Jalen Brunson stepped up in Julius Randle's absence on a career night as the New York Knicks fired a warning shot in beating the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the playoffs.

The Knicks are fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Cavs in fourth. Barring an unlikely late turn of events, they will face each other in the first round this postseason.

Friday's win was a big one then for New York, a 130-116 victory in Cleveland renewing optimism ahead of making that same trip again in the coming weeks.

All-Star Randle was back in New York, but he was scarcely missed as Brunson scored a career-high 48 points, including seven three-pointers.

"There is nothing that Jalen does that surprises you," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. "He's so mentally tough.

"He's nicked up a little bit, but he's a machine. He just keeps going."

Randle sprained his ankle this week and will miss the rest of the regular season, although he will be evaluated again ahead of the playoffs.

"He's done all he can to prepare himself to play in every game, which is a credit to him," Thibodeau said.

"He doesn't miss practice. He doesn't miss games. I'm actually surprised it doesn't happen more than it does."

With Randle potentially returning for the Knicks' far more consequential next game against the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell was eager to ensure Cleveland learn from their loss.

"This loss hurts," said Mitchell. "We need to feel it and be ready to use it when the time comes.

"Obviously, we control our destiny and we'll probably see these guys in two weeks.

"There is a lot of film to go through. But if we let this affect us, we have no chance in the playoffs."

The NBA and the NBPA have reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, which is set to include a new in-season tournament.

The two parties announced a deal early on Saturday, although details of the CBA's contents were not officially released.

"The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, pending ratification by players and team governors," a statement read.

"Specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalised."

ESPN reported the terms of a seven-year agreement that is set to come into place from next season.

The most notable addition is that of an in-season tournament, which would see eight teams advance to a single-elimination bracket ahead of a 'Final Four' at a neutral site.

Those games would count towards the regular season standings, meaning the two finalists would play 83 games.

The agreement is also reported to include changes to eligibility rules for end-of-season awards, requiring MVP candidates to appear in 65 games in order to qualify in a bid to curb load management.

Further tweaks relate to team spending and contracts, with the upper limit for player extensions set to increase.

Anthony Davis limped through a vital Los Angeles Lakers win at the Minnesota Timberwolves before assuring fans his ankle would "be fine" and "we're not finished".

The Lakers moved above .500 for the first time this season with a 123-111 victory at the T-Wolves, powered by 38 points and 17 rebounds from Davis.

That was despite the Lakers superstar turning his ankle in his first game back in Minnesota since sustaining a knee injury there in December 2021.

On that occasion, Davis missed more than a month; this time, he did not miss a possession.

"I knew I was going to play," he said after the game. "Tied the shoes up tighter and just kind of played off adrenaline until the end of the game and was able to get some treatment. But I'll be fine."

The Lakers could not have afforded to be without him, with coach Darvin Ham emphasising the big man's importance to their team.

"Everyone knows that in order for us to be at the highest level and playing at the highest level, it all starts with AD," he said.

"We have a team that can make some things happen, but you have to have that one pivotal force that's leading the charge, and in our case, with this particular team here in the moment, it's AD.

"When he comes out and he's aggressive and we're feeding him and he's not settling and he's putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success."

LeBron James added of his team-mate: "I think he understood the assignment and knew how important this game was, and I think we all knew that.

"We jumped on AD's back and he brought us home."

As T-Wolves coach Chris Finch put it: "He kicked our a** in every way possible."

The Lakers are up to seventh in the West, but an intense playoff race is not done – and nor are they.

"We've made some huge climbs, but we're not finished," Davis said. "We want to get greedy."

The Los Angeles Lakers collected their fifth win from their past six games as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-111 away from home on Friday.

Lakers center Anthony Davis was the star of the show, piling up a game-high 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting while adding a game-high 17 rebounds and an equal team-high two blocks.

Superstar running-mate LeBron James was not as his offensive best, shooting seven-of-19 from the field, but he found a way to contribute with 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to go with his 18 points.

The Timberwolves actually led by 10 at half-time, but the Lakers came out of the break and produced a 35-18 third period to snatch control of the contest.

An Anthony Edwards three-pointer early in the fourth period cut the Lakers' lead to nine, but from that point Davis would score 15 of Los Angeles' next 17 points, taking over when his team needed him most.

