Durant's 44, Thompson's follow shot help Warriors edge Kings
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Klay Thompson put back his own miss with 5 seconds left, Kevin Durant scored a season-high 44 points, and the Golden State Warriors barely held off the Sacramento Kings 117-116 on Saturday night in a wild finish between the Northern California neighbors.
Durant converted two free throws with 1:27 left and also had 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Thompson wound up with 31 points — the second straight night the two each scored 30 or more.
Buddy Hield had 28 points on 12-for-21 shooting and seven rebounds. Rookie Marvin Bagley III contributed 20 points and a season-best 17 rebounds off the bench, but missed the first of two free throws with 1:08 remaining.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 18 rebounds, rallying Milwaukee from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat San Antonio.
Antetokounmpo scored 14 points in the final period, hearing chants of "MVP! MVP!" each time he stepped to the free throw line. But he had plenty of help, with Malcolm Brogdon adding 23 points, Khris Middleton 21 and Eric Bledsoe finishing with 20 points and 10 assists.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points for the Spurs, who took a 106-95 lead with 11 minutes to play after a jumper by Rudy Gay.
But the Bucks roared back in a game featuring 26 lead changes, taking it for the final time when Antetokounmpo hit a pair of free throws with 2:44 left that made it 123-122.
DALLAS (AP) — J.J. Barea scored 20 points with a key 3-pointer that helped put Dallas in control in the fourth quarter, and the Mavericks won their sixth straight home game.
Harrison Barnes also had 20 points, teenage rookie Luka Doncic totaled 15 points and matched Barea with eight assists while starting at point guard with Dennis Smith Jr. sidelined by a wrist injury as the Mavericks (9-9) got back to .500 with their seventh win in nine games.
It's the latest Dallas has been .500 or better since the end of the 2015-16 season, and it's the first six-game home winning streak for the Mavericks in almost two years.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart had 19 apiece for the Celtics, who followed a win with a loss in a back-to-back for the third straight time this season a night after winning in Atlanta.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Collin Sexton scored a season-high 29 points and Cleveland overcame 40 points by Houston's James Harden to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
Sexton, taken with the eighth pick in the draft, was 14 for 21 from the floor and hit several key baskets in the second half as the Cavaliers held off multiple runs from the Rockets.
Cleveland (4-14) won 121-112 in Philadelphia on Friday and rode that momentum against the Rockets, who played without star point guard Chris Paul.
Harden, playing the entire second half, was 14 for 30 from the floor with 13 assists. The reigning MVP scored 24 points in the first half, including 15 for the second straight night in the first quarter. Harden has scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 22 points to help Denver beat Oklahoma City.
Nikola Jokic and Trey Lyles each scored 16 points and Juancho Hernangomez added 15 for the Nuggets, who won their third straight.
Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and the 106th of his career. Paul George had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 18 points for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City shot just 35.9 percent from the field and was just 9 of 39 on 3-pointers. The Thunder would have had sole possession of the best record in the Western Conference with a win.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Otto Porter Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, John Wall had 22 points and eight assists, and Washington beat New Orleans.
Austin Rivers had 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who shot a season-high 56.7 percent (51 of 90) from the floor in a game between the league's second- and third-worst defenses entering Saturday.
Bradley Beal also finished with 18, one of six Wizards to score in double figures on a night the Pelicans were without injured All-Star forward Anthony Davis.
Julius Randle tied a season high with 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He started in place of Davis, who was ruled out during pregame warmups after straining his right hip in Friday's loss at the New York Knicks.
TIMBERWOLVES 111, BULLS 96
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 22 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 22 points off the bench and Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago.
Jeff Teague added 18 points for Minnesota, which won for the fifth time in seven games since trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. Both the Timberwolves and Bulls were playing the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights in a listless, sloppy affair.
Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Jabari Parker had 27, keeping their streak of 20-point games intact. Both players have reached 20 points in the past three games, but Chicago lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Justin Holiday had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.
