NEW YORK, United States, December 29 – Jalen Brunson scored 55 points – including nine in overtime – as the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to seven games with a 136-132 win at the Washington Wizards.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who have now won 17 of their past 21 games, including 11 of their 13 in December.
Washington, without injured leading scoring Jordan Poole, were led by Justin Champagnie’s 31 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Among eight Saturday night NBA games, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 132-122 despite the hosts being without LeBron James, who was missing because of illness.
Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 15 rebounds while Austin Reaves added 26 points and 16 assists for the Lakers.
Sacramento were playing one day after head coach Mike Brown was sacked and interim coach Doug Christie could not prevent the Kings falling to a sixth consecutive defeat.
Elsewhere, Western Conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a 10th straight regular-season victory by beating the Charlotte Hornets 106-94.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again led visiting Thunder’s scorers with 22 points, while Jalen Williams added 20 points as Charlotte lost for a seventh successive game.
Reserve Jonathan Kuminga led with 34 points and Stephen Curry contributed a further 22 as the Golden State Warriors won 109-105 against the Phoenix Suns in San Francisco to end a three-game losing run.
Hosts the Denver Nuggets survived a fourth-quarter rally by the Detroit Pistons as Nikola Jokic scored 37 points and Jamal Murray added 34 in a 134-121 win.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 32 points to help the Philadelphia 76ers earn a 114-111 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
The Portland Trail Blazers recorded a 126-122 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without star player Luka Doncic for another game because of a calf strain.
Jalen Johnson made 28 points and 13 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks won a third successive game with a 120-110 win at home to the Miami Heat.
There was also a 116-111 win for the Chicago Bulls over the Milwaukee Bucks as Josh Giddey returned from a four-game absence to record a 23-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to help end the Bulls’ three-game losing streak.
