Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) is defended by Orlando Magic forward Jamal Cain, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla.
Kevin Kolczynski/AP
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 32 points, Jalen Johnson added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks routed the Orlando Magic 130-101 on Wednesday night for their 17th victory in their last 19 games.
Dyson Daniels had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 51% for the game and had a 52-36 rebound advantage. Johnson came two assists short of his 14th triple-double of the season.
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The Hawks swept the season series against the Magic 4-0 and now have a 3 1/2 game lead over Orlando in the Southeast Division with five games remaining — six for Orlando.
Jamal Cain led the Magic with 17 points off the bench. Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 points each.
Magic forward Franz Wagner scored 12 points in 20 minutes in his first game since Feb. 11. Wagner, who averaged 23.4 points on 55% shooting in the Magic’s first 23 games, has missed 47 of the last 52 games with a high ankle sprain.
The Hawks blew the game open with a 47-point second quarter in which they made 17 of 24 shots. Jonathan Kuminga’s 3-pointer broke a 32-32 tie early in the quarter and Atlanta led the rest of the game, stretching the margin to 31 early in the second half.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Paul George scored a season-high 39 points and Philadelphia overcame Joel Embiid’s absence because of an illness in a victory over Washington.
George played his fourth game following a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug rules, He was 15 of 22 from the field, made 6 of 12 3-pointers and had six assists and five rebounds.
Tyrese Maxey added 28 points and nine assists in his third game back from a finger injury, and rookie VJ Edgecombe had 23 points and 10 assists.
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Philadelphia’s starters combined to shoot 45 of 65 from the floor (69.2%) and helped score 47 third-quarter points, the second-most Washington allowed in any period this season.
Anthony Gill scored a career-best 21 points for the Wizards. They have lost four in a row and 20 of 21.
MIAMI (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 43 points, Jayson Tatum had his first triple-double of the season and Boston rode the strength of a record-setting first quarter to beat Miami.
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Tatum finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for Boston, which scored 53 points in the first quarter — a franchise record that tied the second-highest total for an opening quarter in NBA history. Sam Hauser added 23 for the Celtics, who are 31-0 when scoring at least 117 points this season and are 10-1 in their last 11 games following a loss.
The Celtics led by as many as 27, then saw the lead trimmed to as little as nine early in the fourth quarter. Boston (51-25) holds the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference race, four games behind No. 1 Detroit.
Bam Adebayo had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which tied a franchise record by hitting 24 3-pointers. The Heat made 24 on three other occasions.
Davion Mitchell scored 21, while Tyler Herro and Pelle Larsson each scored 18 and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 17 for the Heat (40-37).
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CHICAGO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Indiana beat Chicago to move out of the NBA basement.
Coming off a home victory over Miami on Sunday, the injury-ravaged Pacers had their highest-scoring game of the season. They improved to 18-58 to move a game ahead of last-place Washington.
Ethan Thompson added 24 points, and Kobe Brown and Jay Huff each had 17.
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Guerschon Yabusele led Chicago with 20 points, and Collin Sexton had 18. The Bulls have lost five straight — the first four on the road — to fall to 29-47.
HOUSTON (AP) — Reed Sheppard scored 27 points on a career-high nine 3-pointers, Alperen Sengun added 25 points and Houston beat short-handed Milwaukee for its fourth straight victory.
Kevin Durant finished with 19 points and nine assists, Amen Thompson had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 12 points for the Rockets. They shot 47% from the field, going 18 of 42 on 3-pointers.
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Houston had 30 assists on 41 field goals and forced the Bucks into 15 turnovers that they converted into 18 points.
Ousmane Dieng had a career-high 36 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Milwaukee. Cormac Ryan had a season-high 25 points, Pete Nance added a career-high 23. AJ Green had 15 points and eight rebounds.
TORONTO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Precious Achiuwa had 28 points and a season-high 19 rebounds and Sacramento beat Toronto.
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DeRozan reached 26,688 career points, moving him past Dominique Wilkins (26,668) into 17th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Next up on the list is Oscar Robertson (26, 710). Other than the active players ahead of him on that list — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook — everyone else with DeRozan’s points total is in the Hall of Fame.
DeRozan shot 7 for 18, but went 12 for 12 at the foul line.
Malik Monk scored 18 points, Devin Carter had 13 and Daeqwon Plowden 11 as the Kings snapped a four-game losing streak and ended a five-game road trip with a victory. Sacramento is 7-32 on the road.
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The Kings went 27 for 29 at the line, while the Raptors finished 22 for 32.
KNICKS 130, GRIZZLIES 119
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — OG Anunoby had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, and New York beat Memphis.
Mikal Bridges added 24 points as New York snapped a three-game losing streak.
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GG Jackson led Memphis with 20 points, Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 17 and Cedric Coward finished with 15 points.
The Knicks sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, a game and a half ahead of the Cavaliers, who were idle Wednesday night.
The Knicks took an early lead, missing only two of their first 15 shots. New York scored 22 points in the paint and had an 11-2 advantage on the boards in the first quarter. New York shot 71% overall, including 7 of 10 from outside the arc, in the first half and took a 79-62 lead at halftime.
The 79 points were a season-high for a Knicks first half and just short of the 83 New York scored in the second half against Minnesota on Nov. 5.
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The Grizzlies were outrebounded 49-20 in the game, the 20 boards a franchise low.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray made 10 3-pointers — including a half-court heave that beat the first-quarter buzzer — and scored 37 points to lead Denver to a victory over Utah.
Nikola Jokic had 17 rebounds, 15 points, and 12 assists for his fifth triple-double in six games to help the Nuggets earn their seventh straight victory. Cam Johnson added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Christian Braun had 18 points and six rebounds.
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Brice Sensabaugh led Utah with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and six rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who dropped their seventh straight and are 3-19 in their last 22 games. Kennedy Chandler had 16 points and six assists off the bench.
Murray buried 3-pointers on each of Denver’s first three possessions to help the Nuggets open with 12 unanswered points and seize a 17-3 lead. Each of Denver’s first six field goals came beyond the arc.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points for the second straight game, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked three shots and San Antonio ran away from injury-plagued Golden State for a victory that extended its winning streak to 10.
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Wembanyama had 10 of his team’s initial 14 points just 3:36 into the game and San Antonio jumped ahead 17-3. He finished 16 for 22 from the field in his fourth 40-point performance of the season. The Spurs (58-18) won for the 15th time in their last 16 contests as they chase the first-place and idle Thunder (60-16) in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
With 54.9 seconds left in the first quarter, San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox took a shot to the face and exited briefly. He finished with 11 points — one of seven Spurs in double figures.
Nate Williams scored 18 points, LJ Cryer matched his career high with 17 and Brandin Podziemski had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Golden State as Stephen Curry missed his 26th consecutive game since Jan. 30 with a right knee injury.
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