NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving sat out the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; come-from-behind win over Washington on Saturday night,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-nba-sports-6237dbe30e02e96a2ee85139795f1b60">a day after he told the team he would like to be traded</a>.
The Nets said Irving&rsquo;s absence was due to right calf soreness, adding him to the injury report for their game against Washington. Irving had not been listed on the report Friday night or Saturday morning.
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said after the Nets&rsquo; 125-123 win that Irving did not attend the game and that the player&rsquo;s absence was excused.
&ldquo;We were all in agreement on him not being here tonight,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
Vaughn said before the game that he was unsure if Irving would be at Barclays Center. He did say Irving &ldquo;was not at the walkthrough.&rdquo;
He wouldn&rsquo;t speculate if Irving would be available for the Nets&rsquo; two remaining games before the trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to be concerned about (the Wizards),&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to complicate this thing at all.&rdquo;

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving sat out the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; come-from-behind win over Washington on Saturday night,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-lakers-mavericks-nets-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a day after he told the team he would like to be traded</a>.
The Nets said Irving&rsquo;s absence was due to right calf soreness, adding him to the injury report for their game against Washington. Irving had not been listed on the report Friday night or Saturday morning.
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said after the Nets&rsquo; 125-123 win that Irving did not attend the game and that the player&rsquo;s absence was excused.
&ldquo;We were all in agreement on him not being here tonight,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
Vaughn said before the game that he was unsure if Irving would be at Barclays Center. He did say Irving &ldquo;was not at the walkthrough.&rdquo;
He wouldn&rsquo;t speculate if Irving would be available for the Nets&rsquo; two remaining games before the trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to be concerned about (the Wizards),&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to complicate this thing at all.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving sat out the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; come-from-behind win over Washington on Saturday night,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-lakers-mavericks-nets-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a day after he told the team he would like to be traded</a>.
The Nets said Irving&rsquo;s absence was due to right calf soreness, adding him to the injury report for their game against Washington. Irving had not been listed on the report Friday night or Saturday morning.
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said after the Nets&rsquo; 125-123 win that Irving did not attend the game and that the player&rsquo;s absence was excused.
&ldquo;We were all in agreement on him not being here tonight,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
Vaughn said before the game that he was unsure if Irving would be at Barclays Center. He did say Irving &ldquo;was not at the walkthrough.&rdquo;
He wouldn&rsquo;t speculate if Irving would be available for the Nets&rsquo; two remaining games before the trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to be concerned about (the Wizards),&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to complicate this thing at all.&rdquo;
Irving asked the Nets for a trade Friday, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The All-Star has been frustrated that the Nets have thus far refused to give him an extension on his contact that expires after this season.
&nbsp;

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving sat out the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; come-from-behind win over Washington on Saturday night,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-lakers-mavericks-nets-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a day after he told the team he would like to be traded</a>.
The Nets said Irving&rsquo;s absence was due to right calf soreness, adding him to the injury report for their game against Washington. Irving had not been listed on the report Friday night or Saturday morning.
Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said after the Nets&rsquo; 125-123 win that Irving did not attend the game and that the player&rsquo;s absence was excused.
&ldquo;We were all in agreement on him not being here tonight,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
Vaughn said before the game that he was unsure if Irving would be at Barclays Center. He did say Irving &ldquo;was not at the walkthrough.&rdquo;
He wouldn&rsquo;t speculate if Irving would be available for the Nets&rsquo; two remaining games before the trade deadline Thursday afternoon.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to be concerned about (the Wizards),&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to complicate this thing at all.&rdquo;
Irving asked the Nets for a trade Friday, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The All-Star has been frustrated that the Nets have thus far refused to give him an extension on his contact that expires after this season.
Vaughn said he spoke with Irving and the rest of the team Friday, prior to the star guard&rsquo;s trade request becoming public. However, it was not a topic of conversation between the coach and his team.
&ldquo;Our conversations were more than basketball,&rdquo; said Vaughn. &ldquo;Life, checking in on them. I never want to speculate how a player feels. Their feelings are their feelings. And I&rsquo;ll always validate that. ... So I won&rsquo;t speculate.&rdquo;
Kevin Durant is still sidelined because of a sprained knee ligament, and Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren will each also miss their fourth straight game with left knee soreness and a left shin contusion, respectively. Simmons was downgraded after previously being listed as questionable. Warren was initially listed as doubtful, which changed to out about an hour before gametime.
&ldquo;Just trying to get to a level &mdash; T.J. and Ben &mdash; where they&rsquo;re comfortable getting back on the court and playing,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
When asked if he had received a timetable when to expect Simmons to be able to play, Vaughn said, &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re inching toward that way. It&rsquo;s really day to day. He&rsquo;ll get back on the court tomorrow. Hopefully he feels a comfort level and responds to the work tomorrow to get him close to playing these next two games.&rdquo;

Kyrie Irving sat out the Nets’ come-from-behind win over the Wizards on Saturday, a day after he told the team he would like to be traded.

