Porter, Claxton lead Nets to 119-101 victory over Pelicans

By Canadian Press on December 6, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 35 points, Nic Claxton had his second triple-double and the Brooklyn Nets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-101 on Saturday.

Porter matched his career best by reaching 30 for a third straight game, having also done it last Feb. 3-6 during his final season with Denver. He made five 3-pointers and had nine rebounds after sitting out Thursday to rest his back in the second night of a back-to-back.

Claxton finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He’s the first Nets player with multiple triple-doubles in a season since James Harden (nine) and Kevin Durant (four) in 2021-22, and the second Nets center with multiple career triple-doubles. Shawn Bradley had five from 1995-97.

Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting as Brooklyn won for the third time in four games to improve to 6-17.

Trey Murphy III scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who lost their sixth straight game and fell to 3-21. Saddiq Bey added 18 points and Bryce McGowens had 16.

HAWKS 131, WIZARDS 116

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jalen Johnson had his second straight triple-double and fourth of the season, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in Atlanta’s victory over Washington.

Onyeka Okongwu added 21 points for the Hawks. They snapped a three-game losing streak and avenged a 132-113 loss in Washington on Nov. 25.

Vít Krejci scored 14 points and made three of his four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta pull away after giving back a lead that had been 20 in the second quarter and 18 in the third.

CJ McCollum scored 28 points for last-place Washington, which lost its third in a row and second straight at home following two consecutive home wins. He hit seven 3s as the Wizards stayed in the game on 17-of-28 shooting beyond the arc.

WARRIORS 99, CAVALIERS 94

CLEVELAND (AP) — Pat Spencer scored a career-high 19 points in his first NBA start and Golden State shook off an awful-shooting first quarter to defeat Cleveland.

It was the third consecutive game the third-year guard has scored at least 15. His three 3-pointers were a career high.

Gui Santos added 14 points, Buddy Hield scored 13 in his first start of the season and Quinton Post had 12. The short-handed Warriors have won three of four, despite missing Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Al Horford.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley scored 18 and Darius Garland 17. The Cavaliers, who were missing Jarrett Allen and Lonzo Ball, have dropped five of seven.

PISTONS 124, BUCKS 112

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 23 points and 12 assists and Detroit beat Milwaukee 124-112 to end the Bucks’ 15-game winning streak in Detroit.

Milwaukee came into the season with a 13-game winning streak against the Pistons, but Detroit has won two of three this season.

Jalen Duren had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Detroit, which has won four of five to improve to 19-5, with the only loss coming on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Isaiah Stewart added 19 points.

Kevin Porter Jr. had a season-high 32 points for the Bucks, who have lost 10 of 12. Kyle Kuzma added 15 points.

KINGS 127, HEAT 111

MIAMI (AP) — Zach LaVine had season highs of eight 3-pointers and 42 points, and Sacramento got their first double-digit win of the season by topping Miami.

Keegan Murray scored 16, Nique Clifford had 15 and DeMar DeRozan finished with 13 for the Kings, who came into the game having lost four straight and 12 of their last 14. Sacramento’s five wins entering the night were by a combined 18 points, none of them by more than a five-point margin.

LaVine’s previous bests this season were six 3s and 34 points. Sacramento led by as many as 28 — another season-best — and got its biggest win ever in Miami. The Kings were 6-31 all-time in Miami, never winning by more than 15 points.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 for the Heat, who have dropped three straight for the first time this season. Simone Fontecchio scored 20 for the Heat, who got 18 from Norman Powell and 13 from Andrew Wiggins.

TIMBERWOLVES 109, CLIPPERS 106

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Naz Reid made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining, Jaden McDaniels scored 27 points and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.

Julius Randle added 24 points for Minnesota. Reid’s big shot capped a 19-point night off the bench, including 5 of 8 from deep. McDaniels then made two free throws with 4.8 seconds left and the Timberwolves held on.

Minnesota won its season-high fifth straight game. The Clippers have lost seven of eight.

James Harden led the Clippers with 34 points and moved into 10th on the NBA’s career scoring list. He surpassed Carmelo Anthony (28,289 points) with a pair of free throws in the third quarter.

Kawhi Leonard added 20 points while Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers. Harden missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

MAVERICKS 122, ROCKETS 109

DALLAS (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 29 points and Dallas beat Houston to finish a back-to-back coming off a blowout loss at defending champion Oklahoma City.

Davis went 14 of 19 from the field a night after making just one of nine shots and scoring two points in 24 minutes in a 132-111 loss to the Thunder. It was fewest points of the 10-time All-Star’s career when playing at least 20 minutes.

Kevin Durant scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half but ended up not playing in the fourth quarter after the Mavericks outscored Houston 37-20 in the third and took a 21-point lead early in the fourth. The game was tied at halftime.

Cooper Flagg had 19 points, and one of his three assists came on a nifty transition bounce pass to Ryan Nembhard for a 98-77 lead. Brandon Williams scored 20 points as the backup point guard to Nembhard, the rookie who had 11 points and seven assists in his sixth consecutive start, the first of his career.

The Associated Press