It was a disappointing performance from Edwards, finishing four-of-16 from the field for 11 points. Karl-Anthony Towns was strong with 23 points (eight-of-18), and Mike Conley led the Wolves with 25 (seven-of-11) and seven assists.

It was a costly loss for Minnesota, as they could have begun threatening the sixth-seeded Warriors with a win, but instead dropped down to ninth at 39-39.

The Lakers (39-38) jumped two spots up to seventh, and are just 1.5 games behind Golden State (41-37).

Brunson outduels Mitchell in Cleveland

Jalen Brunson put together one of the best games of his career as he carried the New York Knicks to a 130-116 victory on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brunson set a new career-high with 48 points on 18-of-32 shooting, and he also dished nine assists. It is the fourth time this season he has scored at least 40 points after never scoring more than 34 during his four years in Dallas.

Donovan Mitchell was determined to match Brunson every step of the way, dropping 23 points in the first quarter on his way to 42 (16-of-23) for the game, but Cleveland fell away in a disappointing 25-14 fourth period.

Barring any major losing streak from either of these teams the rest of the regular season, Cleveland will host New York as the Eastern Conference's four-five first-round playoff matchup.

Banchero bullies the Wizards

Number one draft pick Paolo Banchero showed why he is the future of the Orlando Magic after a dominant display in a 116-109 road win over the Washington Wizards.

Banchero, the runaway Rookie of the Year favourite, scored a game-high 30 points, blocked a game-high three shots and snatched down a team-high 12 rebounds, while also leading the Magic with six assists.

Fellow number one pick Markelle Fultz was similarly impressive, shooting 11-of-15 from the field for his 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, while 21-year-old talent Franz Wagner chipped in 20 points (eight-of-14).

LaMarcus Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star who scored over 20,000 points over an accomplished 16-year NBA career, officially announced his retirement on Friday.

Aldridge has not played this season after appearing in 47 games with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021-22.

The 37-year-old briefly retired following the 2020-21 season after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat but returned to the Nets the following September after receiving medical clearance.

And Aldridge channelled one of the great sports stars in his announcement.

"In the words of [Tom Brady], you only get one big, emotional retirement," Aldridge wrote on his Twitter account.

"So, on that note... I'm thankful for all the memories, family and friends I made throughout my career. It was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed every min!"

Aldridge entered the NBA in 2006 as the second overall pick of that year's draft following a standout career at the University of Texas.

He spent his first nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and is the franchise's career leader in rebounds, while his 12,562 points in a Blazers uniform trail only Damian Lillard and Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.

The power forward made four All-Star teams in Portland and was an All-NBA second team selection in his final season with the Blazers in 2014-15 after averaging a career-high 23.4 points per game.

Aldridge left Portland following that season to return to his native Texans by signing a four-year, $80million contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He earned three more All-Star selections over six seasons with San Antonio and again garnered second team All-NBA honours in 2017-18.

The Spurs bought out Aldridge's contract in March 2021 and he signed with the Nets just days afterward in hopes of winning a first NBA championship, though he played just five games over the remainder of that season due to a rapid heartbeat that led to his temporary retirement.

Aldridge became the 48th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points during his final season and finished his career with 20,558 points, good for 46th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

He is one of only 16 players in league history to record 20,000 points and 1,000 blocked shots in a career.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was not surprised the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics due to his team's approach to Thursday's game and warned their rivals would "kick our a**" again if they repeated the performance.

The Bucks retain a two-game lead over the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference but suffered a humbling 140-99 defeat in the teams' final meeting of the regular season.

Milwaukee will expect to meet Boston again in the playoffs, and Antetokounmpo hopes they will "change some stuff" for that matchup.

He bemoaned the Bucks' attitude in their home loss, saying: "We know what the deal is. It's not hard to understand. If you're not focused, if you don't play hard, they're going to kick our a**. Simple as that.

"There's no level of concern. It's a fact. Now you have this in your head, and it's up to us to see how we're going to deal with it.

"Are we going to go and play the same way? If we play the same way, we'll have the same outcome.

"We've got to change some stuff. We've got to compete. We've got to have some pride."

The Celtics have lost ground in a month in which they have gone 9-6 – to the Bucks' 11-5 – following a number of unexpected defeats.

