Cam Spencer’s late surge helps Grizzlies edge Spurs 106-105

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Cam Spencer scored 21 points, including five in the final 1:26, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat San Antonio 106-105 on Tuesday night, offsetting 30 points by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama in his return after a two-game absence.

Spencer’s 10-foot baseline jumper with 36.5 seconds left were the final points. San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox took a 15 footer with 5 second left but was blocked by Memphis’ Santi Aldama, and the Grizzlies snapped a four-game losing streak.

Jaren Jackson Jr. also had 21 points for Memphis, and Jack Landale finished with 19 points. Spencer had eight rebounds and eight assists.

Wembanyama’s 30 points led the Spurs while Julian Champagnie finished with 23. Stephon Castle had 15 points before fouling out with 3:13 left. Wembanyama, who played 21 minutes, was 10 of 20 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from outside the arc.

Memphis led 101-100 with 2:44 left when Fox, who started 1 of 13 from the field, was in the midst of six straight points, taking the San Antonio lead to 104-101 with 1:39 to play. But Spencer’s late burst gave Memphis the victory.

After a poor first half, Memphis opened the third on a 20-7 run to erase San Antonio’s 11-point lead. Wembanyama had 12 in the period and Memphis held an 82-81 advantage into the final quarter.

WIZARDS 120, MAGIC 112

WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 27 points and steadied Washington after it nearly blew a 26-point, but held on for a victory over Orlando.

Alex Sarr added 23 points for the young and suddenly competitive Wizards, who have won five of seven. Washington, in the midst of a yearslong rebuild, began the season 3-20 but has gone 7-5 since.

The Wizards’ inexperience showed after they took an 89-63 lead on Justin Champagnie’s 3-pointer in the third quarter. Orlando cut the deficit to 14 points by the end of the period and continued its rally as Washington began the fourth quarter by going 2 of 10 from the field.

Goga Bitadze’s layup got the Magic within 107-105 with 5:03 left, and Orlando could sense the biggest comeback victory in franchise history. But McCollum found Sarr for an alley-oop, then followed with a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer to put Washington ahead by nine.

Another 3 by McCollum made it 117-107 with 1:52 remaining.

Reserve Jase Richardson led the Magic with 20 points and Desmond Bane scored 15.

CAVALIERS 120, PACERS 116

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Darius Garland scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, fueling a late 13-point run that sent Cleveland past struggling Indiana for its fourth win in five games.

Indiana, the defending Eastern Conference champs, lost its 13th straight to set a franchise record in its NBA era. The Pacers are now a league-worst 6-31 and are one loss away from matching the Washington Wizards’ 14-game skid for the league’s longest skid this season.

The Cavs weren’t even at full strength in this one.

Coach Kenny Atkinson gave All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell a day off just hours after team officials announced Max Strus was expected to miss at least another month because of a left foot injury. Atkinson said that the updated timeline was not because Strus had suffered a setback. Cleveland also lost forward Dean Wade in the first half with a bruised left knee.

And yet, Cleveland managed to erase the nine-point deficit they faced entering the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley had 20 points while Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each scored 19. Merrill went 6 of 10 on 3-pointers.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points and Jay Huff tied his season high with 20 points, going 7 of 10 from the field wand 4 of 7 on 3s. Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 11 assists. Indiana played without center Isaiah Jackson, swingman Bennedict Mathurin, forward Obi Toppin and All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton because of injuries.

Indiana still had a chance to force overtime in the waning seconds, but couldn’t tie the score as the game turned into a free-throw contest.

TIMBERWOLVES 122, HEAT 94

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 26 points and Minnesota beat Miami for the second time in four days.

Edwards, listed as questionable on the pregame injury report with a foot injury, connected on a team-high five 3-pointers and was 5 for 6 at the free-throw line.

Minnesota has now won three in a row, including a 125-115 win over Miami on Saturday.

Jaden McDaniels added 19 points for the Wolves, while Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Julius Randle had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Miami leading scorer Norman Powell finished with 21 points. Tyler Herro scored 17 points in his return after missing the last 11 games with a toe injury. Herro came off the bench for just his fourth time in the past four seasons.

The only thing slowing down Edwards on Tuesday was foul trouble. He picked up his second foul with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter. He sat for the remainder of the quarter but was back out to start the second with the Wolves trailing 29-27.

LAKERS 111, PELICANS 103

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LeBron James scored 30 points, Luca Doncic capped his 30-point, 10-assist performance with a pair of off-balance, bail-out 3s as the shot clock wound down, and Los Angeles held off reeling New Orleans.

Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the fourth time in their past five games while sending the Pelicans to their eighth straight loss.

Trey Murphy scored a career-high 41, Zion Williamson scored 15 points and rookie Derik Queen had 10 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which led by as many as nine points late in the third quarter.

The Lakers opened the fourth quarter on a 18-4 run that included two deep 3s by James, a 3 by Dalton Knecht and a pair of baskets in the paint by Ayton. The surge put Los Angeles up 97-90 and the Pelicans could not get closer than four after that.

Neither team led by more than seven until Karlo Matkovic’s free throws gave New Orleans an 83-74 lead late in the third quarter.

MAVERICKS 100, KINGS 98

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 20 points, Brandon Williams hit the winning 3-pointer with 33.9 seconds to play, and Dallas held on for a win over Sacramento to snap a seven-game road losing streak.

Anthony Davis had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Mavericks, who trailed 98-97 when Williams hit his 3-pointer for a 100-98 lead.

The Kings had multiple chances to retake the lead, but Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan all missed 3-point tries in the final seconds.

Sacramento, which lost its sixth game in a row, was led by DeRozan with 21 points. Zach LaVine had 20 and Maxime Reynaud added 14. The Kings’ last win was Dec. 27 against Dallas. The Kings at 8-29 have the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

Williams ended up with 18 for Dallas, and Naji Marshall had 15. Daniel Gafford had 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won back-to-back games following a four-game losing streak.