Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and coach Jamahl Mosley both lauded a "special" night for the team as they equalled the franchise's record winning run by overcoming the Washington Wizards. 

Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Franz Wagner had a game-high 31 points as Orlando beat Washington for the second time in two days on Friday, clinching a 130-125 success at Amway Center.

The victory was Orlando's ninth in a row, taking them to 14-5 for the season and matching their longest ever streak, with the team having previously won nine straight in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11.

Orlando are one of just two NBA franchises – along with the Indiana Pacers – to never enjoy a double-digit winning run, but they have the chance to do so for the first time when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

"It's pretty special," Banchero said of the team's run, which began with the first of back-to-back road wins over the Chicago Bulls on November 15.

"Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can. 

"But you're not surprised when you do something like this because we've got great chemistry and we play really well together."

Orlando are up to second in the Eastern Conference, with only the 15-4 Boston Celtics and the 14-4 Minnesota Timberwolves boasting better records across the entire league.

Head coach Mosley said: "It's a big time for this group, but more importantly, I think it's a big time for the fans and the organisation. 

"There's an energy, there's a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it, not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special."

The Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards 130-125 on Friday to match a franchise record with their ninth straight win behind strong games from Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.

Wagner scored 31 points for his third straight game with at least 30 and Banchero had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Orlando has had four nine-game winning streaks, previously in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11. The Magic are one of only two NBA franchises without a double-digit win streak. The Indiana Pacers’ longest win streak is also nine games.

Jalen Suggs and Banchero combined for 10 straight points midway through the third quarter to give Orlando an 86-79 lead.

The Magic did not pull ahead for good until Wagner’s layup with 7:06 remaining opened a 7-0 run.

Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 27 points and Daniel Gafford had 18 and 11 rebounds. The Wizards have lost 11 of 12.

Tatum ejected but Celtics get past depleted 76ers

Jayson Tatum scored 21 points before he was ejected and the Boston Celtics defeated the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, 125-119 to remain unbeaten on its home court.

Tatum was tossed near the end of the third quarter for arguing a foul call after he had already received a technical in the first half.

Derrick White also had 21 points and Jaylen Brown and Al Horford each added 20 for Boston, which has won three straight overall and improved to 9-0 at home.

The 76ers, who were without leading scorers Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, were led by Patrick Beverley’s season-high 26 points.

Jokic lifts Nuggets as Durant moves up scoring list

Nikola Jokić had 21 points and 16 assists to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Phoenix Suns, 119-111 on the night Kevin Durant moved into 10th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.

Reggi Jackson added 20 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 19 with 10 rebounds as the Nuggets won their fourth straight game.

Durant finished with 30 points but shot 8 of 25 from the field and missed all five shots in the fourth quarter.

He moved into 10th place on the scoring list in the second quarter, driving the baseline for a layup to pass Moses Malone with 27,411 points.

Denver played without Jamal Murray (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (heel), while Phoenix was without Devin Booker (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back).

Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams hit out at his team's lack of fight and said they were failing to honour the franchise's jersey after they slipped to a 14th consecutive defeat on Monday.

The Pistons suffered another heavy loss at Little Caesars Arena as the Washington Wizards claimed a 126-107 win, Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

While Washington ended their own nine-game losing streak, Detroit now have the worst record in the league after slipping to 2-15, losing three of their last four games by at least 19 points.

In a post-game media appearance lasting just one minute, Williams accused his team of failing to compete while acknowledging he is ultimately responsible for turning things around.

"That wasn't fight on the floor. That wasn't Pistons basketball by any stretch of the imagination," Williams said. 

"That's what this is, we have to have people that honour the organisation and the jersey by competing at a high level every night. I'm not talking about execution, just competing. That wasn't it, and that's on me."

Asked what needs to improve as the Pistons prepare to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Williams added: "It's just a level of growing up on this team, maturity, understanding what game-plan discipline is. All the stuff we talk about all the time. It's enough talking."

Guard Cade Cunningham echoed his coach's thoughts, saying the team needed to improve physically. 

"We all want to win really bad," Cunningham said. "Everybody's doing it out of the spirit of that; wanting to win, wanting to do what's best for the team.

"I think we need more aggressive mess-ups. Where we're struggling right now is slip-ups where we're not physical enough or not aggressive enough. That's what we need to lean towards instead of trying not to press.

"We play great stretches, and then we've had crazy bad stretches where we dig ourselves in too deep of a hole. 

"That's it right there, it's just holding each other accountable and when we do feel it start to slip, having the mental stamina to stay together, stay connected."

Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 138-94 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, giving LeBron James the most lopsided loss of his 21-year NBA career.

Tyrese Maxey complemented Embiid's sixth career triple-double with 31 points and eight assists, and the 76ers dominated from the 3-point line to also record their largest margin of victory in 290 all-time regular-season meetings with the Lakers.

James' previous worst loss came by 42 points, a 136-94 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 5, 2019, in his first season with the Lakers. The NBA's all-time leading scorer finished with 18 points and five assists but failed to register a rebound.

Philadelphia finished 22 of 46 from 3-point range compared to 7 of 28 for Los Angeles, which trailed by double digits since late in the first quarter and were outscored by a whopping 40-14 margin in the fourth despite the 76ers resting Embiid and fellow starters Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton the entire period.

Anthony Davis ended with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped two of three since a 6-1 stretch from Nov. 10-21.

Nuggets handle Clippers despite Jokic resting

DeAndre Jordan filled in well for a resting Nikola Jokić as the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jordan posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists starting in place of Jokic, who was held out with Denver playing for the second consecutive night. Reggie Jackson had 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets back from an 11-point deficit to start the period.

Jackson, who spent parts of four seasons with the Clippers before being traded away in February, added 13 assists. Jordan played his first 10 NBA seasons with Los Angeles from 2008-18.

The Nuggets trailed 88-77 after three quarters before outscoring the Clippers by a 36-16 margin in the fourth. They went ahead for good when Jackson capped a 15-2 run to start the period with a short floater that gave Denver a 92-90 lead with under 7 1/2 minutes left.

Los Angeles, which had won four of five following a 3-7 start, went just 4 of 17 from the field in the fourth quarter and got just six points on 2-of-13 shooting from star Paul George.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points and eight rebounds, while Ivica Zubac recorded 23 points and 14 boards. 

Wizards halt nine-game losing streak, extend Pistons' skid to 14

Kyle Kuzma compiled 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Washington Wizards to a 126-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a matchup of the NBA's two worst teams.

Washington, which entered the game with an identical 2-14 record to Detroit, halted a nine-game losing streak. The Pistons have now lost 14 consecutive games, tied for the longest skid in franchise history within a single season.

The Wizards led by just one early in the third quarter before Kuzma took over, as the veteran forward scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the period to help extend Washington's advantage to 94-83 entering the fourth.

Washington maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way while shooting 50.6 per cent from the field for the game. Deni Avdija and Danilo Gallinari each contributed 16 points to the victory.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points and seven assists, while Jalen Duren finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

Jaylen Brown was bullish about the Boston Celtics' quality after their convincing win over the Washington Wizards.

Brown had 36 points and Jayson Tatum added 33 as the Celtics cruised to a 126-107 win on Monday.

It brought up Boston's third straight win to start the season.

Not that Brown is at all surprised, given the quality the Celtics possess.

"We've got a lot of talent. We're going to be more talented than a lot of teams. We just try to take advantage of all of our opportunities," he said.

"It's nights like tonight where it's easy to take your foot off the gas, but if you want to do what you say you want to do, we've got to come out and play the game the right way."

With the Celtics leading by 37 midway through the third quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla was able to rest his star players for the final stretch.

And making fast starts is crucial to Boston's gameplan.

"We think it's something we can control, the way we come out and start games," Mazzulla said.

"We just have too many good players and we have a chance. We're really trying to make sure we come out with the right mindset the whole game.

"It doesn't mean it's going to go our way. I really liked our approach."

Kristaps Porzingis, who set a franchise record with his 30 points on debut last week, enjoyed a winning return to Washington, having switched to the Celtics in June.

"This was home for a year-and-a-half," said the Latvian, who finished with 15 points against his former team. "So definitely some good, good memories here."

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum grabbed 69 points between them as the Boston Celtics cruised to a third straight win with a 126-107 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Brown scored 36 points and Tatum 33, Kristaps Porzingis adding 15 on his return to Washington after an off-season move between the clubs.

It is the second successive season the Celtics, who reached the Eastern Conference finals last time out, have begun with three straight wins.

Their efforts were eclipsed by Dejounte Murray, who matched his career-best haul with 41 points as he helped the Atlanta Hawks come from 19 points down at half-time to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-113.

Steph Curry shrugged off the absence of Klay Thompson with a knee injury as he inspired the Golden State Warriors to a 130-102 win at the New Orleans Pelicans.