Kyrie Irving excused from Nets-Wizards, one day after trade request

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 27 and the Chicago Bulls topped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 on Saturday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago won for the third time in four games, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half. Ayo Dosunmu had 13 points, including a key 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Lillard scored 40 points for Portland, and Anfernee Simons had 27. But the Trail Blazers looked a little tired in the second half of their third game in four nights.
Portland had won five of six, including a 124-116 victory at Washington on Friday night after trailing the Wizards 69-51 at halftime.
Lillard and Simons took advantage of the absence of Alex Caruso, Chicago&rsquo;s best perimeter defender. Caruso sprained his right foot during Thursday night&rsquo;s 114-98 victory over Charlotte.
Portland trailed by one with 8:07 left, but Chicago put it away with a 12-0 run. Vucevic made two foul shots to give the Bulls a 117-104 lead with 5:13 remaining.
&nbsp;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 27 and the Chicago Bulls topped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 on Saturday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago won for the third time in four games, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half. Ayo Dosunmu had 13 points, including a key 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Lillard scored 40 points for Portland, and Anfernee Simons had 27. But the Trail Blazers looked a little tired in the second half of their third game in four nights.
Portland had won five of six, including a 124-116 victory at Washington on Friday night after trailing the Wizards 69-51 at halftime.
Lillard and Simons took advantage of the absence of Alex Caruso, Chicago&rsquo;s best perimeter defender. Caruso sprained his right foot during Thursday night&rsquo;s 114-98 victory over Charlotte.
Portland trailed by one with 8:07 left, but Chicago put it away with a 12-0 run. Vucevic made two foul shots to give the Bulls a 117-104 lead with 5:13 remaining.
Portland opened an 80-63 lead on Lillard&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the third quarter. But Dosunmu responded with a 3 on the other end, sparking a 24-4 run for Chicago.
&nbsp;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 27 and the Chicago Bulls topped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 on Saturday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago won for the third time in four games, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half. Ayo Dosunmu had 13 points, including a key 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Lillard scored 40 points for Portland, and Anfernee Simons had 27. But the Trail Blazers looked a little tired in the second half of their third game in four nights.
Portland had won five of six, including a 124-116 victory at Washington on Friday night after trailing the Wizards 69-51 at halftime.
Lillard and Simons took advantage of the absence of Alex Caruso, Chicago&rsquo;s best perimeter defender. Caruso sprained his right foot during Thursday night&rsquo;s 114-98 victory over Charlotte.
Portland trailed by one with 8:07 left, but Chicago put it away with a 12-0 run. Vucevic made two foul shots to give the Bulls a 117-104 lead with 5:13 remaining.
Portland opened an 80-63 lead on Lillard&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the third quarter. But Dosunmu responded with a 3 on the other end, sparking a 24-4 run for Chicago.
LaVine converted a three-point play, a conventional 3-pointer and two foul shots to give the Bulls an 87-84 lead with 1:47 left. Andre Drummond&rsquo;s foul shot sent Chicago into the fourth with a 92-87 advantage.
<div class="taboola_readmore">&nbsp;</div>
Lillard started heating up in the second quarter. The seven-time All-Star went 7 for 7 at the line while scoring 19 points in the period, helping Portland to a 70-59 lead at the break.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and coach Chauncey Billups said his playing career comes in handy this time of year. He was often the subject of trade rumors. &ldquo;You have to learn how to handle that,&rdquo; Billups said, &ldquo;and how to continue to keep playing and not even worry about it.&rdquo; ... F Justise Winslow remained sidelined by a left ankle sprain. He hasn&rsquo;t played since Dec. 21.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso felt much better Friday morning, but there hadn&rsquo;t been a lot of change since then. &ldquo;Still having some discomfort, but not at the level it was after the game,&rdquo; Donovan said. ... F Patrick Williams played more than 31 minutes after he tweaked his right ankle against the Hornets.
&nbsp;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 27 and the Chicago Bulls topped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 on Saturday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago won for the third time in four games, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half. Ayo Dosunmu had 13 points, including a key 3-pointer in the third quarter.
Lillard scored 40 points for Portland, and Anfernee Simons had 27. But the Trail Blazers looked a little tired in the second half of their third game in four nights.
Portland had won five of six, including a 124-116 victory at Washington on Friday night after trailing the Wizards 69-51 at halftime.
Lillard and Simons took advantage of the absence of Alex Caruso, Chicago&rsquo;s best perimeter defender. Caruso sprained his right foot during Thursday night&rsquo;s 114-98 victory over Charlotte.
Portland trailed by one with 8:07 left, but Chicago put it away with a 12-0 run. Vucevic made two foul shots to give the Bulls a 117-104 lead with 5:13 remaining.
Portland opened an 80-63 lead on Lillard&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the third quarter. But Dosunmu responded with a 3 on the other end, sparking a 24-4 run for Chicago.
LaVine converted a three-point play, a conventional 3-pointer and two foul shots to give the Bulls an 87-84 lead with 1:47 left. Andre Drummond&rsquo;s foul shot sent Chicago into the fourth with a 92-87 advantage.
Lillard started heating up in the second quarter. The seven-time All-Star went 7 for 7 at the line while scoring 19 points in the period, helping Portland to a 70-59 lead at the break.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and coach Chauncey Billups said his playing career comes in handy this time of year. He was often the subject of trade rumors. &ldquo;You have to learn how to handle that,&rdquo; Billups said, &ldquo;and how to continue to keep playing and not even worry about it.&rdquo; ... F Justise Winslow remained sidelined by a left ankle sprain. He hasn&rsquo;t played since Dec. 21.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso felt much better Friday morning, but there hadn&rsquo;t been a lot of change since then. &ldquo;Still having some discomfort, but not at the level it was after the game,&rdquo; Donovan said. ... F Patrick Williams played more than 31 minutes after he tweaked his right ankle against the Hornets.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night in the opener of a five-game homestand.
Bulls: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 27 and the Bulls topped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 129-121 on Saturday night.

Zach LaVine scores 36 points as Bulls beat Blazers 129-121

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-jrue-holiday-0466fbc5e0fdc4ff35599f3cefa22d79">victory at Minnesota</a>&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-toronto-raptors-nba-sports-basketball-b90fc84a283634021aaa26e0fe8788fe">overtime win at Toronto</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
&nbsp;

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-toronto-raptors-nba-sports-basketball-b90fc84a283634021aaa26e0fe8788fe">overtime win at Toronto</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
&nbsp;

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14. The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn&rsquo;t play in either of those games.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14. The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn&rsquo;t play in either of those games.
Miami&rsquo;s Gabe Vincent had a career-high 28 points in one of the Heat&rsquo;s victories over the Bucks and 27 in the other. Vincent had just seven points Saturday,
The Heat trailed throughout the first half until Herro sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 62l at the break. Miami missed 12 of its first 13 3-point attempts and was just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc, but the Heat stayed close by committing just one first-half turnover.
TIP-INS
Heat: This game represented a homecoming for Herro, who had his jersey retired Friday night at nearby Whitnall High School in Greenfield.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1621706085982932992" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Herro&rsquo;s Heat teammates and coach Erik Spoelstra attended the ceremony.</a>&nbsp;Earlier this season, they attended a similar ceremony when Heat veteran Udonis Haslem got his jersey retired at Miami High. &ldquo;The guys really do care about each other and want to support each other,&rdquo; Spoelstra said before the game. &ldquo;You also love seeing guys back in their old environment. It means a lot to Tyler and his family. He put a lot in to be able to have that kind of career he had in high school He was already thinking about these kinds of things when he was in fifth or sixth grade. Who&rsquo;s thinking about that at that time?&rdquo;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14. The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn&rsquo;t play in either of those games.
Miami&rsquo;s Gabe Vincent had a career-high 28 points in one of the Heat&rsquo;s victories over the Bucks and 27 in the other. Vincent had just seven points Saturday,
The Heat trailed throughout the first half until Herro sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 62l at the break. Miami missed 12 of its first 13 3-point attempts and was just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc, but the Heat stayed close by committing just one first-half turnover.
TIP-INS
Heat: This game represented a homecoming for Herro, who had his jersey retired Friday night at nearby Whitnall High School in Greenfield.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1621706085982932992" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Herro&rsquo;s Heat teammates and coach Erik Spoelstra attended the ceremony.</a>&nbsp;Earlier this season, they attended a similar ceremony when Heat veteran Udonis Haslem got his jersey retired at Miami High. &ldquo;The guys really do care about each other and want to support each other,&rdquo; Spoelstra said before the game. &ldquo;You also love seeing guys back in their old environment. It means a lot to Tyler and his family. He put a lot in to be able to have that kind of career he had in high school He was already thinking about these kinds of things when he was in fifth or sixth grade. Who&rsquo;s thinking about that at that time?&rdquo;
Bucks: Now that they&rsquo;ve finished a four-game homestand, the Bucks are about to begin a demanding stretch of their schedule. They go on a three-game West Coast trip before returning home to face the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Feb. 14.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Indiana on Wednesday night.
Bucks: At Portland on Monday night.

