LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson remembers every slight. Every criticism. Every chip that&rsquo;s landed on his shoulder.
You can bet the Kansas forward remembers watching Kansas State fans storm the court after beating the Jayhawks.
So with revenge on their mind, Wilson and his pals jumped on the seventh-ranked Wildcats in the rematch Tuesday night. He finished with 20 points, Kevin McCullar Jr. had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the No. 8 Jayhawks rolled to a 90-78 victory that also tightened the Big 12 standings at the midway point of conference play.
&ldquo;It was like a big rub in our face, them storming the court,&rdquo; Wilson admitted. &ldquo;I always remember stuff like that.&rdquo;
Dajuan Harris Jr. added 18 points for the Jayhawks (18-4, 6-3), who built a 12-point halftime lead before coasting to their 17th straight home win over K-State. They also won their second straight after a three-game skid, and made sure to avoid taking back-to-back losses inside Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
&ldquo;Hey, their guys are hard to guard. They&rsquo;ve got a good team,&rdquo; Kansas coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;I actually thought we did a good job, for the most part, and our bench was terrific. That was the best our bench has played so far.&rdquo;
Markquis Nowell scored 23 points and Keyontae Johnson had 22 points and 12 boards to lead the Wildcats (18-4, 6-3), who were trying for their first regular-season sweep of their biggest rival in four decades.
Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin added 11 points for Kansas State. David N&rsquo;Guessan had 10.
&ldquo;They play at a fast pace. You know they play better at home,&rdquo; Nowell said. &ldquo;They started early with turnovers. They got out in transition. They got the crowd involved. They had a huge first half and I feel like we dug ourselves a hole.&rdquo;
In their first meeting on Jan. 17, the Wildcats raced to a big early lead and controlled the game until late in the second half, when the Jayhawks forced overtime &mdash; only for Kansas State to win on Johnson&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk.
It was the Jayhawks who controlled the rematch.
They used a 16-7 run early in the game, built by speeding up the Wildcats and controlling the tempo. At one point, Kansas State coach Jerome Tang picked up a technical foul, and the Jayhawks stretched their lead to 32-19 in a blink.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to get a technical. I didn&rsquo;t mind getting a technical, though,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in here too many times where I feel like the crowd impacts the referees. And they&rsquo;re human beings, and this is no knock on them. I just wanted them to know I did not feel like the calls were being even on both ends.&rdquo;
The Wildcats answered with a run of their own, closing within 37-32. But that&rsquo;s when Wilson hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Zach Clemence, forced onto the court due to foul trouble among starters, added one of his own.
Kansas eventually led 49-37 at the break. And while the Wildcats briefly got within six in the second half, the outcome never seemed in jeopardy. The Jayhawks stretched their lead to 16 before cruising to the finish.
&ldquo;I thought we had a bunch of self-inflicted wounds,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;Part of it was the environment, part of it was the scheme and how we tried to attack them. We&rsquo;ll go back and look at it.&rdquo;
OFFICIATING OOPS
Johnson had to sit with two fouls just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Only problem? The crew of John Higgins, Kip Kissinger and Marques Pettigrew gave one to the wrong player. By the time they corrected their mistake, the Wildcats&rsquo; leading scorer had unnecessarily ridden the bench for several minutes.
SELLOUT ... AND THEN SOME
For the first time in more than 15 years, more Kansas students redeemed tickets than there was space available inside Allen Fieldhouse. The overflow had to watch the game on screens in the adjacent Horejsi Family Athletics Center, where the Jayhawks play volleyball games. Those students also got refunds and concessions vouchers.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State&rsquo;s three losses in league play have been to ranked teams on the road: TCU, Iowa State and Kansas. And with a more forgiving second half to the Big 12 schedule, the Wildcats remain firmly in the conference title hunt.
Kansas got its mojo back with its win at Kentucky last weekend. This victory over another bunch of Wildcats was crucial because the road doesn&rsquo;t get any easier for the Jayhawks, who are in the midst of three straight games against ranked teams.
UP NEXT
Kansas State returns home for another top-10 showdown Saturday against No. 10 Texas.
Kansas hits the road for the third time in four games against No. 13 Iowa State on Saturday.

“It was like a big rub in our face, them storming the court,” Jayhawks forward Jalen Wilson admitted. “I always remember stuff like that.”

No. 8 Kansas avenges earlier loss to No. 7 K-State, 90-78

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Clemson wasn&rsquo;t able to escape on the road this time.
Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closing two minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College beat the 20th-ranked Tigers 62-54 on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t get my guys under control. I couldn&rsquo;t get them to relax. That&rsquo;s my fault,&rdquo; Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. &ldquo;For whatever reason, we just didn&rsquo;t do a good job tonight. I didn&rsquo;t do a good job as a coach.&rdquo;
On Saturday, Clemson escaped with an 82-81 victory at Florida State.
Jaeden Zackery added 13 points for the Eagles (11-12, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference). BC held Clemson to one meaningful field goal &mdash; and that came with 18 seconds left &mdash; in the final 13:16.
Hunter Tyson led Clemson (18-5, 10-2) with 22 points and Chase Hunter had 12. The Tigers fell into a tie in the loss column atop the ACC with No. 6 Virginia (9-2 ACC).
&ldquo;It was one of those nights where the other team played better than we did,&rdquo; Brownell said. &ldquo;We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. We didn&rsquo;t share the ball much. When we got behind, we kind of panicked and hoped Chase and Hunter would bail us out. That&rsquo;s poor coaching.&rdquo;
The Eagles used a 5-0 spurt &mdash; with T.J. Bickerstaff hitting a free throw and getting a driving layup &mdash; to pull ahead 50-45 with just over five minutes to play.
Clemson sliced it to 50-47 before Aston-Langford made his two big baskets. He followed that by making two free throws with 32 seconds left.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just about digging deep honestly,&rdquo; Zackery said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just all it was. We&rsquo;ve been kind of talking about it all season that we&rsquo;ve just got to come out and grind.&rdquo;
Trailing by 10 midway into the second half, the Tigers went on a 10-0 spree, tying it at 45 when RJ Godfrey hit both ends of a 1-and-1.
The Eagles had opened a double-digit lead twice in the opening six minutes of the second half, the later 45-35 on Prince Aligbe&rsquo;s foul-line jumper with 14:12 to play.
BIG PICTURE
Clemson: Off to a solid start in conference play, the Tigers were tested on the road for the second straight game after edging Florida State. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy for them away from home with a 4-3 record and with three away matchups against North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia to go, they&rsquo;ll need to get it straightened out of they&rsquo;re going to win the ACC regular-season title.
Boston College: The Eagles proved when they play defense that they&rsquo;re a tough out in coach Earl Grant&rsquo;s second season. A little more offense could make them very dangerous for top ACC teams to play.
&ldquo;I just tell the guys that we&rsquo;re just trying to build something,&rdquo; Grant said of his team&rsquo;s defense down the stretch. &ldquo;You are what you repeatedly do. You build habits.&rdquo;
ARRIVING LATE
In the first half, Clemson&rsquo;s man-to-man defense smothered the Eagles&rsquo; offense for the opening 10 minutes, holding them in single digits in scoring until just about the same time the student section finished filling up late, bringing some energy to a very quiet building.
BC&rsquo;s players then responded, closing the half with a 22-4 spree that turned an 11-point deficit to a 30-23 halftime edge.
SIDELINED
Both teams were missing key players. Guard Brevin Galloway, Clemson&rsquo;s fourth leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, was sidelined with an abdominal injury. For BC, guard DeMarr Langford Jr., who logs big minutes at the point, was out with a knee injury.
UP NEXT
Clemson: Hosts No. 23 Miami on Saturday.
Boston College: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

Makai Ashton-Langford had two key driving baskets in the closing two minutes and finished with 15 points to help Boston College win.