But Boston continue to respond well to those setbacks, the latest being this week's loss at an undermanned Washington Wizards.

"We've been pretty consistent all year long for the most part," said two-time All-Star Jaylen Brown. "We probably should be closer to 60 wins at this point, but we're a better team than we were last year. We've won more games than we did last year.

"Overall, we haven't dropped the ball; we might have lost some games, but we haven't let a bad game turn into a bad two weeks or a bad month. We've been able to bounce back."

Nikola Jokic sat out the Denver Nuggets' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans as an "ultra cautious" step to protect the two-time MVP ahead of the NBA playoffs.

The Nuggets were beaten 107-88 and have lost their last four matches in which Jokic did not play. He missed this one with a calf injury that appears to be a minor problem.

On this occasion, Denver turned in a largely shabby display in the home loss, proving especially dire from three-point range where their 4-of-28 shooting pointed to a clear deficiency.

Sitting top of the Western Conference, three games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver could afford to let Thursday's game get away from them.

The playoffs are approaching, so it was a night where coach Michael Malone felt Jokic needed a rest.

When assessing afterwards how the game went so badly wrong for the Nuggets, Malone said: "Well, Nikola didn't play."

He expanded on his reasons, but it is clear Jokic's unavailability was a major factor behind the team's performance.

Once again, Jokic is a leading contender for MVP honours, chasing a hat-trick of consecutive individual accolades.

The 28-year-old Serbian is averaging 24.9 points per game, plus 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists, and it looks to be between him and Joel Embiid for MVP, albeit with Giannis Antetokounmpo a potential dark horse.

Malone, quoted in the Denver Post, said before the game began it was a smart move to give Jokic a rest, following his triple-double against the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the week.

"Yeah, I think it's just been something kind of brewing a little bit," said Malone.

"He was able to get through the Philadelphia game. In practice yesterday he didn't do a whole lot. Obviously, being ultra cautious with where we're at in the season. If there's any doubt, we're going to definitely err on the side of caution with seven games remaining in the regular season."

The Boston Celtics produced a stunning 140-99 blowout on the road against the full-strength Milwaukee Bucks in Thursday's potential Eastern Conference Finals preview.

Although the Bucks did roll out their full team, they were playing their third game in four days and were on the second leg of a back-to-back, and their fatigue showed in a horrible first half defensively.

The Celtics piled on 34 points in the first quarter, and added another 41 in the second to open up a commanding 75-47 lead at half-time. Instead of coming out of the locker room with extra intensity, the Bucks proceeded to give up another 39 in the third period to kill the game.

Boston's All-Star duo were nearly faultless, led by Jayson Tatum's 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting. He finished eight-of-10 from three-point range, and a perfect eight-of-eight from the free throw line while adding eight rebounds and zero turnovers.

Jaylen Brown was just as impressive as he made his way to 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and just one turnover, while Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 14 points (six-of-13), five assists and four steals off the bench.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo led his side with 24 points and seven rebounds through three quarters before sitting out the last, although he was a disappointing 11-of-27 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts.

The win pulled the Celtics (53-24) to within two games of the Bucks (55-22) in the race for the Eastern Conference's top seed, and for the best record in the league.

Ingram shows recent improvement is no fluke

New Orleans Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram has performed at an All-NBA level since the All-Star break and continued to shine in a 107-88 triumph over the Nikola Jokic-less Denver Nuggets.

Ingram, 25, posted the first triple-double of his career last Thursday and followed it with a career-high 13 assists on Saturday, and he now has his second triple-double after 31 points (13-of-22), 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Nuggets.

Across his past eight games, Ingram is averaging 29.6 points, 8.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 51.8 per cent from the field and 48 per cent from deep.

The result improved the Pelicans' record to 39-38, leapfrogging the Minnesota Timberwolves into the Western Conference's seventh seed, with Zion Williamson's return potentially imminent after working out on-court prior to Thursday's game.

The New York Knicks will be without Julius Randle for the rest of the regular season as he races to heal from an ankle injury before the playoffs.

The All-Star was hurt in Wednesday's 101-92 win over the Miami Heat, after his left leg landed on Heat center Bam Adebayo's left foot as he pulled down a rebound with 2:40 remaining in the second quarter. He was ruled out at half-time.

