MEMPHIS, Tennessee. Saints of Aldama scored 22 points, Jaylen Wells and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each added 17 points, and Memphis Grizzlies secured a big first-half lead to beat Portland.
Jock Landale finished with 15 points to help Memphis win for the seventh time in nine games.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 21 points. Deni Avdija and Shadon Sharp each scored 17 points. Avdija added seven rebounds and seven assists, but his streak of at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists ended in five games.
Portland didn't have either of the top two centers. Donovan Clingan missed his second straight game with a bruised left lower calf, and Robert Williams III was late with an illness. As a result, 7-foot-2 rookie Jan Hansen, the 16th overall pick last summer, will start his first game of the season. The Chinese player scored four points and five rebounds.
Poor shooting and a slew of Portland turnovers helped Memphis build its lead to 25 in the first half.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jamal Murray scored 34 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 28 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 115-106 on Sunday night to extend their franchise-record road winning streak to 10 games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14 points off the bench for the Nuggets (17-6), who are off to their best start in franchise history.
Miles Bridges finished with 24 points and Brandon Miller added 16 for the Hornets, who were without six players due to injuries, including their top two point guards, LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton. Rookie Liam McNeely added momentum off the bench, scoring a career-high 13 points for the Hornets while making 4 of 5 shots from 3-point range.
Murray, who scored 52 points with 10 3-pointers in a 135-120 win over Indiana last week, scored 23 points in the first quarter Sunday, but the Nuggets still trailed 58-57 at halftime.
That all changed in the second half as Jokic began to take over, using his versatility to score and create things for his teammates.
The Nuggets built a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets (7-17) got back to within seven points after Miller knocked down a 3 from the wing plus an and-1 free throw to cut the lead to seven. But the Hornets were unable to build on that momentum.
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson had 30 points and nine assists, Josh Hart added 17 points and 12 rebounds and New York beat Orlando.
O.G. Anunoby had 21 points and seven rebounds, and Mikal Bridges finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Knicks (16-7) improved to 13-1 at home and beat the Magic for the first time in three games despite playing without center Karl-Anthony Towns (left calf strain).
Desmond Bane had 16 points and six rebounds and Anthony Black had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic (14-10), who lost star forward Franz Wagner in the first quarter with a left calf injury.
Wagner, who leads Orlando with 23.4 points per game, scored seven points in seven minutes but landed awkwardly after dunking after being fouled by Knicks center Ariel Hoekporty.
Wagner immediately grabbed the area below the knee and needed help getting to the locker room. The Magic announced that his evaluation will be reviewed when they return to Orlando ahead of the NBA Cup quarterfinals against Miami on Tuesday.
TORONTO — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Derrick White scored 14 of his 27 in the first quarter and Boston beat Toronto, holding on to a lead after building a 23-point second-half lead.
Payton Pritchard scored 15 points and Anfernee Simons had 12 as the Celtics won their fifth straight and seventh of eight. Neemias Keta had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Scotty Barnes had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but Toronto lost for the third time in a row, all at home. The Raptors had not lost consecutive home games this season until Friday's loss to Charlotte.
Boston led 87-64 after Pritchard's 3-pointer about 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. Toronto responded by outscoring the Celtics 34–10 over the next 10 minutes, taking the lead of the game for the first time since Jamal Sheed's layup with 10:39 left in the game.
The Celtics haven't trailed since the first half of Tuesday's home win over the Knicks. Boston picked up straight wins over Washington on Thursday and at home over the Lakers on Friday.
Against Toronto, back-to-back 3-point plays from White and Pritchard turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead for Boston with 7:15 left, and the Celtics again kept pace.