BC beats No. 20 Clemson 62-54; Tigers’ lead sliced atop ACC

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103 on Tuesday night.
Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who&rsquo;ve won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who dropped the first of a four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and 14 boards.
Los Angeles led 85-84 after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth but couldn&rsquo;t shake the Bulls until the final seconds. With the Clippers ahead 106-103, Leonard stole the ball from LaVine and made both free throws with 5.2 seconds left to close the door.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the reason we&rsquo;ve been winning, because our defense has picked it up and carried us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;I think we caught our rhythm because of our defense and were able to stay in the game.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103 on Tuesday night.
Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who&rsquo;ve won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who dropped the first of a four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and 14 boards.
Los Angeles led 85-84 after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth but couldn&rsquo;t shake the Bulls until the final seconds. With the Clippers ahead 106-103, Leonard stole the ball from LaVine and made both free throws with 5.2 seconds left to close the door.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the reason we&rsquo;ve been winning, because our defense has picked it up and carried us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;I think we caught our rhythm because of our defense and were able to stay in the game.&rdquo;
Los Angeles had 15 steals as it forced 20 turnovers overall by Chicago, two off the Bulls&rsquo; worst mark of the season.
Powell, meanwhile, came off the bench to outscore the Bulls&rsquo; reserves by himself, 27-20.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s instant offense,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;Just come in the game and he can get it going quick. He was huge for us tonight.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103 on Tuesday night.
Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who&rsquo;ve won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who dropped the first of a four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and 14 boards.
Los Angeles led 85-84 after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth but couldn&rsquo;t shake the Bulls until the final seconds. With the Clippers ahead 106-103, Leonard stole the ball from LaVine and made both free throws with 5.2 seconds left to close the door.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the reason we&rsquo;ve been winning, because our defense has picked it up and carried us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;I think we caught our rhythm because of our defense and were able to stay in the game.&rdquo;
Los Angeles had 15 steals as it forced 20 turnovers overall by Chicago, two off the Bulls&rsquo; worst mark of the season.
Powell, meanwhile, came off the bench to outscore the Bulls&rsquo; reserves by himself, 27-20.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s instant offense,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;Just come in the game and he can get it going quick. He was huge for us tonight.&rdquo;
The Clippers trailed by as many as 19 points midway through the second quarter but went to halftime down just 58-54 thanks to a 16-2 run in the final minutes.
&ldquo;No matter how you lose, it sucks. Period,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;A team like that, veteran guys, extremely well coached, they&rsquo;re not going to give up.&rdquo;
Ivica Zubac finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles.
TIP-INS
Clippers: George and Leonard returned after both were held out of Sunday&rsquo;s loss at Cleveland with knee soreness.
Bulls: LaVine drew a foul at the top of the key from Powell with 1:03 left but missed the first two of three free throws to keep the Bulls behind 104-103. ... DeRozan had a career-worst eight turnovers. &ldquo;Careless,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s entirely too much and we can&rsquo;t let that happen.&rdquo;

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103 on Tuesday night.
Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who&rsquo;ve won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who dropped the first of a four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and 14 boards.
Los Angeles led 85-84 after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth but couldn&rsquo;t shake the Bulls until the final seconds. With the Clippers ahead 106-103, Leonard stole the ball from LaVine and made both free throws with 5.2 seconds left to close the door.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the reason we&rsquo;ve been winning, because our defense has picked it up and carried us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;I think we caught our rhythm because of our defense and were able to stay in the game.&rdquo;
Los Angeles had 15 steals as it forced 20 turnovers overall by Chicago, two off the Bulls&rsquo; worst mark of the season.
Powell, meanwhile, came off the bench to outscore the Bulls&rsquo; reserves by himself, 27-20.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s instant offense,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;Just come in the game and he can get it going quick. He was huge for us tonight.&rdquo;
The Clippers trailed by as many as 19 points midway through the second quarter but went to halftime down just 58-54 thanks to a 16-2 run in the final minutes.
&ldquo;No matter how you lose, it sucks. Period,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;A team like that, veteran guys, extremely well coached, they&rsquo;re not going to give up.&rdquo;
Ivica Zubac finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles.
TIP-INS
Clippers: George and Leonard returned after both were held out of Sunday&rsquo;s loss at Cleveland with knee soreness.
Bulls: LaVine drew a foul at the top of the key from Powell with 1:03 left but missed the first two of three free throws to keep the Bulls behind 104-103. ... DeRozan had a career-worst eight turnovers. &ldquo;Careless,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s entirely too much and we can&rsquo;t let that happen.&rdquo;

Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 108-103.

Leonard, Powell lead Clippers past Bulls, 108-103

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also scored 18 for the Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After 45 up-and-down minutes, the Heat made key plays when it mattered most.
&ldquo;When it gets to the last three of four minutes, because of the experiences we&rsquo;ve had, guys feel comfortable enough to execute under that kind of pressure,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Miami&rsquo;s maturity was the difference.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why they are who they are,&rdquo; he said.
Butler, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw &mdash; following a huge offensive rebound by Adebayo &mdash; kept the Heat ahead by five with 12 seconds left.
&nbsp;

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also scored 18 for the Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After 45 up-and-down minutes, the Heat made key plays when it mattered most.
&ldquo;When it gets to the last three of four minutes, because of the experiences we&rsquo;ve had, guys feel comfortable enough to execute under that kind of pressure,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Miami&rsquo;s maturity was the difference.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why they are who they are,&rdquo; he said.
Butler, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw &mdash; following a huge offensive rebound by Adebayo &mdash; kept the Heat ahead by five with 12 seconds left.
Darius Garland&rsquo;s 3-pointer brought the Cavs within 99-97 with 8.7 seconds remaining. Cleveland fouled Butler with 7.3 seconds left, and he split his free throws, giving Cleveland a chance to tie.
&nbsp;

