MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.
The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history.
SPURS 106, ROCKETS 100
HOUSTON (AP) - Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points to lead San Antonio over Houston.
The Spurs avenged a 101-99 loss to the Rockets in San Antonio on Wednesday night and improved to 5-0 on the road, where they have outscored opponents by an average of 12.8 points.
James Harden had a triple-double for a second straight game against the Spurs, finishing with 25 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, but also added seven costly turnovers. A deep 3-pointer by Eric Gordon cut the lead to four with 2 minutes remaining, but Houston struggled to make stops down the stretch.
Gordon scored 27 points off the bench, going 7 of 12 on 3-pointers.
Houston attempted 47 3s in the game, making 15 (31.9 percent).
RAPTORS 118, KNICKS 107
TORONTO (AP) - DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, Norman Powell added 19 and Toronto beat New York for the fourth straight time.
DeRozan, the NBA’s leading scorer, had his eighth 30-plus-point game in nine starts this season, putting him in an exclusive club. In the last 50 years, Michael Jordan, World B. Free and Tiny Archibald have started a season registering 30-plus points in eight of the first nine games.
Carmelo Anthony had 31 points, while Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick Rose had 21 apiece for New York.
Kyle Lowry, who finished with 16 points, put the Raptors up by four with 1:41 to play on a driving layup, and Lucas Nogueira had two straight blocks on Anthony and then Rose to put Toronto in control.
JAZZ 102, HEAT 91
MIAMI (AP) - Gordon Hayward scored 25 points, Rodney Hood added 17 and Utah handed Miami a fourth consecutive loss.
Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Utah, which used a 15-0 run midway through the game to pull away. Shelvin Mack scored 12 for Utah, while former Heat forward Joe Johnson and Dante Exum each added 10.
Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. James Johnson scored 15 points, Rodney McGruder added 14 and Josh Richardson finished with 12.
Utah was without George Hill (right thumb) and Boris Diaw (right knee) again, then lost Derrick Favors to left knee soreness in the first quarter. But a night after holding Orlando to 74 points, the Jazz limited Miami to 59 through three quarters.
At 2-6, Miami is off to its worst start since 2007-08.
CELTICS 105, PACERS 99
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points, including Boston’s final eight, and the Celtics beat Indiana.
Thomas had just four points through 34 minutes, the scored 19 over the final 14 minutes. He hit several clutch shots to keep Indiana at bay and iced the game at the foul line in the final 30 seconds.
Kelly Olynyk scored 16 for the Celtics, playing the first of two straight road games. Amir Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Avery Bradley had 13 points and five assists.
Jeff Teague led Indiana with 20 points. Myles Turner scored 17 and Monta Ellis had 15 in the Pacers’ first home loss of the season.
Indiana played without leading scorer Paul George, who sprained his left ankle in overtime of its 109-105 loss at Philadelphia on Friday.
HAWKS 117, 76ERS 96
ATLANTA (AP) - Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points, Kent Bazemore added 17 and Atlanta won its fourth straight game.
Dwight Howard, the NBA’s active leader in double-doubles, had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
Jahlil Okafor finished with 18 points for the Sixers, who dropped to 1-8 a night after earning their first win.
Despite playing with a depleted roster, Philadelphia kept it close until late, pulling within two with 3:50 left in the third. But Howard’s follow dunk gave the Hawks an 84-74 lead and Kyle Korver’s 3-pointer on the ensuing possession matched the 10-point advantage in the closing minutes of the period.
LAKERS 126, PELICANS 99
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, Lou Williams added 21, and Los Angeles won for the fifth time in six games, beating New Orleans.
D’Angelo Russell scored 22 and Nick Young added 15 points for the Lakers, who shot 55.3 percent (52 of 94) overall and made 16 of 30 3-pointers.
Anthony Davis scored 34 for New Orleans, but left the game for a pivotal stretch with apparent lower back pain after his layup had cut Los Angeles’ lead to 63-62 in the third quarter. Davis went to the locker room and was out of the game for four-plus minutes while the Lakers went on a 14-0 run.
New Orleans never recovered.
Rookie Buddy Hield scored 18 points for the Pelicans.
BULLS 106, WIZARDS 95
CHICAGO (AP) - Jimmy Butler scored 37 points, and Chicago beat short-handed Washington.
Butler did all he could to carry the Bulls on a night when the Wizards were missing star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Butler finished two points shy of his season high. He hit all 14 free throws, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a season-high nine assists.
Nikola Mirotic added 17 points. Dwyane Wade scored 14. Taj Gibson chipped in with 13 points. The Bulls won back-to-back games for the first time since a 3-0 start, but forward Doug McDermott exited with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.
Markieff Morris had a season-high 24 points after scoring 20 the previous night. Marcin Gortat added 18 points and 14 rebounds.
BUCKS 106, GRIZZLIES 96
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and Michael Beasley added a season-high 19 to help Milwaukee beat Memphis.
Beasley scored five points during an 11-2 run that gave the Bucks an 86-72 lead with 9:59 to play.
Milwaukee closed the game on a 7-0 run, as Memphis did not score in the last 2:56 of the game.
Marc Gasol finished with 18 points for Memphis before fouling out in the final seconds. Vince Carter added 17 points.
PISTONS 106, NUGGETS 95
DENVER (AP) - Tobias Harris scored 19 points, Marcus Morris had 17 and Detroit beat Denver for its first road win of the season.
Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 14 points apiece for the Pistons, who also snapped a seven-game losing streak in Denver a week after beating the Nuggets in their first meeting in Detroit.
Emmanuel Mudiay scored 19 points for Denver, which was done in by another slow start after being outscored 36-21 in the first quarter. The Pistons never trailed in the contest.
Danilo Gallinari added 18 points for the Nuggets, who remained winless in three games at home this season.
NETS 122, SUNS 104
PHOENIX (AP) - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading Brooklyn to its first road victory of the season.
The Nets held a 102-100 lead with 4:16 to play but scored the next 17 points, including Brook Lopez’s 3-pointer with 1:47 to go to make it 113-100.
Trevor Booker added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Sean Kilpatrick had 19 points and nine boards for the Nets. Joe Harris also scored 19 points.
T.J. Warren scored 18 points for the Suns. Jared Dudley added 17 off the bench and Alex Len scored 11 points to go with 10 rebounds.
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