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• 'This is what movies is made of' – Towns euphoric at dramatic Timberwolves return

  Karl-Anthony Towns marked his return to action with a Hollywood ending as a pair of last-gasp free throws handed the Minnesota Timberwolves a 125-124 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

  With 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Towns had ice in his veins as he made both his shots to put Minnesota decisively ahead.

  There was still time left for Atlanta's Saddiq Ben to be impeded by Taurean Prince, but a foul was not given, with a game official reportedly later saying that was an error.

  That could have seen Towns denied his returning glory, having featured for the first time since November 28.

  Sidelined by a calf strain for almost four months, the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft scored 22 points in his comeback game on 8-of-18 shooting.

  "This is what movies is made of," Towns said in an on-court interview with Bally Sports. "Four months away, two free throws, don't worry about it, I got that!"

  In a later press conference, the 27-year-old thanked coach Chris Finch for backing him.

  Towns was the player fouled to set up the game-winning chance, trusting himself to get the job done.

  "I was smiling a lot just in my mind," Towns said. "On the court I probably didn't show it, but even before I got the ball with seven seconds left I was smiling.

  "I just had a good feeling that the game was going to go the way I wanted it to, so the play was immediately drawn up for me.

  "Finch looked at me with everyone around and said, 'You're going to get the ball, and it's yours to take home'.

  "So shout out to Finch having that confidence in me after 51 games [out of action] and all the things I've had to deal with."

  Towns added: "When I went up there for two free throws I looked back and he was telling people, 'He ain't missing, I'm telling you that right now', and I just knew in my bones I wasn't going to miss.

  "I've worked too hard on my game. I've been in those moments too many times.

  "I got told I didn't have one fast heartbeat at all. I felt pretty confident, I felt pretty calm. I feel like I had that Jaden McDaniels demeanour up there, and I was just going up and making those shots."

• Warriors claim crucial road win amid Mavericks protest controversy, Morant and KAT return

  The Golden State Warriors claimed rare back-to-back wins with Wednesday's 127-125 victory at the Dallas Mavericks but the game was marred by controversy after Kevon Looney's third-quarter uncontested dunk.

  Stephen Curry scored 20 points with 13 assists as the reigning NBA champions secured consecutive wins on a road trip for the first time this season at American Airlines Center.

  But the Mavs were left raging after Looney's uncontested dunk with 1:54 left in the third quarter from a Warriors inbound after a timeout, which Dallas had thought was their ball, meaning they subsequently lined up on the other half of the court.

  Mavs owner Mark Cuban said they would contest the result of the game due to the incident which he labelled the "worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA" on Twitter.

  Despite that, the Mavs could have won the game on merit, with Luka Doncic missing a two-point attempt under pressure from Draymond Green with 3.2 seconds left at 125-122.

  That came after Curry's bounce-pass set up Green's three-point play, before the reigning NBA Finals MVP glided in for a two-point shot to open up the three-point buffer with 8.1 seconds to play.

  Doncic, in his return after missing five games with a thigh injury, scored 30 points with seven rebounds and 17 assists. Doncic shot 11-of-27 from the field and six-of-10 from the stripe.

  In Kyrie Irving's absence, 20-year-old guard Jaden Hardy was outstanding with six three-pointers in his 27 points.

  The win is a major boost for Golden State's playoff hopes, moving to sixth in the West with a 38-36 record, while the Mavs drop to ninth with a 36-37 record, having lost five of their past seven games.

  It was Golden State's first road win when trailing after the first quarter, having entered the game with a 0-20 record.

  Morant and KAT make successful returns

  Ja Morant made his successful return for the Memphis Grizzlies off the bench for the first time in his career as they won their fourth straight game, beating the Houston Rockets 130-125.

  Morant returned after his NBA-imposed eight-game suspension with 17 points and five assists, receiving a standing ovation from the home fans upon his injection into the game.

  Jaren Jackson Jr scored a season-high 37 points with 10 rebounds and Desmond Bane added 20 points as the Grizzlies clinched the Southwest division.

  It was a night of returns as Karl-Anthony Towns was back for the first time since November due to a calf strain, scoring two game-winning free-throws with 3.6 seconds left as the Minnesota Timberwolves won 125-124 over the Atlanta Hawks.

  Lakers stay right in playoff hunt

  The Los Angeles Lakers ensured they remained firmly in the congested race for Western Conference playoff and play-in tournament spots with a 122-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

  Anthony Davis scored a team-high 27 points including 20 in the second half, with nine rebounds, while Austin Reaves backed up Sunday's 35-point game with 25 points and a career-high 11 assists.

  Devin Booker scored 33 points on 11-of-16 field shooting with six rebounds but seven turnovers for the Suns, who remain fourth in the West but with a 38-34 record.

  The Lakers move up to 10th, just behind the Mavs in ninth, with a 36-37 record and LeBron James not far from a return from injury.

• Morant still feeling 'mixed emotions' after returning off bench for Grizzlies

  Ja Morant says he still had "mixed emotions" upon his return for the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday following an eight-game suspension.

  Morant had not played since March 3, missing nine games in total, following an incident where he displayed a gun in a Colorado nightclub on an Instagram Live video, but returned off the bench in the 130-125 win over the Houston Rockets.

  The Grizzlies guard received a standing ovation from the Memphis guard upon checking into the game with 3:05 left in the first quarter in a show of support. He finished the game with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals from 24 minutes.

  Morant spent 11 days at a Florida counselling facility after stepping away from the Grizzlies to "get help" following the incident, with the NBA later imposing the suspension.

  In the lead-up to the game, the All-Star had revealed the whole incident and fallout had taken its toll on him mentally and emotionally, which he reiterated after his return despite the support of the Grizzlies fans.

  "It felt good," he told ESPN after the game. "Still a little bit of mixed emotions, but I was excited to be back. I love these guys, I love our fans, I love the organisation for their continued support throughout this process I'm going through. They helped me a lot.

  "I was excited to be back. Happy we were able to get a win. Just got to continue what I've been doing and be ready to go each and every night."

  Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said pre-game that the decision to play Morant off the bench was about helping him work his way back into playing shape, having not been able to work out during his stay in Florida. Morant had started the first 240 games of his NBA career.

  Morant had been left out of Monday's 112-1208 win over the Dallas Mavericks, where he sat on the bench and also received warm support from the home crowd, following the conclusion of his suspension to build up his conditioning.

  "This was something he brought to the table as well as had been on my mind," Jenkins said. "We collectively thought this was the best strategy, at least for the first one or two games and then we'll kind of re-evaluate after that."

  "Obviously, we don't have a long runway until the end of the regular season, but we want to be smart with that layoff that we're not doing anything to jeopardise his health."

  The Grizzlies' win combined with the Mavericks (36-37) losing 127-125 to the Golden State Warriors clinched the Southwest Division for Memphis (45-27).

  "It's big time," Morant said. "We love that we won the division, but we're trying to win a championship, so we've got to continue to do the little things that were helping us win games and continue to do the things that we've been doing good."