RJ Barrett scored 18 of his 24 points as part of a massive third quarter for the New York Knicks as they peaked visiting the Charlotte Hornets 109-97 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight win.
The Knicks (32-27) shot 48.2 percent from the field, boosted by reserves Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley, and grabbed 17 points apiece.
Julius Randle and Reggie Bullock broke with 16 points each. Randle also had 10 rebounds and seven assists, though his streak of games with 30 points or more finished at four.
Charlotte (28-29) was led by PJ Washington, who came off the bench at 26. The Hornets have lost five of their last six games. They led 66-60 at half time, but were defeated 31-16 in the third quarter.
Hawks 112, Magic 96
Trae Young, wearing googles for the first time due to injury, scored 25 points and Lou Williams came off the bench to score 22 as the Atlanta host downed Orlando.
The Hawks (32-26) have won two straight games and nine of their last 11 games. Atlanta improved to six games over .500 for the first time since March 11, 2017. Orlando (18-40) has lost three in a row and nine of its last 10.
Young wore the glasses to protect his right forearm, which was scratched in Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. Young never seemed comfortable – and removed the goggles a couple of times during the game – but still shot 7-for-16 from the field while compiling seven assists, five rebounds and five turnovers.
Nets 134, Pelicans 129
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points and Joe Harris had 24 to lead seven Brooklyn players in double figures as the short-handed Nets caught New Orleans.
Landry Shamet added 18, Blake Griffin scored 16, Jeff Green had 15, and Bruce Brown had 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Nets (39-19) played without James Harden, Kevin Durant, Nicolas Claxton and Reggie Perry.
Zion Williamson scored 33 points, Brandon Ingram had 27, Lonzo Ball and Naji Marshall added 15 each, and Kira Lewis Jr. had 11 to lead the Pelicans (25-33), who lost their fourth straight game.
Clippers 113, Trail Blazers 112
Paul George made two free throws with 4.8 seconds left to cap a 33-point effort and drive Los Angeles to victory over host Portland.
George scored the final six points of the game as the Clippers (41-19) won for the 15th time in the last 18 games. Marcus Morris Sr. added 16 points as Los Angeles defeated the Trail Blazers for the sixth time in a row.
CJ McCollum scored 28 points for Portland (32-25) but a jumper failed just before time expired. The loss was the seventh in 10 games for the Trail Blazers.
Timberwolves 134, Kings 120
D’Angelo Russell scored 26 of his 28 points in the first half and rookie Anthony Edwards also had 28 as Minnesota picked up a win over Sacramento for its first road victory in just over a month.
Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 26 points and 18 rebounds as Minnesota won for the third time in its last six games. The Timberwolves improved to 16-43 and no longer have the worst record in the NBA.
Harrison Barnes and Maurice Harkless each scored 20 points while Chimezie Metu had 16 as Sacramento (23-35) lost for the 10th time in the last 11 games.
—Field Media Media