UNDATED (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 34 points and the Detroit Pistons beat Milwaukee 115-106 to snap the Bucks’ six-game winning streak. Detroit owns the NBA’s worst record but beat the reigning NBA champions and ended its recent futility in this series by getting a boost from the return of several players who had missed multiple games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Milwaukee had won 12 consecutive regular-season matchups with the Pistons by an average margin of 16.7 points before Monday.
In other NBA action:
— Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta’s Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks. Young shot 17 for 26 from the field, 7 for 12 from 3-point distance and 15 for 15 from the line for his career-high scoring total, and added 14 assists. His 56-point game eclipsed Kevin Durant’s 51-point performance for the Nets at Detroit on Dec. 12.
— Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the Los Angeles Clippers 122-104 to end a three-game skid. The Wolves gained a split in LA after losing by five to the Lakers a night earlier. The Clippers struggled mightily in their first home game of the new year. They had 39 made shots and 21 turnovers in the game. They got dominated in the paint, 64-42. Serge Ibaka tied his season high with 17 points for the Clippers, who have dropped four of six.
— Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Andrew Wiggins added 22 points, six rebounds and a key driving dunk with 4:34 remaining on a quiet night for Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors held off the undermanned Miami Heat 115-108. Heat star Jimmy Butler was helped off the court with 3:14 left in the third quarter after hurting his right ankle going down awkwardly, leaving coach Erik Spoelstra with a worried look on his face given his team’s already depleted roster. Butler had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Curry had a season-low nine points.
— Ja Morant scored 36 points and five Grizzlies scored in double figures as Memphis extended its winning streak to five games with a 118-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Desmond Bane scored 29 points, Brandon Clarke added 16, and Jarrett Culver and Tyus Jones had 12 apiece. Kevin Durant led the Nets with 26 points on 8-for-24 shooting from the field. James Harden added 19 points in 5-for-14 shooting. Nic Claxton added 11 points and Blake Griffin and Bruce Brown each finished with 10 points as Brooklyn lost its third straight.
— Joel Embiid had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 133-113 win over the Houston Rockets. It was Embiid’s third career triple-double. Furkan Korkmaz scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe had 18 points for the Sixers. Garrison Matthews led the Rockets with 23 points. Embiid scored 30 points for the fourth straight game. The Rockets played without Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood. Both players were suspended one game for bad behavior.
— Kyle Kuzma had a season-high 36 points and 14 rebounds, Bradley Beal scored 35 points, and the Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets 124-121. Charlotte was led by Gordon Hayward’s 27 points. Terry Rozier scored 25 points, and Miles Bridges added 23 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for the Hornets.
— Luka Doncic had 21 points and matched a season high with 15 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets 103-89. Dwight Powell and Reggie Bullock added 15 points each for the Mavericks, who swept a back-to-back and matched their longest winning streak of the season at three games. Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
— DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, Zach LaVine added 27 and the Chicago Bulls won their eighth straight game, beating the Orlando Magic 102-98. Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls. Coby White came off the bench to score 17 points. Franz Wagner led Orlando with 22 points. Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their sixth straight.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 21, and Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-104 to extend their road winning streak to nine games. Bogdanovic hit two of his five 3s in the final 2:31 after New Orleans had trimmed a 15-point deficit down to five. Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Jazz. Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points and nine assists for New Orleans.
NBA reschedules games
UNDATED (AP) — The NBA has rescheduled all 11 games that were postponed in December for virus-related reasons and either shifted the times or dates of 10 other games to help accommodate those changes. Toronto had six games affected, Chicago had five and Brooklyn had four. In all, 18 of the league’s 30 teams had at least one game date changed by the postponements or future adjustments. The updates were revealed today.
In other NBA news:
— Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash says the organization is “hopeful” that Kyrie Irving could make his season debut Wednesday at Indianapolis. Nash added that “no determinations have been made yet.” Irving has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, which makes him ineligible to play home games under a New York City vaccine mandate.
— The Cleveland Cavaliers have landed Rajon Rondo. Cleveland finalized its trade for the 35-year-old Rondo with the Los Angeles Lakers in what eventually became a three-team deal involving the New York Knicks. In the swap, the Knicks receive guard Denzel Valentine from the Cavaliers along with the draft rights to international prospects and cash from the Lakers. Ricky Rubio tore his left anterior cruciate ligament last week and is out for the season.
