MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 16 of his 35 points in the third quarter, Luka Doncic had a late surge to finish with 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-114 on Tuesday in the first rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.
Anthony Edwards had 24 of his 37 points in the first quarter to set a Target Center record, going 7 for 13 from 3-point range. He also went just 6 for 12 from the free-throw line.
Doncic put his stamp on the game with a 33-footer with 1:04 left to stretch the lead to eight points, barking at fans as he skipped back to the bench after a timeout. That was his only make in eight tries from behind the arc.
P.J. Washington added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks, who played on back-to-back nights after beating Utah 110-102 at home on Monday. Doncic went 5 for 22 from the floor and 1 for 9 from 3-point range for 15 points against the Jazz.
Julius Randle had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Timberwolves.
NUGGETS 144, NETS 139, OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists, becoming only the second player in NBA history to reach those totals in a game, and Denver beat the Brooklyn in overtime..
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon each scored 24 points for the Nuggets, while Russell Westbrook added 22.
Dennis Schroder scored 28 points for Brooklyn, which led by 17 in the second quarter. Cam Thomas scored 26 and Cam Johnson had 20. Nic Claxton added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Thomas gave the Nets a 127-125 lead with the first basket of overtime, but the Nuggets scored the next eight points and led the rest of the way.
KINGS 113, JAZZ 96
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, De’Aaron Fox added 19 points and Sacramento dominated Utah.
Jordan Clarkson scored 21 points and John Collins tallied 18 for the Jazz, who opened the season with four straight defeats and lost starting forwards Taylor Hendricks (broken leg) and Lauri Markkanen (back spasms) on back-to-back nights.
The Jazz have lost their last two home games by a combined 58 points. Rookie Kyle Filipowski got his first extended playing time and scored 12 points.
DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and eight assists for the Kings, who have won two straight after starting 0-2. Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray each scored 14 for the Kings, who led by as many 27 points.
WARRIORS 124, PELICANS 106
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buddy Hield scored a season-best 28 points, Brandin Podziemski had 19 points and fueled a furious second-half comeback, and Golden State rallied from 17 down to beat New Orleans.
Zion Williamson had a season-high 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting and eight rebounds for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram scored 30 points.
Jonathan Kuminga, who started the initial three games for Golden State but was averaging 8.0 points on 33.3% shooting, came off the bench to score 17. Reserve Lindy Waters III had 21 points and nine rebounds in his best game yet for Golden State.
The short-handed Warriors needed everything from everybody with starters Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins sidelined.
The Associated Press