By Field Level Media
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Nikola Jokic had 40 points, Christian Braun finished with 26 and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 146-117 on Monday night for their seventh straight win.

Denver’s Julian Strawther scored 18 points and Jamal Murray had 17 points and eight assists before being ejected early in the fourth quarter. Jalen Pickett added 14 points and Zeke Nnaji chipped in 11 for the Nuggets, who were without Russell Westbrook (hamstring), Peyton Watson (knee) and Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring).

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Rookie Donovan Clingan scored a career-high 21 points, Dalano Banton contributed 22 and Anfernee Simons posted 17 for Portland. The Blazers have lost two straight games after winning 10 of their previous 11.

Portland was also short-handed, missing Jerami Grant (knee), Kris Murray (quad) and Robert Williams III (knee).

The Blazers trailed by 15 at intermission but quickly cut into their deficit with a 9-2 run to open the third quarter. They got within 72-64 after Denver coach Michael Malone and Jamal Murray were hit with technical fouls.

The Nuggets led 94-78 later in the period after Jokic and Jamal Murray took control. Jokic hit a layup and assisted on one for Jamal Murray, who hit a free throw to complete a three-point play. Jokic then made a running hook and added a three-point play of his own that pushed. Denver’s lead to 99-80 with 3:39 left in the third.

Jokic finished his night with a jumper at the 2:14 mark and another hook shot that gave the Nuggets a 112-89 advantage in the final minute of the period.

The Denver lead grew to as many as 32 in the fourth.

The Nuggets led by 17, 36-19, with just over a minute left in the first quarter, but Portland closed the frame with an 8-2 run.

Jokic closed the first-half scoring with a layup, giving Denver a 70-55 cushion at the break.

Cavaliers handle Timberwolves in wire-to-wire victory

De’Andre Hunter’s Cleveland debut was a rousing success — even if he didn’t have to do much — as the Cavaliers never trailed in a 128-107 pounding of the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night.

Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards had a game-high 44 before subbing out with 4:45 left and his team down 26. He finished 13-for-28 from the floor with eight 3-pointers.

Evan Mobley had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, posting his 23rd double-double of the season. Donovan Mitchell added 23 points and eight assists and heard “MVP” chants from the crowd in the second half.

The home crowd was eager to see Hunter in the Cavs’ lineup after coming over in a trade-deadline deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Starting in place of Max Strus (ankle soreness), Hunter missed his first two shots and picked up a pair of early fouls in the first quarter.

He finished with 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting from deep.

But it didn’t matter who was in Cleveland’s lineup early as Minnesota was frozen solid. The Timberwolves started the game 0-for-16 from the floor and didn’t make a basket until Edwards drilled a three with 2:55 left.

Cleveland led 16-0 before the Wolves scored their first points on a Rudy Gobert free throw. They led 30-12 after a first quarter that saw the Wolves shoot 2-for-21 from the floor.

The lead grew to 40-16 after a long three by Hunter before Minnesota put together an 8-0 run capped by a three from Edwards to make it 46-30. Cleveland closed the half with a flourish, getting two threes from Mitchell and another from Garland to build a 66-44 halftime lead.

Edwards picked up his NBA-high 13th technical of the season walking off the floor at half.

Minnesota pulled to within 15 in the third quarter, but Mitchell and the Cavs were just too much. The final four seconds of the third saw the Cavs score six points: Following a three by Jaylon Tyson with 3.6 seconds left, a Minnesota pass accidentally went straight to Ty Jerome standing on the arc and he drained a three for a 104-78 lead — the biggest to that point.

Cleveland is now 25-4 at home, the most home wins in the NBA.

DeMar DeRozan carries Kings to overtime win against Mavs

DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 42 points and made the game-winning floater with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 129-128 win over the host Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Klay Thompson buried a deep 3-pointer to give the Mavericks a 128-127 lead with 9.8 seconds remaining in OT.

DeRozan had sent the game to overtime by making a mid-range fadeaway with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, after Kyrie Irving put the Mavericks ahead with a crafty lay-in on the prior possession.

DeRozan made 15 of 22 attempts from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and sank all eight of his 3-point attempts. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis added 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, while Zach LaVine and Malik Monk contributed 17 points each.

Irving led the Mavericks with 30 points on 11-of-25 shooting and tacked on nine rebounds and six assists. He battled DeRozan in crunch time, scoring 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points off the Dallas bench, while Thompson put up 19 points while making half of his 10 3-point shots.

Right when it looked as if Irving would bury the Kings with his hot hand in the fourth quarter, DeRozan and Sacramento answered with a 15-2 run that erased the Mavericks’ 12-point advantage and put the visitors up 106-105 with 4:25 to go. DeRozan scored 11 points in that surge.

The lead went back and forth between the teams, and Sacramento tied the game at 114 on a Sabonis tip-in with 1:08 remaining.

Sacramento’s Keegan Murray came to life in the third quarter, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the frame after going without a field goal attempt in the first half. The Mavericks tempered Murray’s onslaught, closing the third quarter on a 7-1 run to take a 93-87 lead into the fourth.

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford left the game in the second quarter and ruled out with what was eventually determined to be a right knee sprain.

Dallas was without newly acquired Anthony Davis, who is expected to miss several weeks with a left adductor strain sustained in his debut Saturday. In addition to Davis, Dallas already entered the game down centers Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Dwight Powell (hip).

