NBA Roundup: Brunson Stars Defeat Knicks, Advance To Quarterfinals

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson scored 37 points and the New York Knicks advanced to the NBA Cup’s knockout round, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 118-111 in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return from a groin injury on Friday night.

Miles McBride added 19 points, including two 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, to lead the Knicks by 13. New York went 3-1 to win East Group C.

Josh Hart had 19 points and 15 rebounds in his third game back in the starting lineup. Michael Bridges scored 14 points as the Knicks shot 44 percent.

Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in 28 minutes after missing four games.

Kyle Kuzma added 20 points as Milwaukee lost its fifth straight and exited the tournament with a 2-2 record in group play. AJ finished with 18 points for the Greenbucks, who shot 52.1 percent and made 18 3-pointers.

INDIANAPOLIS – Pascal Sekam had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat Washington in an NBA Cup game between the league’s two worst teams.

Bennedict Mathurin added 20 points, and TJ McConnell had 14 points and eight assists to help Indiana snap a three-game hitting streak and improve to 3-16. Washington fell to 2-16 to replace the Pacers in last place.

Injury-riddled Indiana is without Tyrese Halliburton, the star guard who tore his right Achilles in the Pacers’ Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.

Alex Sarr had 24 points and eight rebounds for Washington. The Wizards ended a 14-game streak with a 132-113 home victory over Atlanta in the NBA Cup Game on Tuesday night.

Siakam had 17 points, six rebounds and two steals in the first half to help Indiana take a 64-52 lead. The Pacers led 94-83 after three quarters.

Both teams were 1-3 in NBA Cup play.

NEW YORK – Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, Jared McCann had 20 off the bench and Philadelphia beat Brooklyn in the NBA Cup game.

Quentin Grimes added 19 points, and Paul George had 14 to help the shorthanded 76ers snap a two-game losing streak.

The 76ers played without starting centers Joel Embiid (right knee sprain) and VJ Jacoby (left ankle sprain), and then lost backup center Andre Drummond (sprained right knee) midway through the second quarter.

Drummond tried to block Tyrese Martin’s floater and then grabbed the rebound with his left hand, but fell to the court and immediately reached his knees.

Igor Damon scored a career-high 23 points, and Tyrese Martin had 16 for Brooklyn. The Nets have lost three straight games and fell to 0-9 at home this season. They are the only team without a home win this season, with their last one at Barclays Center on April 8 against New Orleans.

ATLANTA – Jalen Johnson had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead Atlanta to an NBA Cup game win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Atlanta eliminated Cleveland from the in-season tournament, meaning neither team advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Nickel Alexander-Walker added 28 points, including a clutch late 3-pointer, to help Atlanta go on a 7-0 run with less than 30 seconds to go.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 42 points. It was Mitchell’s sixth game in the last eight to score at least 30 points and his second-highest total of the season.

Atlanta’s Zachary Resker hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 to go to break a 123-all tie, and Alexander-Walker hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left after Mitchell misfired on a potential game-tying shot.

DETROIT – Desmond Bean scored 37 points and grabbed two key offensive rebounds as Orlando defeated Detroit to win its NBA Cup group.

Orlando East went 4-0 in Group B and advanced to the knockout round. The Magic Pistons capped a triple-double by Cade Cunningham, who finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Franz Wagner added 21 points for Orlando.

Tobias Harris had 18 points for the Pistons, who have lost two straight after a 13-game winning streak. Jalen Dern had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Detroit went 2-2 in NBA Cup play and did not advance.

Benn’s three-point play with 2:11 left gave Orlando a 108-106 lead, and Wagner added a layup to make it a four-point game. Tobias Harris hit a 3-pointer and Detroit got a stop, but Cunningham committed his eighth turnover with 1:03 left.

Wagner missed two 3-pointers on the next possession, but Bean grabbed both rebounds. Wagner missed again as the shot clock expired, but Wendell Carter Jr. got another offensive rebound.

Jalen Suggs made two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to make it 112-109, and Magic fouled Cunningham with 4.7 seconds left.

He missed the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second and recovered himself. He passed the ball to Duncan Robinson, whose 3-point attempt was blocked by Anthony Black.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brandon Miller scored 27 points, followed Mel Bridges’ 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Charlotte snapped a seven-game losing streak against Chicago.

Colin Sexton added 21 points off the bench for the Hornets, who held the Bulls to 8-of-36 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. LaMelo Ball had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Josh Gaddy nearly missed another triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for Chicago. Kobe White added 25 points and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

It was the last NBA Cup group game for both teams, although both were eliminated from the tournament coming into the night.

DENVER — Devin Wessel scored a season-high 33 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and San Antonio advanced to the NBA Cup quarterfinals with a win over Denver.

Julian Ciampini added a season-best 25 points to help the Spurs rally from an 18-point third-quarter deficit and hand the Nuggets, winners of six straight on the road, their third straight loss at home.

The Spurs made 30 of 32 free throws and scored 30 points on 17 Nuggets turnovers.

Jamal Murray led Denver with 37 points, Cam Johnson added 28 and Nikola Jokic added 21 points. Murray became the fifth player in franchise history with 10,000 points in his career.

SALT LAKE CITY – Kevin George scored 31 points and Larry Markkanen added 28 to help Utah snap a four-game skid with a win over Sacramento.

Bryce Sansabaugh had 20 points for the Jazz, who finished 1-3 in NBA Cup group play.

Russell Westbrook, the NBA leader in triple-doubles, had the 206th of his career with 16 points, a season-high 14 assists and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which went winless in four NBA Cup games. Zach LaVine led the Kings with 34 points, and Keegan Murray had 23 points and nine rebounds.

Trailing by 11 at halftime, Sacramento cut the deficit to 67-65 on a 3-pointer from Murray but got no closer.

George hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a floater to help Utah take a double-digit lead. The Jazz closed the third quarter on a 10-0 run, led 90-73 by Josef Nurkic.