the associated press
OAKLAND, Calif. —Dirk Nowitzki added one more memorable game in his final visit to Oracle Arena, scoring a season-high 21 points and insisting he couldn’t remember whether it was a chair or a trash can that he threw into a wall opposite the visitors’ locker room at one of his favorite arenas.
Luka Doncic had a triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks capitalized on Stephen Curry’s absence to beat the Golden State Warriors 126-91 on Saturday night.
Nowitzki, 40, who is in his 21st and perhaps final season with the Mavericks, got a rare start and a rousing ovation from the Oracle crowd. He came out and torched the Warriors with 10 points in the game’s first four minutes, and the Mavs jumped out to a 22-7 lead. They never trailed in the game.
“The last few games I didn’t have a good shooting rhythm,” Nowitzki said. “Today, I had it early and often.”
Golden State dropped out of the top seed in the Western Conference to a half-game behind Denver. With Curry resting, Kevin Durant had 25 points and DeMarcus Cousins scored 19. But the Warriors were 4 for 30 from 3-point range, while the Mavs went 21 of 49 from behind the arc.
“We just couldn’t pull together after that slow start and we never could get any traction in the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So we just kind of flush this one down the toilet and move on to tomorrow, not much else to do.”
Doncic had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Dallas ended a 12-game losing streak in Oakland, where it last won in April 2012. The Mavs built their lead to 43 early in the final quarter.
Nowitzki scored his first NBA basket at Oracle Arena, which is closing after this season, and some of his career highs and lows also came in Oakland. In 2007, the Warriors shocked the 67-win Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs — prompting Nowitzki to throw something through the wall. The hole has never been repaired.
“Great memories, bad memories here,” he said. “This has always been a fun building, a fun atmosphere to play. I’ll always remember this building.”
HAWKS 129, 76ERS 127
ATLANTA — Trae Young scored 32 points, including a last-second, go-ahead floater, as Atlanta ended Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak.
With 3.5 seconds remaining, Young took the inbound pass from Kevin Huerter and dribbled past Jimmy Butler before sinking the short, soft jumper for the lead with 0.1 seconds remaining. Butler missed a long attempt as the final buzzer sounded.
Taurean Prince had 23 points for Atlanta.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Butler had 25 points for Philadelphia.
The 76ers began the night with a solid hold on third place in the Eastern Conference, 3½ games ahead of Indiana and four games ahead of Boston.
JAZZ 114, BULLS 83
CHICAGO — Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Utah rolled to one of its most lopsided wins of the season.
The 31-point margin of victory was just three shy of Utah’s season high. The Jazz raced out to a 70-36 halftime lead and never looked back in winning for the sixth time in seven games.
Donovan Mitchell added 16 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Favors scored 13.
Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He made just 6 of 20 shots, and the Bulls delivered one of their worst performances in a rough season.
TIMBERWOLVES 112, GRIZZLIES 99
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 23 rebounds, and Minnesota ended a five-game slide with a win over Memphis.
Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and rookie Josh Okogie had 17 as Minnesota, eliminated from the playoffs Friday night, ended its longest losing streak of the season. All five Minnesota starters reached double figures in scoring.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 23 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 14 rebounds.
HEAT 113, WIZARDS 108
WASHINGTON — Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, helping Miami remain alone in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Wade also had nine rebounds while scoring in double digits for a ninth consecutive game.
Dion Waiters added 19 points and Josh Richardson had 18 for Miami, which remained a game ahead of Orlando in the race for the East’s last playoff spot. Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Jeff Green scored 25 points for Washington, which has lost four straight. Thomas Bryant had 17 points, Bobby Portis Jr. added 14 and both grabbed 11 rebounds. The 11th-place Wizards fell 6 1/2 games behind Miami with eight to play.
HORNETS 124,
CELTICS 117
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and the Charlotte rallied to beat Boston.
It was Walker’s 23rd game of 30 or more points this season. He added 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Rookie Miles Bridges scored a career-high 20 points, Marvin Williams and Malik Monk added 13 points apiece and Dwayne Bacon scored 11.
Charlotte won its second straight, improved to 33-39 and kept its faint postseason hopes alive.
Kyrie Irving led Boston with 31 points. Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Marcus Morris 15. The Celtics (43-30) lost their third straight game despite hitting 19 3-pointers.
TRAIL BLAZERS 117, PISTONS 112
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds as Portland beat Detroit for its third straight win.
Al-Farouq Aminu scored 22 points, including nine points in the fourth quarter as the Portland rallied from a six-point deficit.
Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 27 points and six assists.
KINGS 112, SUNS 103
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Buddy Hield had 25 points and set the franchise season record for 3-pointers in Sacramento’s win over Phoenix.
Hield made 7 of 14 from beyond the arc, giving him 245 3-pointers this season. That surpassed the mark of 240 set by Peja Stojakovic in 2003-04. The Kings made 17 3s overall.
Harrison Barnes scored seven of his 25 points over the final three minutes, Nemanja Bjelica had 13 points and 17 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox added 13 points and nine assists for Sacramento. Marvin Bagley III put up 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Devin Booker scored 32 points and Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix.
