Wizards use a big opening quarter to never trail in victory over 76ers
Washington Wizards’ Alex Sarr (20) goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers’ Jeff Dowtin Jr. (11) and Guerschon Yabusele (28) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Alex Sarr scored 24 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Washington Wizards to a 119-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night that snapped a five-game skid.
Justin Champagnie added 18 points while shooting 4 for 6 from 3-point range and had 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who won for the third time in their last 10 games.
Quentin Grimes scored 22 points for the 76ers, who dropped their sixth straight. Guerschon Yabusele added 21 points and eight rebounds.
Champagnie scored 16 points in the first half for the Wizards, who led 67-58 at halftime.
Washington went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter to extend its lead to 89-71 with 2:48 left in the period. Tristan Vukcevic put up a team-high 11 second-half points as the Wizards were outscored by four points over the final two quarters, but still secured the victory.
CLIPPERS 126, KNICKS 113
NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers prevented the New York Knicks from clinching a playoff berth with a victory.
Norman Powell added 19 points and Ivica Zubac finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved to 41-31 and tied Golden State for sixth place in the Western Conference, the final guaranteed postseason place.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who were looking to follow Cleveland and Boston and become the third team to wrap up a spot in the East.
The Knicks started impressively on the second night of a back-to-back, going 8 for 9 en route to an 18-5 lead. But the Clippers blew by them with a 16-3 run to end the third quarter and broke it open in the fourth.
LAKERS 120, PACERS 119
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — LeBron James had a buzzer-beating tip-in to cap a 10-point fourth quarter, Luka Doncic scored 34 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Indiana.
James extended his NBA-record streak of 10 or more points to 1,283 games — barely. He was 0 for 6 with three points through the first three quarters. He finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Doncic also had seven rebounds, seven assists and made six 3-pointers. Austin Reaves added 24 points as the Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak to move into a tie with Memphis for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Bennedict Mathurin had 23 points to lead Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton had a season-high 18 assists and 16 points, the last of which gave Indiana a 119-118 lead with 42.2 seconds left. Indiana had streaks of five straight wins overall and eight straight at home snapped.
The Lakers led the entire second and third quarters and were still up 118-112 with 1:44 to go. But Haliburton’s three-point play capped a 7-0 run that gave Indiana the lead. Both teams then had empty possessions and Doncic missed a midrange floater in the waning seconds, setting up James for the winner.
RAPTORS 116, NETS 86
NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando Robinson had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 12 rebounds to help the Toronto rout the Brooklyn.
Eleventh in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors won their second straight game and handed the 12th-place Nets their fifth straight loss.
Jonathan Mogbo added 15 points and RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes each had 15. The Raptors won at Washington on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
Nic Claxton led Brooklyn with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ziaire Williams added 13 points.
NUGGETS 127, BUCKS 117
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his first game back in nearly two weeks to lead Denver to a victory against Milwaukee.
The triple-double was Jokic’s NBA-leading 30th of the season. The reigning NBA MVP missed the team’s previous five games with an injured left ankle.
Michael Porter Jr. added 23 points for the Nuggets on a night when he made his first six shots, including his first five 3-pointers.
It was the Bucks’ first game since it was announced star guard Damian Lillard was diagnosed with blood clots in his right calf. Milwaukee was also without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was sidelined with a sprained left foot that coach Doc Rivers said he was informed of at the team’s shootaround Wednesday.
Brook Lopez had 26 points for the Bucks, marking the third consecutive game in which the veteran big man has finished with at least 20 points. Seven of the eight Milwaukee players who took the court Wednesday scored in double figures.
CELTICS 132, SUNS 102
PHOENIX (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown added 24 and Boston blew past Phoenix for their seventh straight victory.
The Suns had a four-game winning streak snapped. Phoenix still has possession of the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament with nine regular-season games remaining.
Boston took control late in the second quarter, using a 27-6 run to take a 73-54 lead into halftime. The Celtics — playing without injured star Jayson Tatum — hit 10 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Porzingis shot 10 of 15 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White all added 16 points.
Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Devin Booker added 14 points and 10 assists.