Curry scored 42 points, opening with a pair of three-pointers from 25 feet and wrapping his scoring up from 31 feet.

The Dallas Mavericks remain unbeaten as Luka Doncic grabbed a triple-double with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 125-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Nikola Jokic also recorded a triple-double – his second of the season – with 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets saw off the Utah Jazz 110-102.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points for the Milwaukee Bucks as they avenged being eliminated by the Miami Heat in last year’s play-offs with a 122-114 win, despite 35 points from Tyler Herro.

Cam Thomas scored 33 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 133-121 for their first win of the season, while Nikola Vucevic inspired the Chicago Bulls as they came from behind late to inflict a first defeat on the Indiana Pacers, 112-105.

The Portland Trail Blazers also claimed their first win, Jerami Grant scoring 22 points as they beat the Toronto Raptors 99-91, while 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lifted the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Detroit Pistons.

 The Boston Celtics are acquiring Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal that will send Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies and Tyus Jones to the Wizards, according to reports on Wednesday. 

Memphis is sending the No. 25 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft and a 2024 first-round pick to the Celtics, while Boston will move the 35th pick in the draft to the Wizards. 

Porzingis had decided to opt into his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 season, according to the report.

He set personal highs with 23.2 points per game and 49.8 percent shooting last season while also averaging 8.4 rebounds – the third-most in his career.

The Knicks selected Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in 2015, and he was with New York until being traded to Dallas in January 2019. The Mavericks then sent Porzingis to Washington in February 2022.

Porzingis has averaged 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in 402 regular-season games.

Smart has spent his entire nine-year career with the Celtics, averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He started all 61 games he appeared in this season and averaged 11.5 points and a career-high 6.3 assists. 

It’s been a busy offseason for the Wizards, who could start the 2023-24 campaign without their three top scorers.

Washington has agreed to trade Bradley Beal (23.2 ppg) to the Phoenix Suns in a deal that will see Chris Paul land with the Wizards, and Kyle Kuzma (21.2 ppg) has reportedly declined his $13 million player option.

Jones is coming off his best season as an eight-year pro, the last four with Memphis. He set career bests with 10.3 points and 5.2 assists in 2022-23. 

The Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards are close to completing a blockbuster trade that will send three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to Phoenix and veteran guard Chris Paul to Washington, ESPN reported Sunday.

Washington will also acquire guard Landry Shamet and multiple second-round picks, and the deal is also expected to include a swap of draft picks.

Beal's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to ESPN that the teams have a framework for a trade in place and his client will waive his no-trade clause.

"This was an extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through, and [Wizards owner] Ted Leonsis and [Wizards president] Michael Winger were unbelievable partners in making this happen," Bartelstein said. 

After missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, Beal now joins a star-laden Suns squad that figures to be among the preseason favourites in the Western Conference. The move gives Phoenix three of the league's 10 players to average 23 or more points per game in each of the last five seasons in Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

Beal had spent his entire 11-year career with the Wizards, who selected the former University of Florida star with the third overall pick of the 2012 draft, and had shown great loyalty to a franchise that has failed to get past the first round of the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. He re-signed with Washington on a five-year, $251 million max contract last summer.

But with Beal turning 30 later this month and the Wizards coming off a 12th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the sharpshooter had become more open to a trade.

"From the day that Ted drafted Brad he has been by our side along with [former general managers] Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard.," Bartelstein told ESPN. "They've always had Brad's back in every way, and now we have experienced the exact same thing with Ted and Michael Winger. We are extremely grateful."

Beal has averaged 23.2 points per game in each of the past two seasons but has been slowed by injuries in both, as he played in just 40 games in 2021-22 and 50 last season. He shot a career-high 50.6 per cent from the field in 2022-23, however, and is a career 37.2 per cent shooter from 3-point range who has averaged 22.1 points in 695 overall games.

It's unclear if the rebuilding Wizards intend to keep Paul. The 38-year-old's $30.8 million salary for 2023-24 is partially guaranteed, and ESPN reported it's possible the proposed trade could include a third team that would send Paul to a contender.

Shamet, a 38.8 per cent career 3-point shooter who has averaged 8.9 points per game over five NBA seasons, just completed the first season of a four-year, $42.5 million extension - though the final two years of that deal are non-guaranteed.

The New York Knicks will not "coast" after clinching their place in the NBA playoffs, assured Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks ended an eight-year wait to return to the postseason in 2020-21, only to take a step back last year and miss out.

But this season's team, boosted by the signing of Brunson, have long looked on course for the playoffs and punched their ticket on Sunday.

