The Cleveland Cavaliers won a franchise-record 16th straight game, while the Denver Nuggets pulled out a key victory Friday in the NBA.

A 44-point performance from Memphis' Ja Morant still wasn't enough to stop the Cleveland Cavaliers, who ran their winning streak to a franchise-record 16 games with Friday's 133-124 victory over the Grizzlies.

The NBA-leading Cavaliers used their outstanding depth to withstand Morant's season-high scoring effort and extend their remarkable run. Seven Cleveland players scored in double figures, led by Evan Mobley's 22 points and 11 rebounds, and four of them were reserves as the Cavs finished with a 59-42 advantage in bench points.

Darius Garland contributed 20 points and nine assists to Cleveland's latest victory, while D'Andre Hunter paced the bench corps with 18 points in 23 minutes.

Morant went 17 of 22 from the field while adding eight rebounds and seven assists, but the Grizzlies' other stars struggled as Memphis had a four-game winning streak halted. Desmond Bane was held to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting, while Jaren Jackson Jr. was 4 of 10 while limited to 13 points.

The Cavaliers were in front from nearly start to finish, as they built a 36-29 lead after one quarter before opening the second with an 11-2 lead to extend the margin to 47-31 just over two minutes into the period.

Cleveland went into half-time up 75-58 behind Mobley's 16 points and was never threatened in the second half, as its lead grew to as high as 25 points late in the third quarter.

Murray's late 3-pointer lifts Nuggets over short-handed Lakers

Jamal Murray buried a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left as the Denver Nuggets came through with a 131-126 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in a key clash of Western Conference contenders.

Murray finished with 26 points and Nikola Jokić had 28 along with seven rebounds as the Nuggets moved into sole possession of second place in the conference, one game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.

The fifth-place Lakers fell two games behind Denver in the standings while playing without several important players, most notably LeBron James and Luka Dončić. James missed a third straight game due to a strained groin, while Doncic was held out after playing 36 minutes in Los Angeles' loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht paced the offence in the Lakers' season-high fourth straight loss. Reaves racked up 37 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Knecht had five 3-pointers while recording 32 points.

Christian Braun added 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting for Denver, which also received 17 points off the bench from former Laker Russell Westbrook.

After the Lakers battled back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to take a 113-107 lead with under 5 1/2 minutes left, Denver responded with a 14-3 run capped by Braun's steal and dunk to go up 121-116 with 2:31 remaining.

Los Angeles would not go away, however, as Jordan Goodwin's 3-pointer started a 7-0 spurt that gave the Lakers a 126-123 edge inside the final minute.

Jokic hit a layup and was fouled on the ensuing possession, though, and made the free throw to tie the game with 48.2 seconds to go. After Reaves misfired on the other end, Murray knocked down a 24-footer with time winding down to break a 126-126 deadlock.

Westbrook then sealed the victory with a steal and dunk with 2.4 seconds left on the clock.

Timberwolves rally past Magic for seventh straight win

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and led a big fourth-quarter comeback that lifted the surging Minnesota Timberwolves to a seventh straight win, a 118-111 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Minnesota outscored the Magic by a 40-22 margin over the final 11:33 to overcome an 11-point deficit as well as a 43-point performance by Orlando's Paolo Banchero. Edwards had nine fourth-quarter points to key the rally and help extend the Timberwolves' season-high winning streak.

The Timberwolves also received 22 points from Julius Randle and a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double from Rudy Gobert.

Orlando lost for the seventh time in nine games despite Banchero going 16 of 32 from the field and adding 10 rebounds, as well as getting a lift off the bench from Caleb Houston as the reserve forward delivered 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

After putting together a 19-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take an 89-78 lead with under 12 minutes left, the Magic went cold as Minnesota took control by scoring 17 of the next 18 points.

Naz Reid's layup with 8:23 remaining gave the Timberwolves a 91-90 edge, and Donte DiVincenzo followed with back-to-back baskets to extend the lead to five with seven minutes to go.

Orlando fought back to tie the game at 98-98 with 3:32 left, but Minnesota answered with nine straight points to move ahead for good.