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also scored 18 for the Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After 45 up-and-down minutes, the Heat made key plays when it mattered most.
&ldquo;When it gets to the last three of four minutes, because of the experiences we&rsquo;ve had, guys feel comfortable enough to execute under that kind of pressure,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Miami&rsquo;s maturity was the difference.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why they are who they are,&rdquo; he said.
Butler, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw &mdash; following a huge offensive rebound by Adebayo &mdash; kept the Heat ahead by five with 12 seconds left.
Darius Garland&rsquo;s 3-pointer brought the Cavs within 99-97 with 8.7 seconds remaining. Cleveland fouled Butler with 7.3 seconds left, and he split his free throws, giving Cleveland a chance to tie.
All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell rushed the ball up the floor but his contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was short.
&ldquo;They know who to key in on at that point,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;But I thought (Mitchell) did a great job of creating separation and getting a shot off. I thought we got as good a look as we can at that point.&rdquo;
Butler was most pleased by Miami&rsquo;s defense in the closing minutes.
&ldquo;We still had lapses, but I&rsquo;m glad those lapses did not cost us the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We got stops down the stretch when we needed to.&rdquo;
Evan Mobley scored 19 points, Mitchell had 16 and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who dropped to 21-6 at home.
Mitchell and Darius Garland were a combined 4 of 19 on 3-pointers.
The NBA&rsquo;s top-rated defensive team, the Cavs came out looking to make everything difficult for the Heat offensively.
Miami had no early answers and started 2 of 10 from the floor with five turnovers in the first five minutes, but Butler scored 11 points in the quarter while helping his teammates settle in.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_2" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also scored 18 for the Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After 45 up-and-down minutes, the Heat made key plays when it mattered most.
&ldquo;When it gets to the last three of four minutes, because of the experiences we&rsquo;ve had, guys feel comfortable enough to execute under that kind of pressure,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Miami&rsquo;s maturity was the difference.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why they are who they are,&rdquo; he said.
Butler, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw &mdash; following a huge offensive rebound by Adebayo &mdash; kept the Heat ahead by five with 12 seconds left.
Darius Garland&rsquo;s 3-pointer brought the Cavs within 99-97 with 8.7 seconds remaining. Cleveland fouled Butler with 7.3 seconds left, and he split his free throws, giving Cleveland a chance to tie.
All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell rushed the ball up the floor but his contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was short.
&ldquo;They know who to key in on at that point,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;But I thought (Mitchell) did a great job of creating separation and getting a shot off. I thought we got as good a look as we can at that point.&rdquo;
Butler was most pleased by Miami&rsquo;s defense in the closing minutes.
&ldquo;We still had lapses, but I&rsquo;m glad those lapses did not cost us the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We got stops down the stretch when we needed to.&rdquo;
Evan Mobley scored 19 points, Mitchell had 16 and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who dropped to 21-6 at home.
Mitchell and Darius Garland were a combined 4 of 19 on 3-pointers.
The NBA&rsquo;s top-rated defensive team, the Cavs came out looking to make everything difficult for the Heat offensively.
Miami had no early answers and started 2 of 10 from the floor with five turnovers in the first five minutes, but Butler scored 11 points in the quarter while helping his teammates settle in.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_2" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
&ldquo;We were disjointed at the beginning of the game, and I think Jimmy sensed that and went to work,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
HEAT CHECK
Miami has been one of the league&rsquo;s steadiest franchises, missing the playoffs just three times since 2008.
It&rsquo;s a model Cleveland would like to follow.
Bickerstaff admires both the Heat&rsquo;s consistency and ability to adapt. He credits Miami president Pat Riley and Spoelstra for leading the way.
&ldquo;They have a philosophy and are flexible enough to change with the times and keep people wanting to be a part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They have core values they believe in and then they do a great job of acquiring talent but finding talent in the cracks.
&ldquo;Their best players aren&rsquo;t always No. 1 picks. They have been able to work free agency, G League, later draft picks and turn it into talent because their player development staff is so good.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat showed their experience down the stretch in a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also scored 18 for the Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After 45 up-and-down minutes, the Heat made key plays when it mattered most.
&ldquo;When it gets to the last three of four minutes, because of the experiences we&rsquo;ve had, guys feel comfortable enough to execute under that kind of pressure,&rdquo; Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Miami&rsquo;s maturity was the difference.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why they are who they are,&rdquo; he said.
Butler, who has been slowed by injuries for much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw &mdash; following a huge offensive rebound by Adebayo &mdash; kept the Heat ahead by five with 12 seconds left.
Darius Garland&rsquo;s 3-pointer brought the Cavs within 99-97 with 8.7 seconds remaining. Cleveland fouled Butler with 7.3 seconds left, and he split his free throws, giving Cleveland a chance to tie.
All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell rushed the ball up the floor but his contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was short.
&ldquo;They know who to key in on at that point,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;But I thought (Mitchell) did a great job of creating separation and getting a shot off. I thought we got as good a look as we can at that point.&rdquo;
Butler was most pleased by Miami&rsquo;s defense in the closing minutes.
&ldquo;We still had lapses, but I&rsquo;m glad those lapses did not cost us the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We got stops down the stretch when we needed to.&rdquo;
Evan Mobley scored 19 points, Mitchell had 16 and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who dropped to 21-6 at home.
Mitchell and Darius Garland were a combined 4 of 19 on 3-pointers.
The NBA&rsquo;s top-rated defensive team, the Cavs came out looking to make everything difficult for the Heat offensively.
Miami had no early answers and started 2 of 10 from the floor with five turnovers in the first five minutes, but Butler scored 11 points in the quarter while helping his teammates settle in.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_2" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
&ldquo;We were disjointed at the beginning of the game, and I think Jimmy sensed that and went to work,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
HEAT CHECK
Miami has been one of the league&rsquo;s steadiest franchises, missing the playoffs just three times since 2008.
It&rsquo;s a model Cleveland would like to follow.
Bickerstaff admires both the Heat&rsquo;s consistency and ability to adapt. He credits Miami president Pat Riley and Spoelstra for leading the way.
&ldquo;They have a philosophy and are flexible enough to change with the times and keep people wanting to be a part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They have core values they believe in and then they do a great job of acquiring talent but finding talent in the cracks.
&ldquo;Their best players aren&rsquo;t always No. 1 picks. They have been able to work free agency, G League, later draft picks and turn it into talent because their player development staff is so good.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
TIP-INS
Heat: Butler and Adebayo will likely be named All-Star reserves when the rosters are announced Thursday. Butler has been an All-Star six times, while Adebayo has only been selected once. ... Adebayo has scored in double figures in all 47 games this season, and 63 in a row dating to last season. Only Alonzo Mourning, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have had longer streaks in team history.
Cavaliers: G Ricky Rubio had eight points, five rebounds and five assists in 17 minutes. He&rsquo;s beginning to look more comfortable after returning from knee surgery. ... Kevin Love (back spasms) sat out his fourth consecutive game. ... Mobley was chosen to play in the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars at All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City later this month.
</div>
</div>

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and the Miami Heat earned a 100-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jimmy Butler scores 23 as Heat hold off Cavaliers 100-97

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; LeBron James has climbed into fourth place on the NBA&rsquo;s assists list as he closes in on becoming the league&rsquo;s career scoring leader.
James passed both Mark Jackson (10,334) and Steve Nash (10,335) in the fourth quarter of the Lakers&rsquo; 129-123 overtime victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. His 10,336th assist came on Thomas Bryant&rsquo;s dunk with a little more than 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
He finished with 11 assists and now has 10,338.
James came into the game 117 points from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring record. He is now 89 from that after scoring 28.
It was James&rsquo; first game at Madison Square Garden since January 2020. He missed one game because of injury and then was suspended last season after striking Detroit&rsquo;s Isaiah Stewart in the face.

LeBron James has climbed into fourth place on the NBA’s assists list as he closes in on becoming the league’s career scoring leader.