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14. The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn&rsquo;t play in either of those games.
Miami&rsquo;s Gabe Vincent had a career-high 28 points in one of the Heat&rsquo;s victories over the Bucks and 27 in the other. Vincent had just seven points Saturday,
The Heat trailed throughout the first half until Herro sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 62l at the break. Miami missed 12 of its first 13 3-point attempts and was just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc, but the Heat stayed close by committing just one first-half turnover.
TIP-INS
Heat: This game represented a homecoming for Herro, who had his jersey retired Friday night at nearby Whitnall High School in Greenfield.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1621706085982932992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herro&rsquo;s Heat teammates and coach Erik Spoelstra attended the ceremony.</a>&nbsp;Earlier this season, they attended a similar ceremony when Heat veteran Udonis Haslem got his jersey retired at Miami High. &ldquo;The guys really do care about each other and want to support each other,&rdquo; Spoelstra said before the game. &ldquo;You also love seeing guys back in their old environment. It means a lot to Tyler and his family. He put a lot in to be able to have that kind of career he had in high school He was already thinking about these kinds of things when he was in fifth or sixth grade. Who&rsquo;s thinking about that at that time?&rdquo;
Bucks: Now that they&rsquo;ve finished a four-game homestand, the Bucks are about to begin a demanding stretch of their schedule. They go on a three-game West Coast trip before returning home to face the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Feb. 14.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Indiana on Wednesday night.
Bucks: At Portland on Monday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night.

Giannis Antetokounmmpo has triple-double; Bucks win 7th straight

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; The short-handed Brooklyn Nets lost guard Seth Curry and forward/center Markieff Morris to injuries during their game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Curry suffered a left adductor injury during the third quarter, and Morris had a sore left knee. The Nets announced neither would return to the game.
Curry and Morris joined Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain), T.J. Warren (left shin contusion), Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) and Kyrie Irving (right calf soreness) on the sideline.
Durant has missed 12 consecutive games, while Simmons and Warren have each missed four straight.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-athlete-injuries-basketball-a71ab3f98f13764c7d1c8035e11400f9">Irving&rsquo;s injury came one day after requesting a trade.</a>&nbsp;He&rsquo;s upset with contract proposals that the team has put forth. Irving is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
The injuries left Brooklyn with eight available players for the remainder of the game.

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; The short-handed Brooklyn Nets lost guard Seth Curry and forward/center Markieff Morris to injuries during their game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Curry suffered a left adductor injury during the third quarter, and Morris had a sore left knee. The Nets announced neither would return to the game.
Curry and Morris joined Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain), T.J. Warren (left shin contusion), Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) and Kyrie Irving (right calf soreness) on the sideline.
Durant has missed 12 consecutive games, while Simmons and Warren have each missed four straight.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-lakers-mavericks-nets-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Irving&rsquo;s injury came one day after requesting a trade.</a>&nbsp;He&rsquo;s upset with contract proposals that the team has put forth. Irving is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
The injuries left Brooklyn with eight available players for the remainder of the game.

The short-handed Nets lost Seth Curry and Markieff Morris to injuries during their game against the Wizards on Saturday night.

Short-handed Nets also lose Seth Curry, Markieff Morris to injuries

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points to lead No. 2 Tennessee to a 46-43 over No. 25 Auburn Saturday in a game in which every point was difficult and nothing flowed.
The Volunteers (19-4, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) shot just 27% from the field and 9.5% from the 3-point line. They were recovering from a Wednesday loss to Florida in which they shot 28%.
The Tigers (17-6, 7-3) were led by Johni Broome with 11 points and K.D. Johnson off the bench with 10 points. LSU managed only 24% from the field and 11% from the 3-point line.
Jaylin Williams made two free throws with 2:47 to play cut Tennessee&rsquo;s lead to 40-38. Santiago Vescovi hit his first 3-pointer of the game and got a four-point play out of it for a 44-38 lead. A 3-pointer by Wendell Green Jr. cut the advantage to 44-41 with 30 seconds left.
A turnover on the inbounds play gave Auburn the ball with 23 seconds to play. Broome got a tip-in to make it a one-point game, and Zakai Zeigler made two free throws.
Green&rsquo;s last-second 3-point to tie clanked out.
Auburn scored eight straight points to start the game. Tennessee followed with a six-point run and an eight-point spurt early in the second half. Those were the longest runs of the game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee was in the No. 2 spot in the poll for two days before falling at Florida. Under coach Rick Barnes, the Vols now have 25 wins over teams ranked in the Top 25. &hellip; Auburn had been clinging to the elite at No. 25 this week. The Tigers have been ranked as high as No. 11 in the fifth week of the season.
STAT SNACKS
Since statistics started being kept in 1999-2000, Tennessee is on pace to be the all-time leader in field-goal percentage (.348, Stanford, 1999-2000, is second .352) and 3-point defense (.225, Norfolk State 2004-05, .253 is second). &hellip; Through 22 games, the similarities between last year&rsquo;s Vols point guard Kennedy Chandler (now with the Memphis Grizzlies) and this year&rsquo;s Zakai Ziegler are striking (points per game: Chandler 13.5, Ziegler 11.4; rebounds: 3.0, 3.0; assists: 4.95, 5.05).
UP NEXT
Auburn: The Tigers will host Texas A&amp;M on Tuesday night.
Tennessee: The Vols will tackle in-state rival Vanderbilt in Nashville on Wednesday.&nbsp;

