(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)

Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 31 points in the first quarter, Austin Reaves added 22 total and the Los Angeles Lakers turned a fast start into a 120-108 home victory over the short-handed Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

The victory allowed the Lakers to tie the Nuggets for third place in the Western Conference standings. The teams split the season series with two victories each.Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points as the Lakers earned their third straight win and ninth consecutive home victory despite playing without LeBron James (groin) and Rui Hachimura (knee).Aaron Gordon tallied 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who were playing without Nikola Jokic (ankle/elbow) and Jamal Murray (ankle). Denver has alternated wins and losses for the past eight games.

Spurs 120, Knicks 105Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a career-high 34 points, 21 in the fourth quarter, as host San Antonio ambushed New York.Mamukelashvili shot 13-for-14 from the floor, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range. He had never previously made more than four 3-pointers in a game. Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio. Chris Paul produced 12 points and nine assists.Karl-Anthony Towns amassed 32 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 3-3 since Jalen Brunson was lost indefinitely with a sprained right ankle. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby added 14 points apiece, and Mitchell Robinson tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Kings 123, Cavaliers 119Keegan Murray broke a late tie with a driving hoop, DeMar DeRozan dropped in a pair of clutch baskets in the final 1:35 and host Sacramento extended Cleveland's losing streak to three games.DeRozan finished with a team-high 27 points, Malik Monk added 22 and rookie Devin Carter chipped in with a season-best 16 off the bench as the Kings moved three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in their duel for ninth place in the Western Conference.Evan Mobley registered 31 points and 10 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 points for the Cavaliers. Ty Jerome added 14 points and six assists. Dean Wade and Max Strus chipped in with 12 points apiece, and Jarrett Allen had 10.

Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 99Deni Avdija recorded 31 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to lead Portland to a victory over visiting Memphis.Avdija matched season highs for boards and 3-pointers (five) as Portland won its third straight game. Anfernee Simons scored 22 points, Shaedon Sharpe produced 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Toumani Camara had 15 points for the Trail Blazers. Duop Reath had 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Portland, which is two games behind the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in the battle for the final Western Conference play-in berth.Desmond Bane scored 20 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 18 off the bench for the Grizzlies, who lost their second straight game. Santi Aldama had 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. tallied 14 but was just 5 of 18 from the field.

Suns 127, Bulls 121Devin Booker scored 41 points, including 33 after halftime, as Phoenix beat visiting Chicago.Kevin Durant added 26 points and Ryan Dunn contributed 16 as Phoenix moved past the Dallas Mavericks into 10th position in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both posted 24 points for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 22 off the bench in his return from a three-game absence with an ankle injury.

Pistons 116, Heat 113

Cade Cunningham banked in a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left as visiting Detroit sent Miami to a ninth straight loss.

Cunningham finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high 11 assists. Detroit also got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Jalen Duren. Malik Beasley scored 16 points, Ausar Thompson had 14 points and Tobias Harris added 13 points and a game-high five blocks.

Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and added nine rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which is in the midst of its longest losing streak since the 2007-08 season. Tyler Herro gave the Heat 29 points, and rookie Kel'el Ware added 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Pacers 135, Mavericks 131

Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points in the final 5:54 and Andrew Nembhard hit a 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left as Indiana opened a five-game homestand by beating Dallas in Indianapolis.

Indiana's Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 29 points. Mathurin finished with 23 points. Nembhard added 22 points and doled out eight assists. Aaron Nesmith added 18 points and Obi Toppin 13.

P.J. Washington led Dallas with 26 points. Jaden Hardy added 24 points, Naji Marshall tallied 20 points and nine rebounds. Kai Jones had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points and 12 assists, and Max Christie scored 17 points.Pelicans 119, Timberwolves 115Zion Williamson scored 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting and New Orleans outlasted Minnesota in Minneapolis.Williamson added eight assists, five rebounds and three steals for New Orleans (19-51), which had lost seven of its previous eight games. CJ McCollum added 18 points.Anthony Edwards scored 29 points but shot only 5-for-19 from the field for the Timberwolves, who have lost two in a row since winning eight straight. Julius Randle finished with 17 points.Rockets 116, Magic 108Jalen Green scored 26 points, Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and visiting Houston extended its season-best winning streak to eight games by beating Orlando.Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Rockets, who outscored the Magic 32-20 in the third quarter and never trailed in the second half.Paolo Banchero scored 31 points to lead the Magic, who have lost eight of their past 11 games. Franz Wagner scored 20 points, and Goga Bitadze added 19 off the bench.Jazz 128, Wizards 112Kyle Filipowski scored 21 points and Keyonte George had 20 as Utah snapped a 10-game losing streak with a win over Washington in Salt Lake City.The Jazz used a 14-0 run in the second half to build a 21-point lead en route to their first victory in March in a battle of the teams with the worst records in the NBA.Colby Jones made 9 of 11 shots to lead all scorers with 24 points while Alex Sarr netted 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who held an early 11-point lead.Thunder 133, 76ers 100Aaron Wiggins scored 26 points and Jaylin Williams had his second career triple-double as host Oklahoma City knocked off Philadelphia.The Thunder, headed toward the top seed in the Western Conference, clinched the Northwest Division. Williams finished with career highs in points (19) and rebounds (17) and added 11 assists on 7-of-11 shooting. Isaiah Joe added 21 points while Chet Holmgren scored 19 and Branden Carlson finished with a career-high 16.Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 28 points while Justin Edwards added 19. Chuma Okeke had 15 rebounds off the bench to go with 14 points.

--Field Level Media