A 118-109 win over the Washington Wizards did the job, with Brunson contributing 27 points and eight assists.

The Knicks are not quite there yet in terms of locking up the fifth seed in the East, with the Brooklyn Nets 2.5 games back, but they were not looking to ease up regardless.

"We need to keep playing," said coach Thibodeau. "We want to be at our best going in."

Brunson added: "The fact that we get further on in our season is great, but we've still got a lot of work to do.

"I think first and foremost we want to finish the season as strong as we can. Even getting in the playoffs, we don't want to coast.

"We want to continue to get better, continue to find ways to make each other better and make sure we're staying focused as we're going forward. That's what’s most important."

Knicks owner James Dolan had made public the goal of reaching the playoffs back in January, a challenge the team welcomed.

"I said it at the time: I love that the owner has great belief in the team," said Thibodeau. "That's what I want.

"Our job is to put the work in each day. But there's no trick to this, there's no magic to this, there's no shortcut to it.

"It's a great accomplishment, because it's one of the goals, one of several. It's the next step along the way.

"So, keep going, and that's where the focus is. We know how important the next game is. So, get ready for Indiana, but just keep checking the boxes as we go."

Jaylen Brown did not want to make excuses but acknowledged "everything was going wrong for us" after the Boston Celtics' upset loss at the Washington Wizards.

The Celtics had the opportunity to close to within one win of the Milwaukee Bucks and the number one seed in the East on Wednesday.

Instead, they went down 130-111 to a Wizards team missing Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.

One of the Celtics' team buses was stuck in traffic for around an hour before the game, and although Boston recovered to make a solid start, it was the first sign of the troublesome night that was to come.

"Tonight it just seemed like everything was going right for Washington; everything was going wrong for us," Brown said.

"On top of all the stuff that was happening before the game... but I'm not one to make no excuses."

The Celtics had recovered from a run of three straight defeats in early March to win seven of the next nine before visiting the Wizards.

While Boston are now 2.5 games back, Brown knows they cannot afford this one-off defeat to become part of a slump.

After the Bucks play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, they welcome the Celtics to Wisconsin the following night.

"Games like this are not supposed to happen. You're supposed to win," Brown said. "But it's over with now, nothing we can do about it.

"I'm not concerned, because the way my brain works is you have just got to look forward to what's next.

"You don't want one bad night to turn into three bad nights or a bad week. Nobody wants to see that. We don't want to see that, so you don't harp on it.

"Obviously, we dropped the ball. But now you have just got to refocus and get ready for the next one."

In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blow-out win against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

It was shaping up as a shoot-out as both teams started red hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.

Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.

Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.

The win improved the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).

Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.

Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.

After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.

The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.

Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double

Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.

The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.

In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blowout against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

It was shaping up as a shootout as both teams started red-hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.

Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.

Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.

The win improves the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).

Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.

Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.

After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.

The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.

Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double

Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.

The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.

Mikal Bridges' incredible start to his career as a Brooklyn Net continued on Sunday as he led his team to a 122-120 road upset against the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets despite Nikola Jokic's massive triple-double.

Bridges, 26, arrived from Phoenix as the central piece heading to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant trade, and he has lived up to even the most lofty expectations about what he could produce as the focal point of an offense.

Playing in a supporting role during his time with the Suns, Bridges was averaging a career-high 17.2 points per game this season. It is the fifth season in a row he has improved his points per game, all with career shooting splits of 49.9 per cent from the field, 37.6 per cent from deep and 85.2 per cent from the free throw line.

In his 12 games since joining the Nets, Bridges has shown he is indeed capable of filling a featured role, averaging 25.8 points while maintaining elite efficiency at 51.4 per cent from the field, 49.2 per cent from deep and 90 per cent at the line.

Against the Nuggets, Bridges again led his team in scoring with 25 points on seven-of-16 shooting, while fellow trade deadline acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie posted a career-high 16 assists to go with his 15 points (five-of-15) and six rebounds.

After starting the season a perfect 25-0 in games when reigning back-to-back MVP Jokic has tallied a triple-double, Denver have now dropped two in a row, with his 35 points (14-of-23), 20 rebounds and 11 assists proving not enough to make up for Jamal Murray's ice-cold five-of-19 shooting night.

The Nets have now won five of their past six to improve to 39-29, sitting 3.5 games clear of the play-in tournament placings, while the 46-22 Nuggets are still five games clear atop the West.

Murphy's big night carries the Pelicans

Second-year wing Trey Murphy III dropped a career-high 41 points as the New Orleans Pelicans defended their home court 127-110 against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.

