez contributed 11 apiece for Philadelphia (12-25).
Nic Batum had 19 points to pace Charlotte, which shot 32.9 percent from the floor in losing for the sixth time in seven games. The season low for the Hornets (20-20) is 32.7 percent.
Kemba Walker had 17 points and Cody Zeller chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 12 points and 12 boards.
The Sixers are on their first three-game winning streak since they won four straight from December 29, 2013 to January 4, 2014.
Led by Embiid, the Sixers have won five of six games overall and are no longer the league laughing stock.
Timberwolves 96, Thunder 86
Karl-Anthony Towns had his 10th straight double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Ricky Rubio continued his strong play with 14 points and 14 assists for Minnesota in a win against Oklahoma City.
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Andrew Wiggins added 19 points for Minnesota, which won three games in a row to end a four-game homestand. Making another start in place of injured Zach LaVine, Brandon Rush hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points.
Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 19th triple- double of the season, the most in a season since Wilt Chamberlain had 31 in 1967-68.
Bucks 116, Heat 108
Playing at full strength for the first time in a week, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Milwaukee extended Miami's losing streak to four games with a victory at the Bradley Center.
A virus limited Antetokounmpo to nine minutes of action in Milwaukee's last two games, but he returned and hit 8-of-12 shots as the Bucks connected at a 50.6 percent clip and made 9-of-15 three-pointers.
Raptors 132, Nets 113
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points as Toronto defeated Brooklyn at Air Canada Centre.
DeRozan added four rebounds and two assists for Toronto, which shot 53.6 percent from the floor. Kyle Lowry chipped in 20 points, six assists and six rebounds whileDeMarre Carroll added 18 points and 11 boards.
Grizzlies 110, Rockets 105
Zach Randolph posted a double-double off the bench and Memphis erased a 16-point deficit in rallying past Houston at Toyota Center.
Randolph finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and carried the Grizzlies offensively during a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter.
Shooting guard Tony Allen scored a season-high 22 points
Houston (31-11) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season largely due to their poor perimeter shooting. The Rockets missed 21-of-24 three-pointers in the second half.
Celtics 103, Hawks 101
Isaiah Thomas made sure that first-year Boston Celtics team mate Al Horford was a winner in his return to Atlanta, snapping the Hawks' seven-game winning streak in the process.
Thomas had the winning basket with 2.2 seconds left while scoring 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won despite the Hawks overcoming a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Magic 115, Trail Blazers 109
Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Orlando to a victory over Portland at Moda Center.
Elfrid Payton contributed 19 points and seven assists as the Magic snapped a four-game losing streak.
Cavaliers 120, Kings 108
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, Kyle Korver added 18 and Cleveland held off a series of runs by Sacramento to post a victory at the Golden 1 Center.
LeBron James had 16 points and 15 assists, and Cleveland snapped a two-game skid in his annual visit to the city where he made his debut in 2003.
Reuters