Randle, who leads the Knicks in both scoring (25.1 points per game) and rebounding (10.0), has played all 77 games this season, but will miss the final five after the team announced he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

The timeframe means he would be unavailable for the play-in tournament, but crucially the Knicks (44-33) sit four games clear of the seventh seed Miami Heat (40-37).

Two weeks from now would be just two days before the first round of the playoffs are due to begin, and it appears likely the Knicks would begin their playoff run on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference's four-five matchup.

It has been a great bounceback season from Randle, who was named to the All-NBA Second Team back in 2021, before his points dropped from 24.1 to 20.1 with all his percentages falling off a cliff in 2022.

The introduction of point guard Jalen Brunson has breathed new life into New York, and has made Randle's job far easier. 

With his new partner-in-crime, Randle has set career-highs in scoring, free throw makes and attempts, three-point makes and attempts, and his 46.0 per cent mark from the field matches his best percentage since arriving with the Knicks, all on career-high volume.

Alabama All-American forward Brandon Miller will enter the NBA draft.

The decision, which was reported on Thursday, comes as no surprise for the 20-year-old Miller, who excelled on the basketball court but was also associated with a major off-the-court situation as he was involved in a fatal shooting in January.

A projected top-5 pick in the draft, the 6-foot-9 Miller averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds while connecting on 38 per cent of his shots from 3-point range in leading Alabama to the SEC regular-season and conference title.

He helped the Crimson Tide to their first No.1 ranking in The AP poll in 20 years and first No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

A groin injury late in the season slowed his production in the NCAA Tournament, and Alabama were ousted by San Diego State in the Sweet 16.

Miller played in all 37 games for Alabama this past season despite his involvement with a fatal shooting on January 15.

According to police testimony, Miller brought the gun belonging to former Alabama player Darius Miles to Miles, and Miles and another man were charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

Miller’s attorney said Miller never handled the gun and did not know Miles' intension.

Miller was never charged with a crime and was not punished by the team.

The decision by Crimson Tide coach Nate Oates to allow Miller to continue to play as the school was in the midst of an historic season was criticised by countless pundits.

Olympics chief Thomas Bach has attacked politicians pushing for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be prevented from returning to international sport, saying their attitude is "deplorable".

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Bach launched a tirade on Thursday at the "negative reactions" to plans to allow competitors from Russia and Belarus to compete in global sporting events as neutral individual athletes.

There has been no final decision taken yet on whether those athletes can take part in next year's Olympics; however, there will be potential pathways for them to qualify for the Games, and it could yet mean there are Russians and Belarusians taking part in the Paris Games while war continues in Ukraine.

Government figures in the UK, Germany and beyond have expressed opposition to such athletes being allowed to take part, although IOC guidance on Tuesday potentially opened that door.

For those politicians there was a fierce rebuke from Bach.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Bach said: "Today the IOC executive board discussed the reactions to our recommendations issued on Tuesday.

"There we have taken note of some negative reactions by some European governments in particular. I can only reaffirm there what the Olympic movement and all the stakeholders have made very clear before: that it is deplorable to see some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and of all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport which they are praising and requesting from other countries in countless speeches, UN resolutions, EU declarations, and at every other opportunity.

"It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards with which we have been confronted in our consultations.

"We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars and armed conflicts in the world.

"It is even more deplorable that they grossly neglect the very clear statement of the two special rapporteurs from the UN human rights council. While in other issues they are always highlighting their firm request for the respect of human rights

"Discussions and reactions from the Olympic movement are making it very clear, that these government interventions have strengthened the unity of the Olympic movement.

"All stakeholders make it very clear again: it cannot be up to the governments to decide which athletes can participate in which competition. This would be the end of world sport as we know it today.

"The Olympic movement stakeholders are very concerned about this politicisation of sport. They are very concerned about the attitude of these governments wanting to take over the participation and the decision of participation in sport events in their country or even in other countries."

Bach pointed to a letter from the presidents of the five regional groupings on national Olympic committees, representing all 206 NOCs, in which he said it was stated that "international sports competitions welcome athletes from all countries".