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points to lead No. 2 Tennessee to a 46-43 win over No. 25 Auburn Saturday in a game in which every point was difficult and nothing flowed.
The Volunteers (19-4, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) shot just 27% from the field and 9.5% from the 3-point line. They were recovering from a Wednesday loss to Florida in which they shot 28%.
The Tigers (17-6, 7-3) were led by Johni Broome with 11 points and K.D. Johnson off the bench with 10 points. LSU managed only 24% from the field and 11% from the 3-point line.
Jaylin Williams made two free throws with 2:47 to play cut Tennessee&rsquo;s lead to 40-38. Santiago Vescovi hit his first 3-pointer of the game and got a four-point play out of it for a 44-38 lead. A 3-pointer by Wendell Green Jr. cut the advantage to 44-41 with 30 seconds left.
A turnover on the inbounds play gave Auburn the ball with 23 seconds to play. Broome got a tip-in to make it a one-point game, and Zakai Zeigler made two free throws.
Green&rsquo;s last-second 3-point to tie clanked out.
Auburn scored eight straight points to start the game. Tennessee followed with a six-point run and an eight-point spurt early in the second half. Those were the longest runs of the game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee was in the No. 2 spot in the poll for two days before falling at Florida. Under coach Rick Barnes, the Vols now have 25 wins over teams ranked in the Top 25. &hellip; Auburn had been clinging to the elite at No. 25 this week. The Tigers have been ranked as high as No. 11 in the fifth week of the season.
STAT SNACKS
Since statistics started being kept in 1999-2000, Tennessee is on pace to be the all-time leader in field-goal percentage (.348, Stanford, 1999-2000, is second .352) and 3-point defense (.225, Norfolk State 2004-05, .253 is second). &hellip; Through 22 games, the similarities between last year&rsquo;s Vols point guard Kennedy Chandler (now with the Memphis Grizzlies) and this year&rsquo;s Zakai Ziegler are striking (points per game: Chandler 13.5, Ziegler 11.4; rebounds: 3.0, 3.0; assists: 4.95, 5.05).
UP NEXT
Auburn: The Tigers will host Texas A&amp;M on Tuesday night.
Tennessee: The Vols will tackle in-state rival Vanderbilt in Nashville on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points to lead the Vols to a 46-43 over the Tigers in a game where every point was difficult.

James leads No. 2 Tennessee over No. 25 Auburn, 46-43

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Kalib Boone scored 25 points and Oklahoma State blew a 19-point second-half lead before recovering to beat depleted No. 15 TCU 79-73 on Saturday.
Caleb Asberry added 19 points and John-Michael Wright had 17 for Oklahoma State (14-9, 5-5 Big 12). The Cowboys have won three straight and five of six to move back into the conversation for a potential NCAA tournament berth.
Emanuel Miller led TCU with 17 points and Shahada Wells had 14.
The Horned Frogs (17-6, 6-4) have struggled since their leading scorer, Mike Miles Jr., suffered a hyperextended right knee last Saturday early during a loss to Mississippi State. TCU also was minus injured big man Eddie Lampkin Jr.
TCU coach Jamie Dixon received a technical foul in the final minute of the half and the Horned Frogs trailed 43-29 at the break. Five quick points by Asberry to open the second half gave Oklahoma State its biggest lead at 48-29 with 18:49 left.
An 20-3 run by TCU cut the deficit and Damion Baugh&rsquo;s layup with 11:51 left pulled the Horned Frogs within 51-49 with 11:51 left. Oklahoma State answered with six straight points to quell the immediate threat.
TCU eventually tied it at 59 on three free throws by Baugh with 5:41 left, then took its first lead 33 seconds later on two free throws by Miller.
Wright took over down the stretch for the Cowboys. His 3-pointer with 3:38 left gave Oklahoma State the lead for good at 66-65 and started a 9-0 run that included a dunk by Boone that started with an over-the-shoulder save by Wright.
TCU pulled within 72-70 with 1:33 left on a 3-pointer by Wells, but Boone scored a pair of close-in baskets, the latter with 29.1 seconds left, to make it 76-71 and after a TCU miss, Asberry sealed the win with two free throws with 19.3 seconds left.
Oklahoma State took a 12-0 lead as TCU missed its first eight shots and didn&rsquo;t made a basket for 6 1/2 minutes. Oklahoma State eventually led 22-6 less than eight minutes in and the Cowboys&rsquo; lead never fell below double digits the rest of the half.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: Miles can&rsquo;t return fast enough for the Horned Frogs, who lost to Mississippi State in the game in which he was injured, then struggled to beat West Virginia at home before falling Saturday. The upcoming schedule for TCU looks daunting &ndash; No. 7 Kansas State, No. 11 Baylor and No. 13 Iowa State are its next three opponents, with the K-State and Iowa State games on the road.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys, now 2-6 this season against ranked foes, need all the big wins they can get as they look to position themselves for a NCAA tournament bid. To pick one up without one of their top players &ndash; Avery Anderson III &ndash; out with an injury is a bonus.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
TCU has been ranked for a program-record nine consecutive weeks and while the Horned Frogs might drop a few spots for the loss to Oklahoma State, they figure to make it 10 in a row, since they beat West Virginia earlier in the week.
UP NEXT
TCU: Will visit No. 7 Kansas State on Tuesday.
Oklahoma State: Will host Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Cowboys are 10-2 this season at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Kalib Boone scored 25 points and Oklahoma State blew a 19-point second-half lead before recovering to beat depleted No. 15 TCU.