LeBron James climbs to fourth place on NBA’s career assists list

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 21 points and Timmy Allen added 18 to send No. 10 Texas to a 76-71 win over No. 11 Baylor on Monday night, ending the Bears&rsquo; six-game win streak and keeping the Longhorns in a share of first place in the Big 12.
Rice made four 3-pointers in the second half and his two free throws with 16 seconds left put Texas ahead by five with the final points.
Baylor had closed to 72-71 on Keyonte George&rsquo;s three-point play before Texas answered with Marcus Carr&rsquo;s fallaway jumper with 27 seconds left. It was Carr&rsquo;s first basket of the second half and just his second of the game.
Rice, a 29% 3-point shooter in Big 12 play, was 4 of 5 shooting from long range. Allen was 7 of 10 from the floor and made two free throws in the final minute that put the Longhorns (18-4, 7-2) ahead by four.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what this league is about. You have to put your hat on every day and come to work. That was one of the hardest games I&rsquo;ve been in since I got here,&rdquo; Allen said. &ldquo;In the Big 12, that&rsquo;s what it takes every night. &rdquo;
Baylor had fought back from nine points down in the first half to tie it at 38 on the opening possession after halftime. Texas answered with a quick 8-0 run punctuated by a 3-pointer by Tyrese Hunter, a put-back dunk by Dillon Mitchell and Allen&rsquo;s short jumper over two defenders.
Rice&rsquo;s 3-pointers kept any chance of a Baylor rally in check and Texas never trailed in the second half.
LJ Cryer scored 19 points to lead four Baylor players in double figures.
Baylor (16-6, 5-4) trailed 70-68 with a chance to take the lead in the final two minutes, but Adam Flagler threw up a quick 3-pointer that missed before Allen made his two late free throws.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to have long winning streaks in this league,&rdquo; Baylor coach Scott Drew said. &ldquo;You can play well and lose games.&rdquo;
Baylor had won 12 of the previous 13 matchups with the Longhorns.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve had our number,&rdquo; Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. &ldquo;We needed to find a way to get this thing done. We were at home.&rdquo;
MISSING POINTS
Carr, Texas&rsquo; leading scorer this season, had a rare off night as a shooter. He was just 2 of 8 from the floor and didn&rsquo;t score in double figures for just the third time this season, and the first time since Dec. 12.
&ldquo;Guys picked each other up,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;Obviously Marcus didn&rsquo;t have the game everybody&rsquo;s used to him having, but he still made sure we sure we were playing defense ... Things like that got us the win.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Bears fell in love with the 3-pointer and couldn&rsquo;t break out of it against a Texas defense that denied shot after shot near the basket. Baylor was 8 of 26 from long range and made just two in the second half.
&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t let them dictate what we do,&rdquo; Cryer said.
Texas: The Longhorns were coming off a loss at No. 2 Tennessee, when Terry complained the Longhorns let themselves get pushed around in a physical matchup. They had no such problems against the Bears, nearly matching the Bears in rebounding and points in the paint.
&ldquo;(Terry) challenged us on defense. He challenged us to be better. We&rsquo;re not a team that&rsquo;s used to getting out-toughed. We had to respond physically, mentally,&rdquo; Allen said.
UP NEXT
Baylor hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.
Texas plays at No. 7 Kansas State on Saturday.

Texas' win snapped Baylor's six-game win streak and kept the Longhorns in a share of first place in the Big 12.

Rice, Allen lead No. 10 Texas over No. 11 Baylor 76-71

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas Tech coach Mark Adams was just happy fans stuck around for the biggest comeback in school history, and the first Big 12 win of the season for a Sweet 16 team from a year ago.
The Red Raiders erased a 23-point deficit after halftime to end an eight-game conference skid, with De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scoring all 16 of his points after the break in an 80-77 overtime victory against No. 13 Iowa State on Monday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in shock here,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;I was just so proud of our guys. They didn&rsquo;t give up on themselves. I was proud of the fans. I was afraid they were going to leave at halftime.&rdquo;
The 23-point comeback matched the largest in a win in Division I this season and the largest in a power conference game since Boston College overcame the same deficit to beat Clemson on Jan. 15, 2022, according to KenPom.
The Red Raiders trailed 59-36 with 12:36 remaining after one of Caleb Grill&rsquo;s career-best eight 3-pointers, but a 20-3 run started not long after to make it close down the stretch.
Kevin Obanor had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8 Big 12), who won their second consecutive game including a victory over LSU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Grill scored 24 points but missed his final three 3-pointers after starting 8 of 9. One miss was an off-balance air ball on a frantic game-ending sequence in which the Cyclones (15-6, 6-3) missed three from long range trying to force a second overtime.
&ldquo;They just decided they were going to crank up the pressure, really come after us and try to spread us out,&rdquo; said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team was coming off a double-digit loss to Missouri in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge that followed a win over fifth-ranked Kansas State. &ldquo;We got out of sorts.&rdquo;
Iowa State still led by five with 40 seconds remaining in regulation when Obanor hit a 3-pointer and the Red Raiders forced one of 13 second-half turnovers from the Cyclones on the inbound play.
Harmon, who had 11 points in the second half and five in OT, was fouled on a drive and made both free throws for the first tie of the game at 71-all with 21 seconds remaining after Iowa State had led from the opening bucket.
Iowa State&rsquo;s Gabe Kalscheur had 19 points but went 0 of 6 from 3, with one of the misses coming up short at the buzzer in regulation.
The Red Raiders took their first lead early in overtime on a layup by D&rsquo;Maurian Williams, and their biggest lead was the final margin.
Harmon put them ahead for good with one of two free throws with 42 seconds remaining in overtime, and Obanor hit two more after another of Grill&rsquo;s late misses on an off-balance 3.
Grill had the first long try in the final seconds, Jaren Holmes got the rebound but also was short from beyond the arc. Holmes ended up with the ball one more time, but was short again as the buzzer sounded.
Texas Tech&rsquo;s biggest previous comeback was from 17 down in a 99-94 overtime victory at Nevada on Dec. 27, 1997.
&ldquo;I thought our defense was much better (in the second half), but the big thing was just we were the most aggressive team on both ends of the floor the second half,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;That was the difference.&rdquo;
The Cyclones, who beat Texas Tech by 34 points at home last month, led by 17 at halftime and took their first 20-point lead one of Grill&rsquo;s 3s in the opening seconds of the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones entered with the Big 12&prime;s best scoring defense and had held their first seven conference opponents under 70 points for the first time since joining the conference in the mid-1990s. But three straight teams, including the SEC&rsquo;s Missouri in a 78-61 win Saturday, have surpassed that mark.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders rallied without freshman point guard Pop Isaacs, their leading scorer scorer in conference play. He missed a second consecutive game with an ankle injury while 6-foot-11 senior center Fardaws Aimaq was out with a foot injury.
GOING COLD
Iowa State&rsquo;s only field goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation was the 3-pointer that gave Grill his career high of eight. The Cyclones were 3 of 16 in the final 10 minutes of regulation and OT.
&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a time to figure out who&rsquo;s fault it was and doom and gloom,&rdquo; Otzelberger said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some really great moments. We&rsquo;re going to continue to have some great moments.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Iowa State: No. 8 Kansas visits Saturday. The Jayhawks beat the Cyclones by two at home on Jan. 14.
Texas Tech: At No. 11 Baylor on Saturday. The Bears can sweep the season series after the Red Raiders swept last season, including a victory in Waco when Baylor was No. 1.

The 23-point comeback matched the largest in a win in Division I this season. The Red Raiders trailed 59-36 with 12:36 remaining.