Asked why it was only athletes from Russia and Belarus that were being asked to compete as neutrals, rather than those from other conflicts and wars to which he referred, Bach said that was "because this was a blatant violation of the Olympic truce and happened between the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Games".

That was a reference to the timing of the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

With regard to Germany and the UK, Bach said: "Both NOCs have made it very clear they do not boycott, and we will not punish athletes or an NOC for the position of their governments.

"We will always make every effort not to punish athletes for misbehaviour of their national governments."

Bach, who is German, said "a vast, vast majority of all stakeholders of the Olympic movement" supported the IOC putting in place conditions for the possible return to international competition of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports.

He added: "I can only reaffirm the entire Olympic movement strongly stands by its values and by its mission to unite the world in a peaceful competition."

Joel Embiid believes it would be a nonsense if his MVP hopes are affected by him missing this week's big showdown with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Embiid is leading the way in the NBA with a 33.2-point scoring average per game, beating last season's career high of 30.6.

He is also averaging a healthy 10.2 rebounds, albeit that is his lowest season mark since 2016-17.

However, Embiid sat out Monday's clash with the Nuggets due a calf injury, and Jokic led Denver to a 116-111 victory, scoring 25 points alongside 17 rebounds and 12 assists.

The triple-double made Jokic just the third player in NBA history to produce 10 games of at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the same season, sparking debate over whether it could be a key moment in the MVP race.

After that game, Jokic said the absent Embiid would be "remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league".

Whether Embiid can deny Jokic a third straight MVP award remains to be seen, and recency bias may help to tilt it the way of the Nuggets star, who is averaging 24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists.

Embiid's message was a simple one – "I don't care" – as he prioritises team success over individual glory.

The Nuggets head the Western Conference, with Philadelphia third in the East, so both main contenders for the MVP have done a lot of winning this season and will hope to do plenty more in the playoffs.

Embiid said: "If one game is going to hurt anybody's chances, then I guess everybody should be out of it. We all have bad games. Guys miss matchups.

"That's not the first time, and it's not really a matchup about me and Nikola. He's a great player, amazing player. He's one of the best players in the league, and I'm a huge fan.

"So not playing against him was a huge bummer. But there's a bigger goal in sight, and that's to make sure we're healthy for the playoffs."

Embiid had a standout game against the Nuggets on January 28, outshining Jokic with 47 points and 18 rebounds in a Sixers win, so he is adamant there was no desire to duck another clash with Denver's talisman.

He added on Wednesday, after returning to score 25 points in Philadelphia's 116-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks: "I've got nothing to prove. The last matchup, we won, and I had whatever I had.

"To go out there and say that I'm scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid. But, like I said, I don't care if I win it or not. I'm just focused on trying to win a championship, and whatever happens, happens."

Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers supported Embiid's stance, saying ahead of Wednesday's game: "Joel's body of work speaks for itself. You're not judged for one game. You're judged for the entire season of work and your team's record and how you perform, and he's been dominant all year."

Looking at whether missing out last time out could harm Embiid's MVP prospects, Rivers said it might have an impact, but he is baffled as to why that would be the case.

"Will that hurt him? I doubt it. But it could," Rivers said. "I don't know what people use for criteria. It seems like it changes weekly, what the real criteria is.

"Before, it was a bunch of numbers. Now, it's wins. I'm like, 'Well, it wasn't wins last year'. You know what I’m saying? It just feels like, every year, it keeps changing."

Jokic took MVP honours last season when the Nuggets finished sixth in the Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Clippers had Russell Westbrook in history-making form as they overcame the Memphis Grizzlies 141-132 on Wednesday.

Westbrook finished with a season-high 36 points and laid on 10 assists in the victory, which snapped Memphis' seven-game winning streak.

In the process, Westbrook became the first player in NBA history to have a 30-point and 10-assist game with five teams, having achieved the feat with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers and now the Clippers.

The sides will meet again in Memphis on Friday, with the Clippers having pulled away down the stretch on this occasion.

"Just being composed, as a point guard, I was taught the last five or six minutes of the game were very important," Westbrook said of the fourth quarter.

"Getting stops, getting good shots. We did a good job of executing down the stretch."

Westbrook's team-mate Robert Covington had a season-best 27 points, and he anticipates a tough run-in with plenty of teams in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

"It's going to be tight," said Covington. "The West from four through 12 or 13 is like a three-game gap, something like that?