Boone, Oklahoma St blow big lead, recover to top No. 15 TCU

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Sean Pedulla scored 22 points and Virginia Tech beat No. 6 Virginia 74-68 on Saturday, snapping the Cavaliers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
Pedulla made 6 of 13 from the floor as the Hokies (14-10, 4-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) posted their biggest win of the season. He added 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Justin Mutts added 17 points.
Virginia Tech never trailed and shot 50% from the floor for the fourth straight game.
&ldquo;There was no pouting (after the Miami loss). Just back to practice the next day,&rdquo; Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said of his team, which lost 92-83 to No. 23 Miami on Tuesday. &ldquo;Yeah, we&rsquo;ve got Virginia coming in. Yes, in-state and all of that stuff. We&rsquo;ve got another opportunity to play another really good opponent. We&rsquo;ve got a chance to play Virginia Tech basketball and fight and compete and adhere to the things that are important to us &mdash; and we did that by and large on both ends of the floor.&rdquo;
Jayden Gardner&rsquo;s 20 points led Virginia (17-4, 9-3), which saw its usually stingy defense struggle. Kihei Clark finished with 17 points for the Cavaliers, while Reece Beekman had 15. Armaan Franklin, who had scored in double figures in 10 straight games, had six.
The Cavaliers tied the game at 38 on Gardner&rsquo;s basket with 15:09 remaining, but the Hokies outscored Virginia 17-7 over the next seven minutes and never looked back.
Mutts hit 7 of 11 from the floor and added eight assists and four rebounds. Grant Basile had 14 points and Hunter Cattoor scored all 10 of his points in the second half for the Hokies.
&ldquo;The heart was there, but to win in this setting against a team that&rsquo;s playing good basketball, and Tech is, and they&rsquo;ve got the players, you&rsquo;ve got to be hard and smart,&rdquo; Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t just be all hard. We were (hard and smart) for stretches, and they made us make some adjustments that helped a little bit, but they made the big shots.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Virginia: The Cavaliers suffered a rare poor outing on the defensive end, and it cost them. They led the ACC in scoring defense (60.2 ppg) going in, but allowed the Hokies to score 74 points and shoot 50.9% (27 of 53) from the floor. The Hokies became just the third team this season to shoot better than 50% against Virginia and scored 40 points in the paint.
&ldquo;They run a lot of action, whether it&rsquo;s dribble handoffs, fakes, they keep you on your toes, and it takes an incredible, and I think disciplined (effort) to keep them in front and keep them out of the paint,&rdquo; Bennett said.
Virginia Tech: After losing eight of their previous 10 games, the Hokies needed a big win to help their thin NCAA Tournament resum&eacute;. Registering 19 assists and turning the ball over just eight times were keys.
&ldquo;Obviously, we keep up with stuff throughout the year, like &lsquo;Oh, this would be a huge win on our resum&eacute;,&rsquo;&rdquo; Pedulla said. &ldquo;We do think about (the NCAA Tournament), and we obviously want to get there again. We know our team&rsquo;s capable of it. We&rsquo;re focused on it and we&rsquo;re just trying to stack those wins on top of each other. I think this win definitely helps us.&rdquo;
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Cavaliers were one-point underdogs going into the game, so they shouldn&rsquo;t drop more than a few spots in Monday&rsquo;s poll.
UP NEXT
Virginia: Hosts N.C. State on Tuesday.
Virginia Tech: Takes on Boston College in Blacksburg on Wednesday.

The Hokies never trailed and shot 50% from the floor for the fourth straight game.

Virginia Tech snaps No. 6 Virginia's winning streak with 74-68 win

Perennial powers frontloaded the final poll of the 2012-13 college basketball season.
The top 10 included Louisville, Kansas, Duke, Indiana and Georgetown. Gonzaga was No. 1, at the start of its rise to the sport&rsquo;s upper echelon.
Flash forward 10 years and the AP Top 25 has a different look and feel.
New programs have risen to the top tier. Upsets have turned up the madness in March even more. A few bluebloods have lost a bit of their shine.
&ldquo;When you look at college basketball, there are some new bloods,&rdquo; said ESPN college basketball analyst and former coach Seth Greenberg. &ldquo;The bluebloods have an opportunity to reemerge as the season goes along, but we&rsquo;ve got some new bloods that are stepping up and making a statement.&rdquo;
Changes in the sport have led to the shuffling at the top.
Elite recruits have become more willing to eschew the traditional powers for smaller schools, spreading talent across the country. NIL deals have helped facilitate the shift, offering players opportunities they had never had before at those schools.
The transfer portal has allowed schools to replenish rosters quickly, pull in players who have experience and maturity that can fit in quickly. Some schools have invested more in facilities and coaches, adding to the allure of their programs.
The lasting effects of the pandemic &mdash; namely the extra year of eligibility &mdash; has also made teams older, adding cohesiveness and coachability.
&ldquo;Because of the COVID year, you have older, more experienced teams that have grown or been put together that have the maturity and understanding of what it takes to be successful,&rdquo; Greenberg said. &ldquo;But the big thing is new coaches in certain leagues have done a really good job of evaluating and recruiting.&rdquo;
The evidence is in the rankings.
Purdue has continued its rise under coach Matt Painter, spending six weeks atop the poll this season after earning the program&rsquo;s first No. 1 ranking a year ago. Tennessee has become a defensive menace, steadily rising until reaching No. 2 this week.
Kelvin Sampson has molded Houston into one of the nation&rsquo;s toughest teams to play. The Cougars went to the Final Four in 2021 and had two stints at No. 1 this season. No. 4 Alabama has shown it can play some basketball, too, reaching the Sweet 16 two years ago, climbing to No. 2 last week.
No. 7 Kansas State, picked to finish last in the Big 12, has made a quick rise under first-year coach Jerome Tang, a former long-time assistant at Baylor. No. 15 TCU is no longer known as just a football school, while schools like Florida Atlantic and Charleston have risen through the ranks.
No. 20 Clemson leads the ACC and Pittsburgh is just a game back. No. 18 Saint Mary&rsquo;s is ahead of No. 12 Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.
On the flip side, North Carolina fell off quickly. A national finalist last season, the Tar Heels went from preseason No. 1 to out of the AP Top 25 in less than a month.
Kentucky struggled so much earlier in the season, fans were calling for coach John Calipari to be fired. Villanova dropped off precipitously in its first season since Jay Wright retired.
Of course there&rsquo;s still a month left in the regular season, so the middling bluebloods can still turn it around.
And once it gets to March Madness, the final chapter has still tended to be written by established powers.
Kansas won last year&rsquo;s national championship after an all-blueblood Final Four. ACC schools won three titles between 2015-19, wrapped around two Villanova championships.
But with those big-name champions, chaos has reigned with some of the biggest upsets and unexpected deep March runs the past few years.
Loyola Chicago reached the 2018 Final Four after Maryland-Baltimore County beat Virginia to become the first No. 16 seed to topple a No. 1 in NCAA Tournament history. Oral Roberts reached the Sweet 16 in 2021, Saint Peter&rsquo;s the Elite Eight a year ago.
The way this season has gone so far, college basketball fans could be in for the maddest March yet.

Elite recruits have become more willing to eschew the traditional powers for smaller schools, spreading talent across the country.

