Durant-led Nets beat Hawks

ATLANTA (AP):

KEVIN DURANT scored 31 points, including a go-ahead jumper midway through the fourth quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets proved to be resilient once again, beating the Atlanta Hawks 113-105 on Friday night.

The Nets, protecting their slim lead over Chicago Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference, improved to 8-0 following losses this season. Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 15 points, were rested in Wednesday night's 114-104 loss at Houston.

James Harden had 20 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, who are 2-0 against Atlanta this season.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 31 points. John Collins had 20 and Kevin Huerter added 19.

There were three ties early in the final period, including at 95-all. Durant's jumper sparked an 8-0 run that gave the Nets a 103-95 lead.

JaVale McGee had season highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds, Chris Paul added 12 assists and Phoenix Suns rolled past Boston Celtics 111-90.

The Suns won for the 20th time in 21 games, despite missing starters Devin Booker (hamstring) and Deandre Ayton (non-COVID-19 illness).

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 24 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points and 17 rebounds and Milwaukee Bucks snapped Houston Rocket's seven-game winning streak with a 123-114 margin.

Garrison Mathews led the Rockets with a season-high 23 points and made a career-best six 3-pointers. Christian Wood and Armoni Brooks had 21 apiece for Houston.

LeBron James scored 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting and Los Angeles rolled past Oklahoma City 116-95.

James — who sat out the Lakers' first two games against the Thunder this season, both losses — had six assists and five rebounds. Avery Bradley added a season-high 22 points for the Lakers, who moved one game above .500.

Rookie Tre Mann scored a season-high 19 points for Oklahoma City.

Sacramento King's three-game winning streak ended when De'Aaron Fox missed two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to give Charlotte a 124-123 victory.

Charlotte rookie James Bouknight, the 11th pick in the 2021 draft, poured in a career-high 24 points on six three-pointers. Miles Bridges added 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Kelly Oubre had 22 points. The Hornets have seven players out because of illness and NBA health and safety protocols.

Fox had 31 points to lead the Kings, but his missed free throws proved critical.

Gary Trent Jr scored 24 points, Fred VanVleet had 17 points and 11 assists and Toronto Raptors won their 10th straight home meeting 90-87 against New York Knicks.

The Knicks' Obi Toppin scored a career-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds, Julius Randle had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and RJ Barrett scored 19 points. New York lost for the sixth time in their past eight games.

Caris LeVert scored 26 points and Domantas Sabonis added 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Indiana Pacers past Dallas Mavericks 106-93. Luka Doncic had 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Dallas.

Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Cleveland Cavaliers used a fast start to cruise past Minnesota Timberwolves 123-106.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 of his 21 points in garbage time, Malik Beasley had 15 points off the bench and Anthony Edwards scored 13 for Minnesota, who have lost five straight.

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points and New Orleans Pelicans extended Detroit Piston's losing streak to 11 games.

Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, who trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but led by as many as 27 in the second half.