"Anything can happen. That's why these last five or six games for us are very important."

Another team pushing for a postseason place are the Clippers' city rivals the Lakers, who beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110.

Anthony Davis starred with 38 points and 10 rebounds, and believes the Lakers – eighth in the West – have what it takes to go on a deep run.

He said: "I think we've got everything we need. It's just about going out and applying it. We can definitely make a run. We've got all the right pieces from top to bottom.

"We owe this [Chicago] team. We owe Houston. We owe Minnesota. All these teams. Utah.

"So all these teams on this trip are teams that we lost to recently, and we want to get some get-back. And seeing as the situation that we're in, we need to win these games.

"So this is a time when we shouldn't shy away from the moment. We should embrace it and these are the moments that you live for as a player."

Davis' display garnered appreciation from coach Darvin Ham and superstar team-mate LeBron James.

"It all starts with A, man," Ham said, referring to Davis. "Him just playing with force, him not settling, putting pressure on the defense to foul, him just loving and living in the paint."

James added: "He always plays like that. Just got to kick him in the a** every now and then. But he always plays like that so I never worry about him."

Kevin Durant felt the nerves ahead of his home debut for the Phoenix Suns but was thrilled to be back from injury.

Durant has endured injury frustration in his first months as a Suns player since his trade from the Brooklyn Nets.

The 2014 MVP joined the Suns on February 9, but he had played only three times prior to Wednesday's meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All of those games, which were won by Phoenix, came on the road.

Having missed the last 10 games due to a sprained ankle, Durant returned for his home bow against the Timberwolves, and he had 16 points, four assists and eight rebounds in a 107-100 victory.

Durant acknowledged that even with his wealth of experience to call on, it was hard to keep the nerves in check.

"It was hard for me to get sleep today, it was hard for me to stop thinking about the game," Durant said. "Sometimes you can want it too bad, and you come out, start rushing and being uncharacteristic."

Now, he aims to build up his fitness as the Suns look towards securing a postseason berth.

"I'm glad I'm back, I'm glad I'm playing again and being one of the guys. Just building from here," Durant said.

"It felt good. I miss playing, I miss being with the guys. It was a big win for us, we needed this one, but yeah I felt good being out there again."

Phoenix coach Monty Williams was impressed with what he saw from the 13-time All-Star but knows there is more to come.

"I thought he battled on both ends," Williams told reporters.

"I think his cardio has got to get back to the level he wants it. Once he gets that, we'll see the Kevin that we all know."

The Suns' third straight win saw them consolidate their grip on the Western Conference's fourth seed.

Devin Booker was the driving force for Phoenix with 29 points, with Anthony Edwards' 31-point haul not enough to inspire the Timberwolves to a winning performance.

Jrue Holiday joked he "felt like Giannis" after leading the Milwaukee Bucks with 51 points in Wednesday's 149-136 defeat of the Indiana Pacers.

The league-leading Bucks made it seven wins from their last 10 as they picked up their 55th victory of the season in style.

Holiday top-scored with 51 points, eight assists and as many rebounds, while talismanic team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double of 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.

It meant 32-year-old Holiday, who joined the NBA in 2009, surpassed his previous high of 40 points, set earlier this season in a win over the Boston Celtics.

For Holiday, it was a taste of what it must be like to be two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo.

"I felt like Giannis," Holiday quipped. "No dunks though.

"Obviously, I'm happy about it.

"It took me 14 years to get 50 points. It came in a game that we needed to win, so I couldn't be happier."

Holiday, like Antetokounmpo, sat out Monday's win over the Detroit Pistons, and he felt that rest was key.

"A couple of days off," he suggested when asked by ESPN what had been behind his showing. "Really just been aggressive, because I know how much we needed to win this game."

Holiday was 20 of 30 from the field, while sinking three three-pointers from six attempts.

"It's hard to come up with the superlatives to describe them," said Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer of Holiday and Antetokounmpo.

"They were phenomenal. Giannis set the tone with his aggressive attacking. Then Jrue for the whole game to have 51, that's hard to do in an NBA game.

"Together with Giannis with 38, those two guys were special, they put us on their backs."

Next up for the Bucks is a top-of-the-standings clash with the Celtics.