Texas Tech rallies from 23 down, beats No. 13 Iowa St. in OT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; LSU guard Alexis Morris showcased her speed, shooting touch and veteran savvy, punishing Tennessee for its apparent preoccupation with dominant Tigers post player Angel Reese.
Morris scored a career-high 31 points, stirring a raucous sellout crowd with a series of clutch transition layups in the fourth quarter, and third-ranked LSU remained unbeaten with a 76-68 victory over Tennessee on Monday night.
&ldquo;I had to be the player to stay poised because I&rsquo;m experienced. I&rsquo;ve been here before,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;I got my first few transition buckets and was like, &lsquo;OK, this is pretty easy. I might as well use it to my advantage.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s what I did tonight, push it in transition and put the pressure on them.&rdquo;
Reese had 18 points and 17 rebounds for her program-record 21st straight double-double for LSU (21-0, 9-0 SEC). Reese&rsquo;s highlights included a transition layup while being fouled during a pivotal 11-0 run after the Lady Vols had pulled as close as 53-52 in the fourth quarter.
Jordan Walker scored 19 points and Rickea Jackson added 17 for Tennessee (16-8, 8-1), which has lost two straight, albeit to two top-five teams (No. 5 UConn being the other).
Jordan Horston scored 11 for Tennessee, which nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half before the Tigers&rsquo; final surge kept the Lady Vols at arm&rsquo;s length in the final minutes.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was competitive &mdash; got away from us there in the second half,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. &ldquo;Obviously, Alexis Morris made some really, really tough shots and put up a lot of points.&rdquo;
Reese was held to just four points and four rebounds in the first half, when she was trying to avoid foul trouble. She ramped up her aggression after that.
&ldquo;With her, it&rsquo;s really difficult to keep her completely off the boards,&rdquo; Harper said. &ldquo;With her length and her strength, she just has position early, and it&rsquo;s really difficult because she has such a knack for the ball.&rdquo;
LSU led by as many as nine in the first half after Last-Tear Poa&rsquo;s 3 made it 32-23 late in the second quarter.
Tennessee closed to 34-31 after Jackson scored inside to open the second half. But 3s by Jasmine Carson and Morris helped LSU start to pull away again. Morris&rsquo; free throws ignited an 8-0 run, capped by Reese&rsquo;s driving layup that made it 48-34 in the middle of the third quarter.
Tennessee went more than four minutes without scoring before Jackson&rsquo;s layup made it 48-36.
Tennessee then began defending the entire length of the court. That disrupted the Tigers, who did not hit a field goal for the last 5:45 of the third, allowing Tennessee to pull to 50-47 on Puckett&rsquo;s 3 in the final minute of the period.
The Vols were as close as 53-52 after Jackson&rsquo;s free throw, but Morris responded with a driving leaner while being fouled for a three-point play. Soon after, Reese converted a steal into a transition layup as she was fouled. Morris then scored twice more in transition, sending the crowd, and LSU coach Kim Mulkey, into a triumphant frenzy.
&ldquo;Everybody in the SEC picked Tennessee to finish ahead of us,&rdquo; Mulkey noted. &ldquo;If I&rsquo;m a competitor, I take that as a challenge.&rdquo;
FULL HOUSE
The crowd of 15,157 was the largest since a 2005 renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Mulkey called the atmosphere in the arena &ldquo;everything young people need to experience in college.&rdquo;
Added Reese, a Maryland transfer, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been a part of this type of environment. ... To come to a school where they support women&rsquo;s basketball, sometimes even more than the men, is amazing and you don&rsquo;t see that very often.&rdquo;
Harper said it was so loud at times that &ldquo;it was really difficult to communicate with our team&rdquo; while the ball was in play.
&ldquo;Sometimes,&rdquo; Haper added, &ldquo;it was hard to even communicate in the huddle.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Lady Vols continued to be a victim of their difficult schedule. They now have a half-dozen losses against ranked teams and most of those losing margins were single digits. ... Tennessee shot 8 of 19 from 3-point range to keep the game close, but were outperformed inside in the second half.
LSU: Led for all but a few minutes and always had a response for each Tennessee push. LSU outrebounded Tennessee 45-38, outscored the Lady Vols in the paint 38-30 and scored 23 points at the foul line to Tennessee&rsquo;s six.
UP NEXT
Tennessee: Hosts Mississippi on Thursday.
LSU: Hosts Georgia on Thursday.

Alexis Morris scored a career-high 31 points, stirring a raucous sellout crowd with a series of clutch layups in the fourth quarter.

Morris’ career-high 31 lifts No, 3 LSU over Tennessee, 76-68

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.
Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).
Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 off a pass from Lillard to give the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Usually, they don&rsquo;t help off me like that. (DeAndre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.&rdquo;
Lillard had no trouble giving up the ball.
&ldquo;They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,&rdquo; he said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.
Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).
Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 off a pass from Lillard to give the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Usually, they don&rsquo;t help off me like that. (DeAndre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.&rdquo;
Lillard had no trouble giving up the ball.
&ldquo;They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,&rdquo; he said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.
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&ldquo;Every possession matters,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;We did not finish and they did.&rdquo;
Portland led by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made their run and tied it at 119 on two free throws by Murray with 1:06 left.
Lillard scored on a drive but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie it 121-all with 41.1 seconds to go.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.
Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).
Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 off a pass from Lillard to give the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Usually, they don&rsquo;t help off me like that. (DeAndre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.&rdquo;
Lillard had no trouble giving up the ball.
&ldquo;They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,&rdquo; he said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.
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&ldquo;Every possession matters,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;We did not finish and they did.&rdquo;
Portland led by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made their run and tied it at 119 on two free throws by Murray with 1:06 left.
Lillard scored on a drive but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie it 121-all with 41.1 seconds to go.
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Simons put the Blazers in front for good with his 3-pointer. Bogdanovic was fouled on a 3 with 27.1 seconds to play but missed two of three at the line, leaving Portland ahead 124-122.
Grant hit two free throws before Bogdanovic missed a 3 at the other end with 15.1 seconds to go.
A free throw by Josh Hart and two more from Lillard helped the Blazers seal it.
Lillard drained all 17 of his foul shots. Hart finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Portland escaped despite getting outrebounded 45-29 and outscored 21-3 in second-chance points.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;d rather learn and keep talking about it in wins,&rdquo; Lillard said about Portland&rsquo;s struggles on the glass. &ldquo;We can keep having that conversation. We&rsquo;ve got to box out better, hit somebody and limit these opportunities.&rdquo;
Lillard had 22 points in the first half to help the Blazers take a 64-60 lead into the locker room. Murray scored 20 before the break.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.
Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).
Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 off a pass from Lillard to give the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Usually, they don&rsquo;t help off me like that. (DeAndre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.&rdquo;
Lillard had no trouble giving up the ball.
&ldquo;They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,&rdquo; he said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.
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&ldquo;Every possession matters,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;We did not finish and they did.&rdquo;
Portland led by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made their run and tied it at 119 on two free throws by Murray with 1:06 left.
Lillard scored on a drive but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie it 121-all with 41.1 seconds to go.
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Simons put the Blazers in front for good with his 3-pointer. Bogdanovic was fouled on a 3 with 27.1 seconds to play but missed two of three at the line, leaving Portland ahead 124-122.
Grant hit two free throws before Bogdanovic missed a 3 at the other end with 15.1 seconds to go.
A free throw by Josh Hart and two more from Lillard helped the Blazers seal it.
Lillard drained all 17 of his foul shots. Hart finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Portland escaped despite getting outrebounded 45-29 and outscored 21-3 in second-chance points.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;d rather learn and keep talking about it in wins,&rdquo; Lillard said about Portland&rsquo;s struggles on the glass. &ldquo;We can keep having that conversation. We&rsquo;ve got to box out better, hit somebody and limit these opportunities.&rdquo;
Lillard had 22 points in the first half to help the Blazers take a 64-60 lead into the locker room. Murray scored 20 before the break.
Portland got a big lift from 19-year-old rookie Shaedon Sharpe, whose chase-down block on Murray with 2:49 left in the third quarter gave the crowd a jolt of energy. Sharpe also had two alley-oop dunks and a near miss that drew the loudest reaction of the night. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been getting a lot more comfortable on both sides of the ball,&rdquo; Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
With 2:14 left in the third, Murray received a technical for arguing a foul called on the Hawks. Lillard made three free throws to extend Portland&rsquo;s lead to seven. He closed the quarter scoring five straight points to put the Blazers up 99-92 heading into the fourth.
SIDELINED
Young sat out with a right ankle injury, missing his sixth game of the season. Aaron Holiday started in his place.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 on Monday night.
Dejounte Murray had 40 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who played without star point guard Trae Young (ankle).
Lillard added six assists in his fifth 40-point game this month. Jerami Grant had 22 points and Simons finished with 21, including his clutch 3 off a pass from Lillard to give the Trail Blazers a 124-121 lead.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Usually, they don&rsquo;t help off me like that. (DeAndre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.&rdquo;
Lillard had no trouble giving up the ball.
&ldquo;They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,&rdquo; he said.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta off the bench.
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&ldquo;Every possession matters,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;We did not finish and they did.&rdquo;
Portland led by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Hawks made their run and tied it at 119 on two free throws by Murray with 1:06 left.
Lillard scored on a drive but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie it 121-all with 41.1 seconds to go.
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Simons put the Blazers in front for good with his 3-pointer. Bogdanovic was fouled on a 3 with 27.1 seconds to play but missed two of three at the line, leaving Portland ahead 124-122.
Grant hit two free throws before Bogdanovic missed a 3 at the other end with 15.1 seconds to go.
A free throw by Josh Hart and two more from Lillard helped the Blazers seal it.
Lillard drained all 17 of his foul shots. Hart finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Portland escaped despite getting outrebounded 45-29 and outscored 21-3 in second-chance points.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;d rather learn and keep talking about it in wins,&rdquo; Lillard said about Portland&rsquo;s struggles on the glass. &ldquo;We can keep having that conversation. We&rsquo;ve got to box out better, hit somebody and limit these opportunities.&rdquo;
Lillard had 22 points in the first half to help the Blazers take a 64-60 lead into the locker room. Murray scored 20 before the break.
Portland got a big lift from 19-year-old rookie Shaedon Sharpe, whose chase-down block on Murray with 2:49 left in the third quarter gave the crowd a jolt of energy. Sharpe also had two alley-oop dunks and a near miss that drew the loudest reaction of the night. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been getting a lot more comfortable on both sides of the ball,&rdquo; Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
With 2:14 left in the third, Murray received a technical for arguing a foul called on the Hawks. Lillard made three free throws to extend Portland&rsquo;s lead to seven. He closed the quarter scoring five straight points to put the Blazers up 99-92 heading into the fourth.
SIDELINED
Young sat out with a right ankle injury, missing his sixth game of the season. Aaron Holiday started in his place.
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HONORED
Earlier in the day, Lillard was selected Western Conference player of the week. Portland went 2-1 at home last week as Lillard averaged 42.3 points while shooting 63% from the field and 51% on 3-pointers.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to have somebody in his face when he crosses half court,&rdquo; McMillan said before the game. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s shown the ability to be unstoppable at times with his ability to stretch the floor and create offense. I don&rsquo;t think you can give him the same look and expect to have success against him. He&rsquo;s seen everything and he&rsquo;s still able to affect the game.&rdquo;
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Damian Lillard scored 42 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks 129-125.