New bloods changing college hoops landscape

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
&nbsp;

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
&nbsp;

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.
&ldquo;We knew the way they play, you&rsquo;re going to have to make it a gritty game, an ugly game,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;You need to be able to play defense and get stops, and we were able to do that tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: The Pacers showed a pregame tribute to Sabonis on the scoreboard during his first game back in Indiana since the trade. Sabonis was inactive due to a knee injury when Sacramento played at Indiana last March. &hellip; Trey Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Indianapolis Tech High School, scored seven points off the bench.
Pacers: Daniel Theis, in his second game of the season, scored eight points off the bench. Theis, traded to the Pacers from Boston, returned Thursday after having knee surgery in November. &hellip; With the return of Theis, two other Pacers post players, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, didn&rsquo;t play.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.
&ldquo;We knew the way they play, you&rsquo;re going to have to make it a gritty game, an ugly game,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;You need to be able to play defense and get stops, and we were able to do that tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: The Pacers showed a pregame tribute to Sabonis on the scoreboard during his first game back in Indiana since the trade. Sabonis was inactive due to a knee injury when Sacramento played at Indiana last March. &hellip; Trey Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Indianapolis Tech High School, scored seven points off the bench.
Pacers: Daniel Theis, in his second game of the season, scored eight points off the bench. Theis, traded to the Pacers from Boston, returned Thursday after having knee surgery in November. &hellip; With the return of Theis, two other Pacers post players, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, didn&rsquo;t play.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
BIG DUNK
Hield isn&rsquo;t known for his dunking ability, but he had a big one to put the Pacers up 104-99.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s number one,&rdquo; Hield said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m never the one cutting to the middle or baseline. I saw an opening and that&rsquo;s all she wrote. I trusted my legs. It was fun. My teammates were excited. They&rsquo;re always joking about me not dunking the ball. It was fun to see them laughing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Kings: At New Orleans on Sunday.
Pacers: Host Cleveland on Sunday.
</div>

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.
&ldquo;We knew the way they play, you&rsquo;re going to have to make it a gritty game, an ugly game,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;You need to be able to play defense and get stops, and we were able to do that tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: The Pacers showed a pregame tribute to Sabonis on the scoreboard during his first game back in Indiana since the trade. Sabonis was inactive due to a knee injury when Sacramento played at Indiana last March. &hellip; Trey Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Indianapolis Tech High School, scored seven points off the bench.
Pacers: Daniel Theis, in his second game of the season, scored eight points off the bench. Theis, traded to the Pacers from Boston, returned Thursday after having knee surgery in November. &hellip; With the return of Theis, two other Pacers post players, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, didn&rsquo;t play.
&nbsp;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
BIG DUNK
Hield isn&rsquo;t known for his dunking ability, but he had a big one to put the Pacers up 104-99.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s number one,&rdquo; Hield said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m never the one cutting to the middle or baseline. I saw an opening and that&rsquo;s all she wrote. I trusted my legs. It was fun. My teammates were excited. They&rsquo;re always joking about me not dunking the ball. It was fun to see them laughing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Kings: At New Orleans on Sunday.
Pacers: Host Cleveland on Sunday.
</div>

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.
&ldquo;We knew the way they play, you&rsquo;re going to have to make it a gritty game, an ugly game,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;You need to be able to play defense and get stops, and we were able to do that tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: The Pacers showed a pregame tribute to Sabonis on the scoreboard during his first game back in Indiana since the trade. Sabonis was inactive due to a knee injury when Sacramento played at Indiana last March. &hellip; Trey Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Indianapolis Tech High School, scored seven points off the bench.
Pacers: Daniel Theis, in his second game of the season, scored eight points off the bench. Theis, traded to the Pacers from Boston, returned Thursday after having knee surgery in November. &hellip; With the return of Theis, two other Pacers post players, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, didn&rsquo;t play.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Buddy Hield with the backdoor cut and hammers it home.🔨 <a href="https://t.co/okj9qlWmWa">pic.twitter.com/okj9qlWmWa</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1621694353482596352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
BIG DUNK
Hield isn&rsquo;t known for his dunking ability, but he had a big one to put the Pacers up 104-99.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s number one,&rdquo; Hield said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m never the one cutting to the middle or baseline. I saw an opening and that&rsquo;s all she wrote. I trusted my legs. It was fun. My teammates were excited. They&rsquo;re always joking about me not dunking the ball. It was fun to see them laughing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Kings: At New Orleans on Sunday.
Pacers: Host Cleveland on Sunday.
</div>

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
&ldquo;Especially against your old team, it&rsquo;s always good to get the win,&rdquo; Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
&ldquo;(Hield) made some big shots down the stretch,&rdquo; Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Davis sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left to slice the Pacers&rsquo; lead to 107-104, but neither team scored the rest of the way.
Barnes missed a 3 with 9.1 seconds left, and Nesmith came up with the rebound.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t react trying to foul,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on us as a staff to remind them to foul, if we&rsquo;re down three and the clock is below 24 seconds and we&rsquo;re down three points or two or one. That&rsquo;s just a teaching point.&rdquo;
Brown thought his team had several problems in the final quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be able to box out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up second shots. We didn&rsquo;t do any of that down the stretch. Throughout the course of the game, our turnovers were terrible. It really hurt in a one-possession game to have 20 of them on the road. Our inability to communicate on defense against a team &mdash; and give up too many good looks &mdash; that can shoot like the Pacers, was not good.&rdquo;
The Pacers, who led by 12 at halftime, took a 19-point lead in the third quarter before the Kings ended the period with a 20-8 run to narrow the deficit to 87-80 after three.
Indiana went 10 of 21 on 3s to take a 60-48 halftime lead. In contrast, the Kings were 6 for 23 from long range in the opening half.
The Pacers scored 14 straight points to build a 51-39 advantage. Nesmith hit a trio of 3-pointers during the stretch.
Haliburton, playing his second game after missing 10 with an elbow sprain and knee bruise, acknowledged he was tired after the game and struggled to make shots. He had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and nine assists.
&ldquo;We knew the way they play, you&rsquo;re going to have to make it a gritty game, an ugly game,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;You need to be able to play defense and get stops, and we were able to do that tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: The Pacers showed a pregame tribute to Sabonis on the scoreboard during his first game back in Indiana since the trade. Sabonis was inactive due to a knee injury when Sacramento played at Indiana last March. &hellip; Trey Lyles, the 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Indianapolis Tech High School, scored seven points off the bench.
Pacers: Daniel Theis, in his second game of the season, scored eight points off the bench. Theis, traded to the Pacers from Boston, returned Thursday after having knee surgery in November. &hellip; With the return of Theis, two other Pacers post players, Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, didn&rsquo;t play.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Buddy Hield with the backdoor cut and hammers it home.🔨 <a href="https://t.co/okj9qlWmWa">pic.twitter.com/okj9qlWmWa</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1621694353482596352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
BIG DUNK
Hield isn&rsquo;t known for his dunking ability, but he had a big one to put the Pacers up 104-99.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s number one,&rdquo; Hield said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m never the one cutting to the middle or baseline. I saw an opening and that&rsquo;s all she wrote. I trusted my legs. It was fun. My teammates were excited. They&rsquo;re always joking about me not dunking the ball. It was fun to see them laughing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Kings: At New Orleans on Sunday.
Pacers: Host Cleveland on Sunday.
</div>

Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night.

