Kristaps Porzingis led the charge with 30 points and De’Anthony Melton added 27 as the Golden State Warriors ended a five-game skid with a 125-117 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday, marking coach Steve Kerr’s 600th career victory.
The Warriors were without Stephen Curry (right knee) and Jimmy Butler (torn right ACL), while Seth Curry (left groin) and Al Horford (left calf) were also sidelined.
Golden State is all but locked into the Western Conference play-in round, but positioning within that group remains crucial, and Monday’s win helped them halt the losing streak against a struggling Wizards team.
Washington has dropped 12 in a row, but the Wizards still haven’t taken over last place in the East because Indiana has lost 13 straight.
The Warriors rested Draymond Green, Porzingis and Melton in Sunday’s loss at New York, and those three helped on the second night of the back-to-back.
Golden State led by 17 in the second quarter before the Wizards fought back to within two. It was 64-57 at halftime.
Golden State led by 15 early in the fourth before Washington made one more push. The Wizards could draw no closer than five.
Trae Young scored 21 points in 21 minutes for Washington.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a career-high 41 points, Jalen Johnson had his 13th triple-double of the season, and Atlanta rolled past Orlando, extending its winning streak to 10 games and snapping the Magic’s seven-game streak.
The Hawks improved to 38-31 and reclaimed eighth place in the Eastern Conference, bumping Philadelphia back to ninth.
Johnson had 24 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in his second straight triple-double. Dyson Daniels added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Alexander-Walker scored 24 points in the first half, helping Atlanta take a 67-50 lead at halftime. His previous career high was 38 points against the Spurs earlier this season.
The Hawks kept momentum after the break, scoring 23 points in the first 5:12 of the third quarter to extend their lead to 29. Atlanta totaled 37 points in the period and led 104-83 entering the fourth.
Orlando cut the deficit to 12 with 3.5 minutes remaining before Atlanta pulled away.
Paolo Banchero had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. Desmond Bane also added 18 points.
Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara each scored 18 points, and Portland coasted to a victory over Brooklyn.
Donovan Clingan finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Scoot Henderson added 16 for the Blazers, who never trailed and led by as many as 31.
Nic Claxton had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Nets, who have lost four straight and 14 of 16. Leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. (ankle) missed his third straight game, and Noah Clowney (rest) was also out.
Jaylen Brown scored 18 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, and Jayson Tatum added 21 in his fifth game back from an Achilles tendon injury to help Boston beat Phoenix.
Devin Booker scored 40 for the Suns, who have lost consecutive games after snapping a four-game winning streak. Jalen Green added 21.
Derrick White, who received February’s Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month award before the game, had 21 points for Boston, and Payton Pritchard scored 19.
Zion Williamson scored 27 points as New Orleans defeated an injury-depleted Dallas team.
Saddiq Bey had 23 points, and Jeremiah Fears and Trey Murphy III each added 17 to help the Pelicans win for the eighth time in 12 games.
Naji Marshall scored 32 points for the Mavericks against his former team. Rookie Cooper Flagg, the top pick in the 2025 draft, had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Josh Giddey had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his fourth triple-double in five games as Chicago blew out Memphis, handing the depleted Grizzlies their eighth straight loss.
Giddey is third in the NBA with 12 triple-doubles this season, trailing Nikola Jokic (27) of Denver and Jalen Johnson (13) of Atlanta. Giddey is averaging career highs of 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists. The fifth-year guard has been limited to 46 games this season due to hamstring and ankle injuries.
Matas Buzelis led the Bulls with 29 points, including five 3-pointers. The second-year forward, the 11th pick in the 2024 draft, has logged three of the four highest-scoring games of his career in the last three weeks.
Tre Jones added 17 points, and Rob Dillingham had 15 off the bench for the Bulls, who started a four-game homestand by winning for the fifth time in 23 games. The Bulls, 12th in the Eastern Conference and six games out of the last play-in spot, outscored the Grizzlies 71-50 in the second half.
Cedric Coward led Memphis with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting, and Jaylen Wells and Taylor Hendricks each added 16. The Grizzlies, who have shelved standout Zach Edey for the season and not had star Ja Morant for nearly two months, were also without starters Ty Jerome (bruised shoulder) and G.G. Jackson (sore foot). Memphis is 3-15 in its last 18 games.
Luka Doncic scored 36 points to lead Los Angeles past Houston in the opener of a two-game series between Western Conference playoff contenders.
The Lakers moved 1.5 games ahead of Houston for third place in the West. There were 13 lead changes in a game with a playoff atmosphere, but Los Angeles won its sixth straight.
LeBron James found Marcus Smart for a corner 3-pointer that put the Lakers up 94-90 with two minutes remaining. James finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Doncic hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third quarter to give the Lakers an 83-80 lead after trailing 57-51 at halftime. He was 4 for 12 on 3s and needs 11 more to match D’Angelo Russell’s franchise record of 226 in a season. Doncic recorded his sixth straight 30-point game but fell short of his 12th 40-point game this season, going 14 for 27 from the field.
Jabari Smith Jr. led Houston with 22 points. Amen Thompson added 19, and Kevin Durant scored 18. The Rockets committed 24 turnovers compared with 12 for the Lakers.
Victor Wembanyama had 21 points and 13 rebounds as San Antonio overcame an early 14-point deficit before blowing most of a 24-point lead and holding off Los Angeles.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs (50-18) with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Devin Vassell added 20 points. San Antonio reached 50 wins for the first time since 2016-17 and trails first-place Oklahoma City by three games in the West.
Fighting for a play-in spot, the Clippers lost their second straight game and dropped back to .500, with Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench. The NBA’s sixth-leading scorer sat out with a sprained left knee.
Darius Garland led six Clippers in double figures with 25 points and 10 assists. Jordan Miller had 22 points off the bench, which outscored the Spurs reserves 57-30.
