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• NBA: Bucks overcome Ball's 50 points in win over Hornets

  Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 11 rebounds and the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks overcame LeMelo Ball’s career-high 50 points in a 125-119 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

  Milwaukee opened the fourth quarter with a 14-5 spurt for a 110-90 lead, but the Hornets got it to 121-119 on Brandon Miller’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.

  Taurean Prince answered with a pair of free throws for the Bucks to make it a two-possession game, and Charlotte missed a pair of 3-pointers on the ensuing possession. Antetokounmpo hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to make it 125-119.

  Ball hit 17 of 38 shots, including 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 13 free throws to surpass his previous personal best of 38 points, done twice.

  Brandon Miller added 32 points for the Hornets, who have lost five of seven.

  Milwaukee, which completed a 4-0 homestand, has won six of its last seven. The only loss in that span was a 115-114 loss to the Hornets on Nov. 16 following a controversial foul call.

  Charlotte’s Grant Williams went to the locker room late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and did not return.

  Milwaukee hit four consecutive 3s for a 12-3 run and a 96-83 lead late in the third quarter.

   

  Nuggets use dominant 2nd half to rout Lakers

  Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 24 as the Denver Nuggets used a strong second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102.

  Russell Westbrook had 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Denver against his former team.

  Austin Reaves scored 19 points and LeBron James added 18 for the Lakers, who lost consecutive home games after starting the season 7-0 at home. Rui Hachimura, back in the starting lineup after he missed the previous five games with a left ankle sprain, scored 10 points in 22 minutes.

  It was the teams' first meeting since the Nuggets beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs earlier this year. Denver also swept them in the Western Conference final the previous year.

  Denver trailed by six points at halftime but outscored Los Angeles 37-15 in the third quarter and 70-39 for the second half while dominating inside and outside.

  Westbrook had a putback dunk at the end of the third quarter to put the finishing touches on an authoritative quarter and extend the lead to 94-77. Westbrook then twirled his arms around emphatically in celebration as he ran back down the floor.

   

  Magic down Pistons to continue surge

  Franz Wagner continued his hot stretch with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-100 for their eighth win in nine games.

  Wagner, who has scored 30 or more points in five of his last seven games, sat out the fourth quarter while the Magic’s bench stretched Orlando's lead to 22 with 7:19 remaining.

  He has averaged 27.7 points in the 11 games since the Magic lost star Paolo Banchero to a torn oblique.

  Mo Wagner had 18 points and seven rebounds off the Orlando bench, and Jonathan Isaac added five points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

  Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 19 points and seven rebounds. Malik Beasley, starting in place of the injured Cade Cunningham, added 18 points.

  Orlando remained unbeaten at home (8-0) despite playing without Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. and losing Jalen Suggs to a sore left hamstring in the first half.

  After Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled the Pistons even at 56 at the outset of the second half, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope answered with a 3 and the Magic went off on a 20-9 run that included nine straight Magic points from Franz Wagner.

• Kidd hails Mavs' character after road win over Nuggets

  Jason Kidd hailed the character of his Dallas Mavericks team after their gutsy win over the Denver Nuggets.

  The Mavericks overcame Luka Doncic's absence, and a triple-double from returning Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, to win 123-120 in Friday's NBA Cup game.

  It also marked the third consecutive game the Mavericks have had seven players hit double figures. 

  The Mavericks appeared to be running away with a dominant win after leading by as many as 24 points early in the third quarter, only for the Nuggets to swiftly respond. 

  They struck a fierce 28-9 run in an eight-minute span to bring the game within single digits going into the final quarter, but the Mavericks held on for a fourth straight win.

  "We were here 10 days ago, we learned from that situation, we kept our composure. This group stayed together," Kidd said.  

  "On the defensive end we made stops and on the offensive end we made some big plays.

  "We didn't finish the game 10 days ago. But the guys stepped up. Defensively, we did what we had to do. A lot of small things that we cleaned up from the last time we were here.

  "This is a character game for us. Again without Luka, on the road, we were just in this situation in Oklahoma City. The games are too close for us to make mistakes late.

  "This team has a lot of character, a lot of trust and we're becoming a team - it's still early in the season, we've had some injuries, but it's about the next man up and those guys are stepping up."

  Dallas (9-7) improved to 2-1 in West Group C to keep their hopes of being one of eight teams to advance to the knockout round. The Mavericks trail the Golden State Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in Group Play after Friday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

  It was also a night to remember for Naji Marshall, who scored a career-high 26 points off the bench. 

  After scoring 15 points in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, Marshall scored 16 points in the first half on Friday.

  Marshall had only two 15-point halves in his career prior to accomplishing the feat in consecutive halves, with Kidd showering praise for his recent displays. 

  "Just the trust. Marshall was playing extremely well for us. With the game on the line, he makes a floater with one second left on the shot clock," Kidd said. 

  "The confidence the guys have in him on the offensive end and defensive end [helps]."

• 76ers confirm Embiid sidelined with knee injury

  The Philadelphia 76ers revealed Joel Embiid missed their victory over the Brooklyn Nets with a knee injury, while the star centre will also be absent from this Sunday's clash with the Los Angeles Clippers.

  Philadelphia ended a five-game losing streak with a 113-98 win at Wells Fargo Center, but did so without the services of Embiid.

  The centre was not initially listed on the franchise's injury report ahead of the game, but was later added for left knee injury management, having been ruled out 30 minutes before tip-off.

  "He was dealing with some swelling in his knee today, got to the arena and was ruled out," 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. "They're going to treat it all weekend, so he'll be out for Sunday as well.

  "He had some swelling from the last game. It's something we knew we were going to be dealing with going into the season. They do what they can do to remove that swelling, but it just didn't feel good enough to go.

  "We were pretty well aware of that not too much longer after [my pre-match] press conference that he wasn't going to be able to go tonight.

  "Then, they obviously looked at it again during the game and half-time, and decided that they needed to treat it this weekend, and go from there.

  "Hopefully, on Monday, we'll give you an update on where we're at and, hopefully, he'll be in good shape."

  In Embiid's absence, rookie guard Jared McCain stepped up to produce another impressive performance with 30 points, passing the 20-mark for a seventh successive game.

  The 20-year-old was heard saying "I'm rookie of the year!" after shooting one of his six three-pointers during the final quarter.

  "I did say that," he said after the game. "It was pretty clear. It's one of my goals for the season, obviously, but it was just that competitiveness coming out of me.

  "I respect every other rookie in this league, but obviously, I'm a believer in myself."