Nets hold off injury-plagued Hornets

Nic Claxton scored 16 points for the Brooklyn Nets, who took control in the third quarter and earned a 97-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday in New York.

Cameron Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe added 14 apiece as the Nets won for the fifth time in six games since enduring a seven-game losing streak and taking 12 losses in 13 games.

Trendon Watford contributed 13 points, while Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell chipped in 11 apiece to help the Nets beat the Hornets for the third time in as many meetings this season. Brooklyn outscored Charlotte 51-35 in the second and third quarters combined.

Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate scored a career-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds but exited after the third quarter due to a right eye abrasion.

LaMelo Ball scored five points in 10 minutes and exited in the second quarter because of right ankle soreness. On Sunday, he sat out Charlotte’s loss to the Detroit Pistons due to a sore left ankle.

Rookie Tidjane Salaun added 16 points off the Hornets’ bench, while Nick Smith Jr. put up 13. Charlotte was held under 90 points for the second time against the Nets this season.

Miles Bridges was held to only seven points on 3-of-11 shooting as the Hornets shot 41 percent from the field, missed 25 of 31 3-point tries and lost for the eighth time in nine games.

After a slow start, the Nets held a 34-30 lead through the opening quarter by making nine of their final 12 shots of the period. Williams, Watford, and Keon Johnson hit 3s in a span of 1:40 to give the Nets a 47-36 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left before the Nets took a pair of 15-point leads en route to a 61-49 halftime lead.

Johnson and Claxton converted dunks on consecutive trips to push Brooklyn’s lead to 76-59 with 5:34 left in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Tosan Evbuomwan with 2:41 left gave the Nets their first 20-point lead and they held an 85-65 lead into the fourth.

Brooklyn upped its lead to 22 early in the fourth and pulled most of its starters for good a few minutes later before Charlotte made the final score respectable in the final minutes.

Celtics overcome slow start to freeze Heat

Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 33 points to help the Boston Celtics extend their road winning streak to six games with a 103-85 win over the host Miami Heat on Monday night.

Tatum, who missed his first five shots, scored 20 points in the third quarter. He was 13 of 26 from the floor for the game and also collected eight rebounds.

Al Horford added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which received 17 points and nine rebounds from Kristaps Porzingis, 15 points from Sam Hauser and 13 points from Derrick White.

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Alec Burks (13 points), Andrew Wiggins (11) and Nikola Jovic (10) were the other Miami scorers in double figures.

Boston trailed by 11 early before improving its road record to 22-6.

The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder). Miami was missing Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyler Herro (both due to illnesses).

Boston missed 14 of its first 15 3-point attempts but finished 17 of 53 from behind the arc. Miami was 11 of 45 on 3-point attempts.

The Celtics were 2 of 18 from 3-point range in the opening 12 minutes and trailed 24-18 after one quarter, but they used an 18-0 run to take a 31-24 lead in the second. Miami was held scoreless for a stretch of 6:38 bridging the first two quarters before Jovic made a 3-pointer with 8:35 left before halftime.

Boston outscored Miami 34-19 in the second quarter and led 52-43 at the half. The Heat shot 31.2 percent from the field in the first half.

The Celtics led by 20 after Tatum made a free throw with 30.9 seconds left in the third quarter and had an 88-65 advantage heading into the fourth. Boston led by as many as 24 in the final quarter.

The Celtics improved to 2-0 against the Heat this season. Boston prevailed 108-89 at home on Dec. 2.

Stephen Curry pours in 38 as Warriors best Bucks

Stephen Curry scored 38 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the floor while leading the Golden State Warriors to a 125-111 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

Golden State earned its second win in a row after falling twice in a row. Jimmy Butler added 20 points and nine boards in his second game since being acquired by the Warriors, and Buddy Hield scored 16 points.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) missing his fifth consecutive game, Damian Lillard led Milwaukee with 38 points and seven assists, though he committed 10 turnovers. Kyle Kuzma put up 21 points and Taurean Prince contributed 19 as the Bucks took their sixth loss in eight games.

The matchup of Curry and Lillard did not disappoint early. Lillard had 10 points to Curry’s 11 in the opening quarter, which saw Golden State build a 29-27 lead.

The Warriors widened the gap slightly in the second thanks primarily to dominating the rebound battle. Golden State led 58-51 at the half as they held a 27-16 edge on the glass.

Lillard scored 18 points in the opening two quarters while Prince had 13. Curry had 15 at the break, and Hield added 14.

In the third quarter, Milwaukee produced a 7-0 run to tie the game at 69-69 on a dunk by Andre Jackson Jr. The Bucks took their first lead since the first quarter when AJ Green knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:24 to go in the third.

Golden State, as it did all night, responded to Milwaukee gaining momentum. The Warriors went on a run and took an 89-83 lead going into the fourth after Butler put up the last six points of the period.

In the fourth, Golden State pulled ahead from beyond the arc.

Quinten Post hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to eight with 9:35 to play. Curry also contributed seven points to what turned into a 20-4 run that gave Golden State a 109-94 lead with 6:03 left.

The Warriors didn’t sweat much from there as they won for the first time in their past five visits to Milwaukee. The teams will meet again on March 18 in San Francisco.