Behind a scintillating triple-double from Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies cruised to their seventh consecutive win with a commanding 142-101 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
In a game that saw the Grizzlies carry a 46-point lead into the fourth quarter, Morant finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season to become the first player in franchise history to have a triple-double before the start of the fourth quarter.
Dillon Brooks added 18 points, four assists and three rebounds. Steven Adams tallied 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Bobby Portis added 19 points and seven rebounds, while MarJon Beauchamp scored 12 points.
Jazz 132, Pelicans 129 (OT)
Jordan Clarkson scored 39 points and Lauri Markkanen added 31, including a pair of clutch free throws, to lift Utah to a gutsy overtime win over New Orleans in Salt Lake City.
Malik Beasley contributed 17 points and Kelly Olynyk totaled 14 points and seven rebounds as Utah earned a second home win in three nights against the Pelicans.
Zion Williamson amassed 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and C.J. McCollum fired in 28 points for the Pelicans, who came into this two-game set on a seven-game winning streak. The Jazz clinched the season series 3-0 with consecutive victories.
Suns 111, Clippers 95
Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and Chris Paul added 15 points with 13 assists as visiting Phoenix ended a five-game losing streak by defeating short-handed Los Angeles.
Devin Booker scored 14 points in his return to action as the Suns won for just the second time in eight December games. Jock Landale tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds, and fellow reserve Josh Okogie added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Terance Mann had season highs with 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, and Brandon Boston Jr. added 16 points as Los Angeles was missing most of its offensive firepower: Kawhi Leonard (rest), Paul George (knee soreness), Luke Kennard (calf), Reggie Jackson (Achilles), Ivica Zubac (knee) and Norman Powell (groin).
Heat 111, Rockets 108
Tyler Herro scored a career-high 41 points while Jimmy Butler delivered an exceptional two-way performance as Miami extended its road winning streak to three by hanging on to win at Houston.
After matching his career high of 35 points while making a career-best nine 3-pointers on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Herro drilled 10 3s while shooting 13 of 20 overall on Thursday. Butler finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks to co-author the victory, which came with the Heat missing starters Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo.
After falling behind 111-99 with five minutes remaining, Houston answered with a 9-0 closing run, but Kevin Porter Jr. missed a 3 with 4.1 seconds left that would have pulled the Rockets even.