The pace-setting Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday cruised to victories to maintain their grip on the NBA conference standings.
Oklahoma City extended their lead at the top of the Western Conference table, improving to 41-9 for the season after blowing past the Toronto Raptors 121-109.
The Thunder welcomed back center Chet Holmgren from injury following a 39-game absence after a pelvic fracture in November last year. Holmgren made four blocks in a 22-minute display.
Photo: Joe Camporeale / Imagn Images
Jalen Williams led the Thunder scoring with 27 points, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adding 25 despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
In Washington, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley combined for 60 points to give Cleveland their sixth win in seven games against a Washington Wizards line-up who threatened an upset after an inspired performance from Jordan Poole.
Wizards ace Poole finished with 45 points, but it was not enough to stop the Cavaliers pulling away to complete a 134-124 victory.
Mitchell led Cleveland’s scoring with 33 points, while Mobley added 27. Darius Garland made five three-pointers on his way to a 23-point performance.
The Cavaliers improved to 42-10 to maintain their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference ahead of the Boston Celtics, who trail by six games with a 36-16 record.
A wild ending in Charlotte saw the Hornets hang on for a dramatic 117-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs after Miles Bridges drained a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining.
San Antonio thought they had snatched a sensational win when new De’Aaron Fox nailed a buzzer-beating basket as time ran out.
The score was initially given, but replay footage showed Fox just failed to release the ball before the buzzer sounded to give Charlotte a win that sees them improve to 13-36.
In Phoenix, the Suns improved to 26-25 after snapping a three-game losing streak with a 135-127 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were out of the lineup with injuries.
Durant, Beal and Devin Booker are still members of the Suns after a tumultuous trade deadline and have about 30 games to turn around their disappointing season.
The problem is there are not many reasons to believe that is going to happen.
The Suns ended up being relatively quiet ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday, despite speculation that Beal and Durant were on the trading block.
Phoenix general manager James Jones did not offer many clues to how seriously he considered trading either player before their against Utah.
“It always gets noisy when you’re not winning,” Jones said. “And we’re not winning.”
That has been a common theme during the All-Star trio’s one-and-a-half-year stretch in the desert. The trio has struggled with nagging injuries throughout the past 18 months, rarely playing together for an extended stretch.
However, even in the rare games that they have all been healthy, there has not been consistent success.
Jones said that the team are not giving up.
“I think the injuries are a part of it,” Jones said. “I also think we just haven’t performed well enough... but we do see glimpses of success, and for right now, these last 32 games of the year give us an opportunity to maximize what we do.”
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Nets 102, Heat 86
‧ Pistons 125, 76ers 112
‧ Hawks 115, Bucks 110
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