Lillard scores 42 as Trail Blazers hold off Hawks 129-125

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
&ldquo;Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,&rdquo; Murray said.
Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.
&nbsp;

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
&ldquo;Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,&rdquo; Murray said.
Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s drawing a big crowd,&rdquo; Wolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;For the most part, he&rsquo;s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.&rdquo;
Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis, who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layup that had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57 left.
Neither team led by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, when Edwards&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1620262640512651269" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">went to work once again</a>&nbsp;for the Wolves and made baskets on three straight possessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.
Fox is one of those clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice with shots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.
Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves.
&nbsp;

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
&ldquo;Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,&rdquo; Murray said.
Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s drawing a big crowd,&rdquo; Wolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;For the most part, he&rsquo;s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.&rdquo;
Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis, who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layup that had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57 left.
Neither team led by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, when Edwards&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1620262640512651269" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">went to work once again</a>&nbsp;for the Wolves and made baskets on three straight possessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.
Fox is one of those clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice with shots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.
Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves.
&ldquo;To go into overtime in someone else&rsquo;s building and gut out a win is definitely big,&rdquo; Fox said.
EARLY BRICKS
The rims on both ends were in an unforgiving mood. The Wolves had a season-low 17 points in the first quarter. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell missed his first three free throws after missing a total of twice from the line in his previous 13 games.
&ldquo;We tried to scrape this one out, and we made too many mistakes to get the win,&rdquo; Russell said.
GHOST TOWNS
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 32 games with a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-basketball-92134a15e9f8dd17eb4a03865a4e71e9">strained right calf</a>. He posted an Instagram photo over the weekend showing his right foot in a walking boot.
&nbsp;

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
&ldquo;Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,&rdquo; Murray said.
Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s drawing a big crowd,&rdquo; Wolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;For the most part, he&rsquo;s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.&rdquo;
Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis, who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layup that had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57 left.
Neither team led by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, when Edwards&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1620262640512651269" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">went to work once again</a>&nbsp;for the Wolves and made baskets on three straight possessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.
Fox is one of those clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice with shots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.
Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves.
&ldquo;To go into overtime in someone else&rsquo;s building and gut out a win is definitely big,&rdquo; Fox said.
EARLY BRICKS
The rims on both ends were in an unforgiving mood. The Wolves had a season-low 17 points in the first quarter. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell missed his first three free throws after missing a total of twice from the line in his previous 13 games.
&ldquo;We tried to scrape this one out, and we made too many mistakes to get the win,&rdquo; Russell said.
GHOST TOWNS
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 32 games with a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-basketball-92134a15e9f8dd17eb4a03865a4e71e9">strained right calf</a>. He posted an Instagram photo over the weekend showing his right foot in a walking boot.
&ldquo;No setbacks at all,&rdquo; Finch said. &ldquo;Just part of the process.&rdquo;
TIMES CHANGE
Three years and three days ago,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/06aa4c5c65db54def0a98661d75c605e">the Kings stunned the Timberwolves</a>&nbsp;by overcoming a 27-point deficit &mdash; they were still down 17 with 2:49 left in regulation &mdash; to win in overtime.
Only three players remain on each team&rsquo;s roster from that night. The only ones who saw the floor in both the Jan. 27, 2020, game: Fox and Harrison Barnes for Sacramento and Naz Reid for Minnesota.
TIP-INS
Kings: SG Kevin Huerter went 5 for 19 from the floor and 2 for 12 from 3-point range in the two-game series. ... SG Deonte Burton was signed to a 10-day contract prior to the game, plucked from the G-League affiliate in Stockton.
Timberwolves: Backup SF Taurean Prince returned from a four-game absence with a sprained left ankle. ... The Wolves shot 13 for 25 from the free-throw line.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.
Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature win in their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence from the playoffs.
The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,&rdquo; Fox said.
Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer. He&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1620262968234741761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dunked on Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;for a three-point play and got wide open for a slam with 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-03ca1e21d7a86da083206d9410841062">117-110 loss</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.
&ldquo;Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,&rdquo; Murray said.
Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games, but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down the stretch.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s drawing a big crowd,&rdquo; Wolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;For the most part, he&rsquo;s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.&rdquo;
Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis, who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layup that had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57 left.
Neither team led by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, when Edwards&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1620262640512651269" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">went to work once again</a>&nbsp;for the Wolves and made baskets on three straight possessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.
Fox is one of those clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice with shots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at the regulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.
Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves.
&ldquo;To go into overtime in someone else&rsquo;s building and gut out a win is definitely big,&rdquo; Fox said.
EARLY BRICKS
The rims on both ends were in an unforgiving mood. The Wolves had a season-low 17 points in the first quarter. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell missed his first three free throws after missing a total of twice from the line in his previous 13 games.
&ldquo;We tried to scrape this one out, and we made too many mistakes to get the win,&rdquo; Russell said.
GHOST TOWNS
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 32 games with a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-basketball-92134a15e9f8dd17eb4a03865a4e71e9">strained right calf</a>. He posted an Instagram photo over the weekend showing his right foot in a walking boot.
&ldquo;No setbacks at all,&rdquo; Finch said. &ldquo;Just part of the process.&rdquo;
TIMES CHANGE
Three years and three days ago,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/06aa4c5c65db54def0a98661d75c605e">the Kings stunned the Timberwolves</a>&nbsp;by overcoming a 27-point deficit &mdash; they were still down 17 with 2:49 left in regulation &mdash; to win in overtime.
Only three players remain on each team&rsquo;s roster from that night. The only ones who saw the floor in both the Jan. 27, 2020, game: Fox and Harrison Barnes for Sacramento and Naz Reid for Minnesota.
TIP-INS
Kings: SG Kevin Huerter went 5 for 19 from the floor and 2 for 12 from 3-point range in the two-game series. ... SG Deonte Burton was signed to a 10-day contract prior to the game, plucked from the G-League affiliate in Stockton.
Timberwolves: Backup SF Taurean Prince returned from a four-game absence with a sprained left ankle. ... The Wolves shot 13 for 25 from the free-throw line.