Buddy Hield leads Pacers to 107-104 win over Kings

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston&rsquo;s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Nearing the end of a long road trip, Toronto coach Nick Nurse could sense his team dragging a bit early in this one. But he liked how the Raptors responded after a sluggish first quarter.
&nbsp;

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston&rsquo;s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Nearing the end of a long road trip, Toronto coach Nick Nurse could sense his team dragging a bit early in this one. But he liked how the Raptors responded after a sluggish first quarter.
&ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t a lot of energy in the building or from us at the start,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But give our guys off the bench some credit to come in and get some energy going. They kind of righted the ship and got into some good, nice stretches there of playing at both ends.&rdquo;
Nurse was impressed with the performance of VanVleet, who has been playing well lately after a slow start to the season.
&nbsp;

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston&rsquo;s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Nearing the end of a long road trip, Toronto coach Nick Nurse could sense his team dragging a bit early in this one. But he liked how the Raptors responded after a sluggish first quarter.
&ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t a lot of energy in the building or from us at the start,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But give our guys off the bench some credit to come in and get some energy going. They kind of righted the ship and got into some good, nice stretches there of playing at both ends.&rdquo;
Nurse was impressed with the performance of VanVleet, who has been playing well lately after a slow start to the season.
&ldquo;He really looks good,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing hard. He looks fast and athletic. ... He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with tremendous confidence. He&rsquo;s been really good on defense, too.&rdquo;
Houston got a season-high 28 points from Eric Gordon and Alperen Sengun added 21 on night when Jalen Green missed a third straight game with a bruised right calf.
A 12-5 run, with five points from Martin, got the Rockets within 98-90 with about 5&frac12; minutes to play.
Toronto scored five of the next seven points to make it 103-92 a couple of minutes later.
Toronto had a seven-point lead at halftime and scored the first eight points of the third quarter, with 3s from Siakam and VanVleet, to make it 63-48.
Silas was disappointed with the way his team opened the second half.
&ldquo;They come out and score 8 and then they&rsquo;re up by 15, like right away, and that&rsquo;s unacceptable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to start the second halves much better.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston&rsquo;s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Nearing the end of a long road trip, Toronto coach Nick Nurse could sense his team dragging a bit early in this one. But he liked how the Raptors responded after a sluggish first quarter.
&ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t a lot of energy in the building or from us at the start,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But give our guys off the bench some credit to come in and get some energy going. They kind of righted the ship and got into some good, nice stretches there of playing at both ends.&rdquo;
Nurse was impressed with the performance of VanVleet, who has been playing well lately after a slow start to the season.
&ldquo;He really looks good,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing hard. He looks fast and athletic. ... He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with tremendous confidence. He&rsquo;s been really good on defense, too.&rdquo;
Houston got a season-high 28 points from Eric Gordon and Alperen Sengun added 21 on night when Jalen Green missed a third straight game with a bruised right calf.
A 12-5 run, with five points from Martin, got the Rockets within 98-90 with about 5&frac12; minutes to play.
Toronto scored five of the next seven points to make it 103-92 a couple of minutes later.
Toronto had a seven-point lead at halftime and scored the first eight points of the third quarter, with 3s from Siakam and VanVleet, to make it 63-48.
Silas was disappointed with the way his team opened the second half.
&ldquo;They come out and score 8 and then they&rsquo;re up by 15, like right away, and that&rsquo;s unacceptable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to start the second halves much better.&rdquo;
Gordon agreed.
&ldquo;We have to have a better sense of urgency and we&rsquo;ve got to come in with a lot of energy just like the first quarter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about dictating the game from the start and once we do, it&rsquo;ll get us in a better groove.&rdquo;
Gordon made a basket for Houston after that, but VanVleet made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 69-50 with about 9&frac12; minutes left in the third.
An 11-3 run by the Rockets later in the third cut the lead to 74-65. But the Raptors used a 9-4 spurt to push their advantage to 83-69 with less than three minutes left in the period.
Toronto led 85-72 entering the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Raptors: OG Anunoby missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left wrist. ... Toronto made 15 of 39 3-pointers with 10 coming from Trent and VanVleet. ... Chris Boucher had 11 points and eight rebounds.
&nbsp;

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston&rsquo;s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Nearing the end of a long road trip, Toronto coach Nick Nurse could sense his team dragging a bit early in this one. But he liked how the Raptors responded after a sluggish first quarter.
&ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t a lot of energy in the building or from us at the start,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But give our guys off the bench some credit to come in and get some energy going. They kind of righted the ship and got into some good, nice stretches there of playing at both ends.&rdquo;
Nurse was impressed with the performance of VanVleet, who has been playing well lately after a slow start to the season.
&ldquo;He really looks good,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing hard. He looks fast and athletic. ... He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with tremendous confidence. He&rsquo;s been really good on defense, too.&rdquo;
Houston got a season-high 28 points from Eric Gordon and Alperen Sengun added 21 on night when Jalen Green missed a third straight game with a bruised right calf.
A 12-5 run, with five points from Martin, got the Rockets within 98-90 with about 5&frac12; minutes to play.
Toronto scored five of the next seven points to make it 103-92 a couple of minutes later.
Toronto had a seven-point lead at halftime and scored the first eight points of the third quarter, with 3s from Siakam and VanVleet, to make it 63-48.
Silas was disappointed with the way his team opened the second half.
&ldquo;They come out and score 8 and then they&rsquo;re up by 15, like right away, and that&rsquo;s unacceptable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to start the second halves much better.&rdquo;
Gordon agreed.
&ldquo;We have to have a better sense of urgency and we&rsquo;ve got to come in with a lot of energy just like the first quarter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about dictating the game from the start and once we do, it&rsquo;ll get us in a better groove.&rdquo;
Gordon made a basket for Houston after that, but VanVleet made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 69-50 with about 9&frac12; minutes left in the third.
An 11-3 run by the Rockets later in the third cut the lead to 74-65. But the Raptors used a 9-4 spurt to push their advantage to 83-69 with less than three minutes left in the period.
Toronto led 85-72 entering the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Raptors: OG Anunoby missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left wrist. ... Toronto made 15 of 39 3-pointers with 10 coming from Trent and VanVleet. ... Chris Boucher had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Rockets: Silas said Green could return Saturday. ... Kevin Porter Jr. was out for an 11th consecutive game with a bruised left foot. ... Martin had 20 points. ... Josh Christopher added 15 points off the bench.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Wrap up a season-high seven-game road trip when they visit Memphis on Sunday.
Rockets: Visit Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, and the Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Rockets on Friday

