Mitchell’s 33 points propel Cavaliers past short-handed Nuggets

By Canadian Press on January 2, 2026.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and Darius Garland had 18 points and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets 113-108 on Friday night.

De’Andre Hunter added 16 points and Jarrett Allen had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who trailed 105-101 with 4:43 remaining before scoring 10 consecutive points. Garland’s 3-pointer put them ahead for good with 2:13 left.

Jamal Murray scored 28 of his 34 points in the first half for the Nuggets, who played their second game without superstar center Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP hyperextended his left knee at Miami on Dec. 29 and will miss at least a month.

Peyton Watson had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15, but missed eight of their nine shots in the fourth quarter as Denver was outscored 24-11. Murray also had six rebounds and seven assists, finishing 12 for 28 from the field.

Three additional Nuggets starters were inactive in forwards Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain) and Cam Johnson (right knee soreness), and guard Christian Braun (left ankle sprain). Backup center Jonas Valanciunas (right calf strain) also is out for a month.

The Cavaliers took advantage of their absences, dominating the rebounding battle 55-32. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley had eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, but missed all five of his free throws.

WIZARDS 119, NETS 99

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justin Champagnie scored a season-high 20 points and Washington continued its recent improvement with a victory over Brooklyn.

Alex Sarr added 19 points and CJ McCollum scored 17 for the Wizards, who still have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference (9-23) but have won four out of five for the first time since Feb. 8-16, 2023.

Washington won the rebounding battle 51-33 while holding Brooklyn to a season-low six 3-pointers in 29 attempts (20.7%).

Day’Ron Sharpe, Terance Mann, Ziaire Williams and Drake Powell all had 14 points for Brooklyn (10-22), which has lost three straight following a three-game winning streak.

Washington had a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers before halftime, and used an 18-4 run that stretched across the first and second quarters to build its lead to 18.

Champagnie’s 3-pointer as the first-quarter buzzer sounded made it 37-24. Will Riley added to the lead with a layup to open the second quarter, then fed AJ Johnson for a 3 a couple possessions later that stretched it to 44-26.

SPURS 123, PACERS 113

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and San Antonio won its first game since Victor Wembanyama injured his left knee, beating Indiana for its 11th straight loss.

Wembanyama hyperextended his knee Wednesday night in a home victory over New York. An MRI showed no ligament damage and the 7-foot-4 center stayed in San Antonio to rehabilitate the injury.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Wembanyama is day-to-day but wouldn’t rule out the possibility he could play against Portland on Saturday night in San Antonio. The Spurs are 10-3 with Wembanyama doesn’t play.

Dylan Harper added 22 points for the Spurs, and Stephon Castle had 19.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard had 19 points, and Micah Potter added 16 in his first start in five games with Pacers.

The Pacers shot 51% while the Spurs made 44% overall. San Antonio made 22 of 28 free throws while Indiana was 13 of 15.

HAWKS 111, KNICKS 99

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in his seventh triple-double of the season, leading Atlanta to a victory over New York.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 23 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 22 for the Hawks, while both Zaccharie Risacher and Luke Kennard scored 12.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 24 points. OG Anunoby had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges added 18 points.

Ariel Hukporti, who replaced Karl-Anthony Towns (illness) in the starting lineup, grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for New York.

The Knicks got off to a quick start, taking an 11-2 lead. Trailing 30-29, the Hawks scored the final four points of the first quarter and never trailed again.

Atlanta extended its lead to 60-45 on Okongwu’s short jumper with 1:16 remaining in the second quarter before Brunson’s runner cut the Knicks’ deficit to 60-47 at halftime.

Alexander-Walker’s driving layup with 1:14 left in the third quarter gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game at 94-68 and they were ahead 94-70 at the end of the quarter.

TRAIL BLAZERS 122, PELICANS 109

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Deni Avdija had 34 points and 11 assists and Portland beat injury-depleted New Orleans.