De’Aaron Fox scored 32 points for the Sacramento Kings, who outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 in overtime.

Fox, Lyles help Kings outlast Timberwolves 118-111 in OT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.
Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.
&ldquo;You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it&rsquo;s good to get that one off our chest,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.
Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.
The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.
Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.
&ldquo;You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it&rsquo;s good to get that one off our chest,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.
Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.
The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.
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San Antonio is 0-35 this season when trailing by double digits.
&ldquo;We had more fast-break points,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;We had more second-chance points. We had fewer turnovers. We had more points in the paint but shot 20-something from 3 and they shot 50 or something. Game over.&rdquo;
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.
Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.
&ldquo;You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it&rsquo;s good to get that one off our chest,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.
Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.
The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.
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San Antonio is 0-35 this season when trailing by double digits.
&ldquo;We had more fast-break points,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;We had more second-chance points. We had fewer turnovers. We had more points in the paint but shot 20-something from 3 and they shot 50 or something. Game over.&rdquo;
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San Antonio was 7 for 29 on 3-pointers while Washington shot 16 for 30 on 3s.
Porzingis scored 13 of the Wizards&rsquo; first 19 points. Jakob Poeltl picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, forcing the Spurs to bring Zach Collins in sooner than usual.
After his early scoring burst, Porzingis was scoreless in the next two periods and had four points in the fourth.
Avdija responded by scoring 23 points in the final three quarters to help the Wizards win here for the first time since he was 2 years old.
&ldquo;The streak is done,&rdquo; Avdija said. &ldquo;Just to close that circle and be here and having a good game versus the Spurs and end that streak. I think everybody did a really great job competing. When we&rsquo;re focused and sharing the ball, we&rsquo;re a really dangerous team.&rdquo;
Avdija was 10 for 12 from the field and made both his 3-point attempts. Kendrick Nunn added 10 points, giving him double-digit scoring in all three games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for Rui Hachimura.
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.
Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.
&ldquo;You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it&rsquo;s good to get that one off our chest,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.
Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.
The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
San Antonio is 0-35 this season when trailing by double digits.
&ldquo;We had more fast-break points,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;We had more second-chance points. We had fewer turnovers. We had more points in the paint but shot 20-something from 3 and they shot 50 or something. Game over.&rdquo;
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San Antonio was 7 for 29 on 3-pointers while Washington shot 16 for 30 on 3s.
Porzingis scored 13 of the Wizards&rsquo; first 19 points. Jakob Poeltl picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, forcing the Spurs to bring Zach Collins in sooner than usual.
After his early scoring burst, Porzingis was scoreless in the next two periods and had four points in the fourth.
Avdija responded by scoring 23 points in the final three quarters to help the Wizards win here for the first time since he was 2 years old.
&ldquo;The streak is done,&rdquo; Avdija said. &ldquo;Just to close that circle and be here and having a good game versus the Spurs and end that streak. I think everybody did a really great job competing. When we&rsquo;re focused and sharing the ball, we&rsquo;re a really dangerous team.&rdquo;
Avdija was 10 for 12 from the field and made both his 3-point attempts. Kendrick Nunn added 10 points, giving him double-digit scoring in all three games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for Rui Hachimura.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington&rsquo;s longest winning streak in franchise history is nine straight, which it accomplished in 2002, 1979, 1975, 1970 and 1969. ... Washington is 12-16 on the road, two victories shy of matching last season&rsquo;s win total away from home. ... Kuzma and Delon Wright were reunited with Poeltl, their teammate with the Utah Utes in 2015. ... Nunn received a technical foul 7 seconds into the second quarter after complaining about a non-call. After stripping possession from Blake Wesley, Nunn thought he was fouled on a layup attempt that was knocked out of bounds by the Spurs&rsquo; rookie. San Antonio F Doug McDermott missed the free throw.
Spurs: San Antonio has allowed 100-plus points in six straight games and in all but one of its past 27 games. .. Sochan has scored in double figures in seven straight games and in 10 of his past 12. ... G Josh Richardson did not play after being upgraded to probable several hours before tipoff. Richardson missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. ... Collins suffered a bloody nose that forced officials to stop play with 2.8 seconds left in the first quarter. Keldon Johnson re-entered the game in place of Collins.
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, Bradley Beal had 21 points and the Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory Monday night.
Washington, which last won in San Antonio on Dec. 11, 1999, has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run in 2015.
&ldquo;You never want to be on the losing end of that streak, but it&rsquo;s good to get that one off our chest,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who was an advance scout with the team in 1999.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and nine rebounds after a fast start for Washington.
Keldon Johnson had 26 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 and Zach Collins had 16 for the Spurs, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-13 this month.
The Wizards led 63-55 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. The Spurs closed within four points midway through the third quarter, but Washington responded with an 8-0 run to regain a double-digit advantage.
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San Antonio is 0-35 this season when trailing by double digits.
&ldquo;We had more fast-break points,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;We had more second-chance points. We had fewer turnovers. We had more points in the paint but shot 20-something from 3 and they shot 50 or something. Game over.&rdquo;
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San Antonio was 7 for 29 on 3-pointers while Washington shot 16 for 30 on 3s.
Porzingis scored 13 of the Wizards&rsquo; first 19 points. Jakob Poeltl picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes, forcing the Spurs to bring Zach Collins in sooner than usual.
After his early scoring burst, Porzingis was scoreless in the next two periods and had four points in the fourth.
Avdija responded by scoring 23 points in the final three quarters to help the Wizards win here for the first time since he was 2 years old.
&ldquo;The streak is done,&rdquo; Avdija said. &ldquo;Just to close that circle and be here and having a good game versus the Spurs and end that streak. I think everybody did a really great job competing. When we&rsquo;re focused and sharing the ball, we&rsquo;re a really dangerous team.&rdquo;
Avdija was 10 for 12 from the field and made both his 3-point attempts. Kendrick Nunn added 10 points, giving him double-digit scoring in all three games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for Rui Hachimura.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington&rsquo;s longest winning streak in franchise history is nine straight, which it accomplished in 2002, 1979, 1975, 1970 and 1969. ... Washington is 12-16 on the road, two victories shy of matching last season&rsquo;s win total away from home. ... Kuzma and Delon Wright were reunited with Poeltl, their teammate with the Utah Utes in 2015. ... Nunn received a technical foul 7 seconds into the second quarter after complaining about a non-call. After stripping possession from Blake Wesley, Nunn thought he was fouled on a layup attempt that was knocked out of bounds by the Spurs&rsquo; rookie. San Antonio F Doug McDermott missed the free throw.
Spurs: San Antonio has allowed 100-plus points in six straight games and in all but one of its past 27 games. .. Sochan has scored in double figures in seven straight games and in 10 of his past 12. ... G Josh Richardson did not play after being upgraded to probable several hours before tipoff. Richardson missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. ... Collins suffered a bloody nose that forced officials to stop play with 2.8 seconds left in the first quarter. Keldon Johnson re-entered the game in place of Collins.
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TURBO
Avdija&rsquo;s recent rise has coincided with the team bestowing the nickname &ldquo;Turbo&rdquo; on the 22-year-old forward.
Wizards veteran Monte Morris unknowingly gave Avdija the nickname while the two were playing 1-on-1. Morris playfully remarked that Avdija&rsquo;s hustle reminded him of the &ldquo;turbo and square&rdquo; move in NBA2K.
&ldquo;They really want me to succeed and be aggressive,&rdquo; Avdija said. &ldquo;Since they gave me that nickname, I really just am being more aggressive. I&rsquo;m just enjoying, that&rsquo;s the most important for me.&rdquo;
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The Washington Wizards ended a 22-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio with a 127-106 victory.