With Damian Lillard out of action for Portland, they did not have a single player exceed 17 points, while Murphy caught fire.

The 22-year-old hit 13-of-20 shots and nine-of-14 three-pointers, eclipsing his previous high score by nine points as he reached the 30-point mark for the third time. 

Much like Bridges, Murphy has excelled when given an expanded opportunity, providing a silver lining to the absences of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Embiid too big, too strong for the Wizards

Philadelphia 76ers MVP candidate Joel Embiid was once again the most dominant player on the floor during Sunday's 112-93 manhandling of the Washington Wizards.

Embiid, who leads the race for the scoring title at 33.4 points per game, raised his average ever so slightly with 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists, four blocks and a steal.

James Harden, who is leading the league in assists at 10.8 per game, made his center's life easier with another 14 dimes to go with 18 points (six-of-11).

The win is the 76ers' fifth in a row, and they are now only 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics (47-21) as they both try to chase down the conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks (48-19).

Devin Booker made Phoenix Suns history with 44 points in the Phoenix Suns' 132-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Kevin Durant's anticipated home debut was delayed due to an ankle injury.

Durant had been named in the Suns' starting line-up but suffered an ankle sprain during the warm-ups and was ruled out of the game on Wednesday at the Footprint Center.

In Durant's absence, Booker put on a show, becoming the first player in franchise history with four straight 35-point games.

Booker finished with 44 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field, making six-of-10 from beyond the arc in a masterful display from only 28 minutes on court, checking out in the fourth quarter.

The Suns guard had 30 points by half-time in the blowout win which gave fourth-placed Phoenix a cushion on the chasing pack for the Western Conference playoffs spots.

Veteran guard Chris Paul added 18 points with nine assists and four steals, while Terrence Ross scored 24 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

For the Thunder, Lindy Waters III top scored off the bench with 23 points including six three-pointers, while Josh Giddey had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Doncic injured as Mavs lose to Pels

The Dallas Mavericks lost Luka Doncic to injury as their defensive struggles continued with a 113-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, who are still without star center Zion Williamson.

The Mavs slipped to eighth in the west with the defeat and will be sweating on Doncic's fitness, exiting in the third quarter with a strained left thigh after 15 points and eight assists.

C.J. McCollum landed six-of-eight three-point attempts in his 32 points for the Pels, who made 13-of-27 from beyond the arc, compared to Dallas' 16-of-46.

Hawks triumph despite Porzingis career-high

Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 43 points, but it was not enough as the Washington Wizards lost 122-120 to the Atlanta Hawks.

De'Andre Hunter's go-ahead three-point play with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter settled the tight win, as new Hawks head coach Quin Snyder saw his side improve to 33-33.

Atlanta guard Trae Young scored 28 points with 10 assists and three steals, while Porzingis was outstanding, shooting 17-of-22 from the field including seven-of-10 from three-point range.

Giannis Antetokounmpo says he "stole one" after rebounding his intentionally missed shot to earn his fourth triple-double of the season in the Milwaukee Bucks' 117-111 win over the Washington Wizards.

The Greek forward finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a season-high 13 assists in a dominant display as the NBA-leading Bucks improved to 46-18.

But Antetokounmpo appeared set to fall one rebound short of a triple-double when he won the ball in the final seconds, dribbling to the basket.

With the Wizards defense letting him run, a wide open Antetokounmpo opted not to score but gently tossed the ball off the backboard to himself to bring up his 10th rebound.

"I was thinking about scoring the ball, but I feel like in those situations it's best to kind of keep the ball," Antetokounmpo told reporters, before adding with a wink. "But yeah, I just try to play the game smart and kinda stole one."

The NBA has previously overturned similar stat-padding with Atlanta Hawks guard Bob Sura retrospectively denied a triple-double by the league in 2004.

Antetokounmpo's triple-double aside, the Bucks showcased their depth with six players reaching double-figure scoring, led by Jevon Carter with 20 points off the bench including six three-pointers.

Jrue Holiday (19 points), Brook Lopez (15 points), Joe Ingles (14 points) and Grayson Allen (11 points) all contributed strongly.

Six Bucks players also hit multiple three-pointers, with the team shooting 22-of-49 from beyond the arc.

"We feel like we’ve got a lot of depth," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We've got a lot of guys that are good shooters that can get hot from the three-point line.

"So that's part of a good team and being able to play on back-to-backs and make it through the season and be prepared for the playoffs."