Donovan Clingan had 11 points and 15 rebounds, Shaedon Sharpe scored 23 points and Caleb Love, who hit six 3-pointers, added 22 points for Portland, which took the lead for good in the second quarter en route to a third victory in four games.

Zion Williamson scored 35 points for New Orleans, but needed more help to prevent the Pelicans from dropping their sixth straight loss. Tookie Jeremiah Fears scored 18 points. Jordan Poole and Karlo Matkovic each had 16 points and Kevon Looney grabbed 12 rebounds.

Portland made 16 of 47 (34%) 3-point attempts, while New Orleans made just eight of 30 (26.7%) from deep.

Clingan grabbed nine of his rebounds on the offensive end and Portland had 24 second-chance points. The Blazers also scored 23 points off of 15 Pelicans turnovers.

BUCKS 122, HORNETS 121

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo dunked on a lob from Kevin Porter Jr. with 4.7 seconds remaining to give Milwaukee a victory over Charlotte.

Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his NBA-leading 158th game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Antetokounmpo overtook Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who each accomplished that feat 157 times.

The lead changed hands three times in the last 10 1/2 seconds.

Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma sank a 3-pointer to put the Bucks ahead 120-118 with 10.3 seconds left.

After Charlotte called a timeout, Sion James inbounded the ball to Miles Bridges, who was heading toward the basket. Bridges laid the ball in while drawing Kuzma’s sixth foul with 8.8 seconds left. Bridges then hit the ensuing free throw to complete a 3-point play that put Charlotte back ahead.

Milwaukee called a timeout, then Porter threw an inbounds pass to Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo passed to Porter and then headed toward the basket and caught the lob to dunk home the winning basket.

Charlotte still had one more timeout. LaMelo Ball inbounded to Brandon Miller, whose contested driving layup attempt bounced off the backboard and didn’t go through as the buzzer sounded.

Kon Knueppel scored 26 points, Bridges 25, Miller 19 and Collin Sexton 16 for Charlotte. Ryan Rollins had 29 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, while Bobby Portis scored 20 points.

BULLS 121, MAGIC 114

CHICAGO (AP) — Matas Buzelis scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, Kevin Huerter added 20 points, and Chicago rallied to beat Orlando for its second straight win.

Buzelis hit a pair of free throws with 22.8 seconds left to make 119-114, then pulled in his ninth rebound to send in Isaac Okoro for a game-sealing dunk with 4 seconds remaining. Buzelis also finished with a season-high seven assists.

Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ayo Dosumnu had 17 points as Chicago outscored Orlando 30-19 in the fourth quarter to climb back to .500. (17-17).

Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Anthony Black added 18 for the Magic in a game with 19 lead changes.

Jalen Suggs had 11 points for Orlando in his second game back after missing seven with a hip injury, but left this one after landing hard on his right knee late in the third quarter. Desmond Bane added 14 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

SUNS 129, KINGS 102

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 33 points, 20 in the first quarter, and Phoenix pulled away in the second half for a victory over struggling Sacramento.

Dillon Brooks scored 18 points and Mark Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who have won five of their last six. They bounced back from Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland. Booker, Brooks and Williams all sat the entire fourth quarter.

Collin Gillespie and Oso Ighodaro each had 15 points for Phoenix. Reserve Jamaree Bouyea scored 12 for the Suns, who led by 28 points late in the game.

Booker finished 13 of 21 from the field — just 1 for 6 from 3-point range — and 6 of 7 from the free throw line in 28 minutes. He was 8 of 12 in the first quarter in scoring 20 of the Suns’ 32 points. It was Booker’s highest-scoring quarter since April 2024, when he also scored 20.

The Suns led 62-56 at the half but opened it up in the third quarter, leading by as many as 18 before ending the period with a 97-83 lead.

Keegan Murray led the Kings with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Sacramento lost its fourth in a row, and sixth straight on the road to fall to 8-27.

The Associated Press