Wizards end 22-game skid in San Antonio, beat Spurs 127-106

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.
Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
It was the latest win over one of the NBA&rsquo;s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.
&ldquo;They are learning from experiences,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it&rsquo;s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.
&ldquo;We are a very good team,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.&rdquo;
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.
Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
It was the latest win over one of the NBA&rsquo;s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.
&ldquo;They are learning from experiences,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it&rsquo;s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.
&ldquo;We are a very good team,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.&rdquo;
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, his 27th game this season scoring 30 or more and his ninth in the past 10. But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando&rsquo;s physical defense.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.
Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
It was the latest win over one of the NBA&rsquo;s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.
&ldquo;They are learning from experiences,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it&rsquo;s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.
&ldquo;We are a very good team,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.&rdquo;
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, his 27th game this season scoring 30 or more and his ninth in the past 10. But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando&rsquo;s physical defense.
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The Magic forced 19 turnovers and held Philly to 19 points in the fourth quarter. The 21-point deficit was the largest Orlando has overcome this season and the sixth-largest in franchise history.
The Magic methodically worked their way back from the early hole, trimming the Sixers&rsquo; lead to 10 points at halftime. Orlando went ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris in the third quarter.
&ldquo;We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You&rsquo;re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.&rdquo;
The Magic took the lead for good with 7:03 to play when Mo Wagner made a reverse layup, was fouled and converted the free throw. Wagner converted another three-point play 19 seconds later when he was fouled by Embiid on a driving layup.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers unsuccessfully challenged the foul call on Embiid, insisting his big man had established defensive position.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.
Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
It was the latest win over one of the NBA&rsquo;s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.
&ldquo;They are learning from experiences,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it&rsquo;s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.
&ldquo;We are a very good team,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.&rdquo;
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, his 27th game this season scoring 30 or more and his ninth in the past 10. But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando&rsquo;s physical defense.
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The Magic forced 19 turnovers and held Philly to 19 points in the fourth quarter. The 21-point deficit was the largest Orlando has overcome this season and the sixth-largest in franchise history.
The Magic methodically worked their way back from the early hole, trimming the Sixers&rsquo; lead to 10 points at halftime. Orlando went ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris in the third quarter.
&ldquo;We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You&rsquo;re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.&rdquo;
The Magic took the lead for good with 7:03 to play when Mo Wagner made a reverse layup, was fouled and converted the free throw. Wagner converted another three-point play 19 seconds later when he was fouled by Embiid on a driving layup.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers unsuccessfully challenged the foul call on Embiid, insisting his big man had established defensive position.
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Cole Anthony followed with a 3-pointer to complete a 9-0 Orlando run, and the Sixers got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we played with any pace,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;Their pressure, their physicality ... they got into us. We turned the ball over. We were flopping to try to draw fouls. We just turned it off and couldn&rsquo;t get it back.&rdquo;
Tobias Harris and James Harden scored 17 points apiece for the Sixers.
TIP-INS
Magic: Almost four years after the Sixers traded him to Orlando, Markelle Fultz played his first game in Philadelphia as a visitor. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has been injured each time the Magic played in Philly since the trade, although he played a road game against the Sixers in 2020 during the pandemic bubble in Florida. Fultz finished with 12 points and 10 assists and said the experience was &ldquo;amazing.&rdquo;
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 on Monday night.
Mo Wagner scored 22 points and his younger brother Franz Wagner scored 19 for the Magic, who stopped a three-game skid and ended the Sixers&rsquo; seven-game winning streak.
It was the latest win over one of the NBA&rsquo;s top teams for the Magic, who improved to 15-11 since their 6-20 start.
&ldquo;They are learning from experiences,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it&rsquo;s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
Orlando has beaten Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix and now Philadelphia.
&ldquo;We are a very good team,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.&rdquo;
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, his 27th game this season scoring 30 or more and his ninth in the past 10. But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando&rsquo;s physical defense.
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The Magic forced 19 turnovers and held Philly to 19 points in the fourth quarter. The 21-point deficit was the largest Orlando has overcome this season and the sixth-largest in franchise history.
The Magic methodically worked their way back from the early hole, trimming the Sixers&rsquo; lead to 10 points at halftime. Orlando went ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris in the third quarter.
&ldquo;We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You&rsquo;re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.&rdquo;
The Magic took the lead for good with 7:03 to play when Mo Wagner made a reverse layup, was fouled and converted the free throw. Wagner converted another three-point play 19 seconds later when he was fouled by Embiid on a driving layup.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers unsuccessfully challenged the foul call on Embiid, insisting his big man had established defensive position.
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Cole Anthony followed with a 3-pointer to complete a 9-0 Orlando run, and the Sixers got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we played with any pace,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;Their pressure, their physicality ... they got into us. We turned the ball over. We were flopping to try to draw fouls. We just turned it off and couldn&rsquo;t get it back.&rdquo;
Tobias Harris and James Harden scored 17 points apiece for the Sixers.
TIP-INS
Magic: Almost four years after the Sixers traded him to Orlando, Markelle Fultz played his first game in Philadelphia as a visitor. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has been injured each time the Magic played in Philly since the trade, although he played a road game against the Sixers in 2020 during the pandemic bubble in Florida. Fultz finished with 12 points and 10 assists and said the experience was &ldquo;amazing.&rdquo;
76ers: Philadelphia has been the hottest team in the NBA for nearly two months but has benefited from playing the league&rsquo;s third-easiest schedule entering Monday night&rsquo;s game. The Sixers have the second-toughest remaining schedule and will play 17 games in March, including 11 on the road.
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Paolo Banchero had 29 points as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109.