Fred VanVleet has 32 as Raptors get 117-111 win over Rockets

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
&nbsp;

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
&nbsp;

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
&ldquo;A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,&rdquo; Poeltl said. &ldquo;Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.&rdquo;
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 3 on 3-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes. Named an All-Star reserve Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games.
Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for Philadelphia.
&ldquo;Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible (to win),&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That was the most disappointing part of the game. Their grunt and their ability to just play the game is super, but taking care of the basketball is pretty important and we didn&rsquo;t do that tonight. That was the bad part of the game.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
&ldquo;A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,&rdquo; Poeltl said. &ldquo;Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.&rdquo;
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 3 on 3-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes. Named an All-Star reserve Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games.
Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for Philadelphia.
&ldquo;Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible (to win),&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That was the most disappointing part of the game. Their grunt and their ability to just play the game is super, but taking care of the basketball is pretty important and we didn&rsquo;t do that tonight. That was the bad part of the game.&rdquo;
Philadelphia started the game with three straight turnovers in falling behind 8-1. The 76ers rallied to end the first quarter tied at 26 and then outscored the Spurs 47-35 in the second quarter.
The run included a one-handed alley-oop dunk by Embiid on a pass from Harden followed by a fastbreak dunk by Harris in building a 66-49 lead.
The second unit then began a charge that ended in Philadelphia&rsquo;s bench outscoring San Antonio&rsquo;s 67-42.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going to need from them,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Consistently they run their sets. With that unit, it&rsquo;s about just getting stops. We get stops, we give ourselves a chance to get out in transition.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden said he was fine after exiting for the locker room with a second remaining in the first half after falling on his elbow late in the first half. Harden returned early for warmups and started the second half. ... Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was honored before the game as part of the Spurs&rsquo; 50th anniversary celebration. Rivers played his final two seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, beginning in 1994. ... Play was stopped midway through the first quarter so the 76ers could tend to a minor cut near Embiid&rsquo;s right thumb that was bleeding. Embiid drained a 3-pointer on the next play.
&nbsp;

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
&ldquo;A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,&rdquo; Poeltl said. &ldquo;Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.&rdquo;
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 3 on 3-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes. Named an All-Star reserve Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games.
Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for Philadelphia.
&ldquo;Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible (to win),&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That was the most disappointing part of the game. Their grunt and their ability to just play the game is super, but taking care of the basketball is pretty important and we didn&rsquo;t do that tonight. That was the bad part of the game.&rdquo;
Philadelphia started the game with three straight turnovers in falling behind 8-1. The 76ers rallied to end the first quarter tied at 26 and then outscored the Spurs 47-35 in the second quarter.
The run included a one-handed alley-oop dunk by Embiid on a pass from Harden followed by a fastbreak dunk by Harris in building a 66-49 lead.
The second unit then began a charge that ended in Philadelphia&rsquo;s bench outscoring San Antonio&rsquo;s 67-42.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going to need from them,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Consistently they run their sets. With that unit, it&rsquo;s about just getting stops. We get stops, we give ourselves a chance to get out in transition.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden said he was fine after exiting for the locker room with a second remaining in the first half after falling on his elbow late in the first half. Harden returned early for warmups and started the second half. ... Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was honored before the game as part of the Spurs&rsquo; 50th anniversary celebration. Rivers played his final two seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, beginning in 1994. ... Play was stopped midway through the first quarter so the 76ers could tend to a minor cut near Embiid&rsquo;s right thumb that was bleeding. Embiid drained a 3-pointer on the next play.
Spurs: San Antonio&rsquo;s next home game is March 2 against Houston. ... San Antonio has the league&rsquo;s second-longest active losing streak, trailing New Orleans&rsquo; 10-game skid. ... Popovich received a technical foul with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter after stomping down the sideline and screaming at official Mousa Dagher. Popovich was upset no foul was called on a reverse layup attempted by Keldon Johnson.
UP NEXT
76ers: At Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Spurs: At Chicago on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Antonio Spurs 137-125 on Friday night.

Embiid’s double-double leads 76ers past Spurs, losers of 8 straight

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter scored 26 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray added 13 points and eight assists.
Atlanta won for the third time in the team&rsquo;s last four road games. The Hawks had 28 assists on 44 baskets and scored 56 points in the paint.
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 10 rebounds to pace Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 24, and Mike Conley finished with 20 points and eight assists.
Utah struggled from the outside, going 13 of 44 from 3-point range. The Jazz had a three-game home winning streak snapped.
Atlanta dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Hawks built a 60-38 lead late in the second quarter after Young bookended an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
&nbsp;

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter scored 26 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray added 13 points and eight assists.
Atlanta won for the third time in the team&rsquo;s last four road games. The Hawks had 28 assists on 44 baskets and scored 56 points in the paint.
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 10 rebounds to pace Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 24, and Mike Conley finished with 20 points and eight assists.
Utah struggled from the outside, going 13 of 44 from 3-point range. The Jazz had a three-game home winning streak snapped.
Atlanta dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Hawks built a 60-38 lead late in the second quarter after Young bookended an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Utah chipped away at the deficit in the second half and rallied late in the fourth quarter. Clarkson buried consecutive 3-pointers to punctuate a 10-0 run and cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 106-101 with 3:17 left. Young countered with a 3 to keep the Hawks in control.
TIP-INS
Hawks: John Collins scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter. Collins started 3 of 5 from the field but went 0 for 5 over the final three quarters. &hellip; Clint Capela grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
&nbsp;

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter scored 26 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray added 13 points and eight assists.
Atlanta won for the third time in the team&rsquo;s last four road games. The Hawks had 28 assists on 44 baskets and scored 56 points in the paint.
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 10 rebounds to pace Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 24, and Mike Conley finished with 20 points and eight assists.
Utah struggled from the outside, going 13 of 44 from 3-point range. The Jazz had a three-game home winning streak snapped.
Atlanta dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Hawks built a 60-38 lead late in the second quarter after Young bookended an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Utah chipped away at the deficit in the second half and rallied late in the fourth quarter. Clarkson buried consecutive 3-pointers to punctuate a 10-0 run and cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 106-101 with 3:17 left. Young countered with a 3 to keep the Hawks in control.
TIP-INS
Hawks: John Collins scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter. Collins started 3 of 5 from the field but went 0 for 5 over the final three quarters. &hellip; Clint Capela grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jazz: Conley played in his 1,000th career game. &hellip; Jarred Vanderbilt finished with a team-best 11 rebounds. &hellip; Clarkson started 1 of 9 from the field before making nine of his last 12 shots.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit Denver on Saturday.
Jazz: Host Dallas on Monday.

Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.