Tari Eason scored a season-high 26 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 on Saturday.

OKLAHOMA CITY(AP) — Tari Eason scored a season-high 26 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 on Saturday.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second triple-double of the season and No. 10 for his career. Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, and Kevin Durant added 20 points.

Cason Wallace scored 23 points for Oklahoma City, and Isaiah Joe added 21.

It was Oklahoma City’s second game without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is recovering from an abdominal strain. He will be out until after the All-Star break. The Thunder already were missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams and second-year guard Ajay Mitchell, one of the Rising Stars for All-Star Weekend.

Second-year guard Jared McCain played his first game with the Thunder since coming over in a trade with Philadelphia. He entered late in the first quarter to loud cheers. He finished with five points in 14 minutes.

Oklahoma City fans, still angry with Durant 9 1/2 years after he left the Thunder to head to Golden State in free agency, booed him during pregame starter introductions. They cheered when the normally outstanding free-throw shooter missed two in the second quarter after being fouled on a shot.

McCain scored his first basket for the Thunder with about nine minutes left in the second quarter. An alley-oop lob from Joe to Wallace gave the Thunder a 46-32 lead. Oklahoma City led 52-46 at the break, with Chet Holmgren posting 10 points and 10 rebounds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points and Brooklyn used an 80-point first half to beat short-handed Washington.

With the Wizards having only eight players available, the Nets led by 34 points in the second quarter and went on to snap a three-game losing streak.

Day’Ron Sharpe added 19 points and Noah Clowney had 18 for the Nets, who won for just the second time in 12 games. Rookie Danny Wolf had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Will Riley scored a career-high 27 points for the Wizards. Justin Champagnie added 21 points and nine rebounds.

The teams are tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference at 14-37, playing plenty of young players as they angle for lottery position. But Brooklyn had its full roster on the court Saturday while Washington sat a few players on the first back-to-back games.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Guard Stephon Castle had a career-high 40 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his second career triple-double, leading San Antonio past Dallas.

Devin Vassell had 17 points and Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which set a season high for points in a half with 81 before halftime.

The Spurs (36-16) won their fourth straight and ninth in 12 games to remain second in the Western Conference.

Dallas, which lost 135-123 at San Antonio on Thursday night, got 19 points from Klay Thompson, 18 from Brandon Williams and 17 from Max Christie. Cooper Flagg finished with 14 points.

Castle joins Hall of Famer David Robinson as the only Spurs in franchise history with a 40-point triple-double.

The second-year guard from Connecticut punctuated his triple-double by following up a miss with a windmill dunk that put San Antonio up 129-108 with 6:26 remaining.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 23 points and Orlando overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Utah.

Desmond Bane added 22 points, making two free throws with 28.3 seconds to go to give the Magic a 118-117 lead. Anthony Black scored 21 points, and Banchero also had eight assists and seven rebounds.

Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 27 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 17 of his 22 points in the first half in his Utah debut, and Isaiah Collier scored 20 points. Utah has lost two straight and 18 of 22.

Jackson came over from Memphis in a trade this week. John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. also made their Jazz debuts after the deal.

Keyonte George returned to the Utah lineup after missing three games because of a sprained left ankle. He had five points.

ATLANTA (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 26 points, Kon Knueppel had 23 and Charlotte beat Atlanta for its ninth straight win.

LaMelo Ball added 19 points and nine assists as Charlotte improved to 12-3 in its last 15 games. Brandon Miller scored 16 points, and Moussa Diabate finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hornets’ win streak is the longest active streak in the NBA and the best run for the franchise since it also won nine in a row during the 1998-99 season.

Jalen Johnson had 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Atlanta, which had won six of eight. Zaccharie Risacher scored 18 points, and Onyeka Okongwu had 16.

CHICAGO (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 17 assists and 14 rebounds for his second triple-double in as many games, Jamal Murray had 28 points and 11 assists and Denver ended a three-game skid with a victory over Chicago.

It was Jokic’s 19th triple-double of the season. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points for the Nuggets, who capped a three-game road trip with a win after losing at Detroit and New York.

Matas Buzelis scored 21 points and Collin Sexton added 17 for the Bulls, who have lost four straight.

The Bulls led 104-97 after closing the third period on a 16-2 run, but Denver started the final quarter on a 20-2 spurt to take the lead for good. Jokic and Julian Strawther capped the run with consecutive 3-pointers.

Chicago went the first six minutes of the fourth before making its first field goal and finished the final period 5 for 17 from the floor.

Jokic had nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 17 first-half minutes, but the Bulls led 65-59 at the intermission.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to help Los Angeles beat the Golden State.

Los Angeles won its third straight game despite not have superstar guard Luka Doncic after he sustained a mild hamstring strain Thursday night, and center DeAndre Ayton was a late scratch because of a knee injury.

Luke Kennard had 10 points in his Lakers debut after being acquired in a trade from Atlanta on Thursday, including a key corner 3-pointer and finding Jarred Vanderbilt underneath the basket for a dunk as part of a late 11-0 run.

Rui Hachimura had 18 points, Austin Reaves added 16, and Marcus Smart had 15.

Moses Moody had 25 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost four of their past six games. Stephen Curry missed his third straight game because of a knee injury.

PHOENIX (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 33 points, Tyrese Maxey added 29 and Philadelphia beat cold-shooting Phoenix.

The 76ers have won six of their last seven games, bouncing back from a 119-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. The Suns lost for the third time in four games, shooting just 11 of 46 (23.9%) from 3-point range.

Philadelphia led 81-71 going into the fourth quarter and pushed its advantage to 16 after holding Phoenix scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth.

The Suns made things interesting in the final minutes, cutting it to 101-97 with 1:04 left on Devin Booker’s two free throws, but Maxey responded with a stepback 3-pointer to keep the 76ers ahead.

Embiid grabbed nine rebounds, made four 3-pointers and was 11 of 13 on free throws, all while jawing for much of the game with Suns forward Dillon Brooks. Formr Sun Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 18 points.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — James Harden scored 23 points in his Cavaliers debut and Donovan Mitchell had 35 to lead Cleveland to a victory over Sacramento, sending the Kings to their 12th straight loss.

Harden was acquired by Cleveland from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday for Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick.

Jarrett Allen had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won for the eighth time in nine games.

Nique Clifford scored 30 points to lead Sacramento, which hasn’t won since beating Washington at home on Jan. 16. The Kings have lost six straight at home.

TRAIL BLAZERS 122, GRIZZLIES 115

PORTLAND. Ore. (AP) — Donovan Clingan had 20 points and 19 rebounds, Jerami Grant had 29 points, and Portland erased an 11-point second-half deficit to beat Memphis and split a two-game series in Portland.

Portland beat the Grizzlies 135-115 on Friday.

Jrue Holiday had 21 points and Caleb Love scored 17 points, 10 in the second half, off the bench.

Olivier Maxence-Prosper (25 points) and Javon Small (22 points) each had career nights for Memphis in the loss.

Portland’s All-Star forward Deni Avdija missed his fourth straight game with a lower back strain. Scoot Henderson also missed Saturday’s game after making his return from a torn hamstring on Friday.

Jahmai Mayshack’s 3-pointer pushed the Memphis advantage to 104-97 before Portland made its final push.

Vit Krejci, Toumani Camara and Love each hit a 3-pointer before Love stole the ball and made a layup to give Portland a 108-107 lead with 5:59 left in the game.

Javon Small’s 3-pointer cut Portland’s lead to a point about three minutes later but Holiday answered with a layup before Grant made back-to-back 3s to give the Trail Blazers a 120-113 lead with 1:51 left.

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