UNDATED (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, Zach LaVine added 30 and the Chicago Bulls won their fourth straight game, beating the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 130-118.
Cam Reddish finished with 33 points and Trae Young, cleared from health and safety protocols about 90 minutes before tipoff, returned to the starting lineup and scored 29 for Atlanta. DeRozan was 14 for 20 from the field. LaVine, in his second game back after missing 15 days in protocols, went 11 for 21, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Nikola Vucevic got his 14th double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds.
In other NBA Monday night action:
— Kristaps Porzingis had a season-high 34 points and nine rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 132-117. Both teams were short-handed. The Mavericks were missing six players, including star Luka Doncic, in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Portland had seven players in the protocols, as well as head coach Chauncey Billups. Dwight Powell scored a season-high 22 points for Dallas, and Brandon Knight came off the bench to score 18 points. Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 26 points. Nassir Little had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
— James Harden tied his season high with 39 points and had a season-best 15 assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets over the Los Angeles Clippers 124-108 in a matchup of short-handed teams. The Nets improved their NBA-best road mark to 13-3 with a sweep in Los Angeles. They beat LeBron James and the Lakers 122-115 on Christmas in their first game after three straight postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic. Marcus Morris led the Clippers with 24 points in his first game back from being in the league’s health and safety protocols. A combined 15 players were missing from both teams due to health and safety protocols as well as injuries.
— Jaylen Nowell scored 29 points and Nathan Knight added 20 points and 11 rebounds, leading the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves to a 108-103 win over the Boston Celtics. Jaden McDaniels scored 17 points and Malik Beasley had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Wolves, who were playing without all five of their regular starters due to COVID-19 protocols. Veteran center Greg Monroe, signed to a 10-day contract earlier Monday, had 11 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes for the Wolves, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points. Payton Pritchard had 22 points and Al Horford added 16 points and nine rebounds.
— Ja Morant scored 33 points, including a layup with 0.5 seconds to play that gave the Memphis Grizzlies a 114-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Morant’s basket came after Devin Booker’s 3-pointer with 5 seconds to play gave the Suns their first lead since early in the game. After a timeout, Morant drove the left side of the lane and banked it in. Phoenix’s final shot from the corner was off the mark. Desmond Bane scored 32 points, 19 in the first half when Memphis built a 60-48 lead. Steven Adams had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Booker led the Suns with 30 points.
— Terry Rozier scored 27 points and made seven 3-pointers, and the Charlotte Hornets routed the Houston Rockets 123-99 for their second straight win. Kelly Oubre chipped in with 18 points, while LaMelo Ball and Jalen McDaniels had 16. The Hornets pulled back above .500 on the season. Eric Gordon and Christian Wood each had 16 points for the Rockets, who’ve lost six of their last seven.
— Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 110-104 for their fourth straight victory. Bojan Bogdanovic had 19 points and Joe Ingles added 17 for Utah, which has won 12 of 14. Derrick White scored 21 points and Doug McDermott added 17 for San Antonio, who had its season-high, three-game winning streak snapped.
NBA alters virus protocols
UNDATED (AP) — NBA players who test positive for COVID-19 now have a quicker path to return after the league completed a significant update to its health and safety protocols.
The biggest change is that isolation periods for players who test positive may now be shortened to six days from what has been the customary 10 provided those players are asymptomatic and meet other testing standards. Teams were told of the new protocols Monday in a memo sent by the league, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Also Monday, Phoenix coach Monty Williams and Portland coach Chauncey Billups entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to two people with direct knowledge of those situations.
