NBA: Julius Randle stars as New York Knicks win ninth straight game; Dallas Mavericks beat Los Angeles Lakers

New York: Julius Randle had 31 points and 10 rebounds, RJ Barrett added 25 points and 12 rebounds and New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 120-103 on Saturday for their ninth straight victory. Derrick Rose scored 19 points to help the Knicks move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining. They are on their longest winning streak since a 13-game run late in the 2012-13 season, when they won the Atlantic Division title in what was their last playoff appearance. Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each scored 27 points for the Raptors, who were trying for a season-high fifth straight victory. Dallas Mavericks 108 — 93 Los Angeles Lakers Luka Doncic had 18 points and 13 assists and Dallas overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Los Angeles in Lakers star Anthony Davis’ second game back from a long injury absence.

Check the clock.
Get to the stepback.
Launch from distance.

Luka Doncic works his magic late for the @dallasmavs in #PhantomCam! pic.twitter.com/2zFb9CgE7m

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2021

Dwight Powell scored 12 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks swept a two-game home set against the defending NBA champs and moved a game ahead of Portland the all-important sixth seed in the Western Conference. The No. 7 team has to make the playoffs through a play-in format. The Lakers, still without fellow star LeBron James and also missing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks for fifth place. Davis was sluggish again coming off 30 games missed because of right calf and heel issues, finishing 5 of 19 from the field. The eight-time All-Star’s best stretch came late in the second quarter, when he scored 10 of his 17 points. Minnesota Timberwolves 101 — 96 Utah Jazz Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Minnesota past NBA-leading Utah . Anthony Edwards added 23 points and nine rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell also finished with 23 points to help Minnesota beat Utah on the road for the second time this season. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points and made seven 3-pointers to lead the Jazz. They lost at home for just the fourth time this season. The teams will meet again Monday night in Minneapolis. Milwaukee Bucks 132 — 94 Philadelphia 76ers Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and moved into second place on Milwaukee’s career scoring list in a romp over Philadelphia. Antetokounmpo also had 14 rebounds and seven assists. He passed Glenn Robinson on the career list with 12,023. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader with 14,211. [caption id=“attachment_9562301” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)[/caption] The Bucks beat the 76ers for the second time in three days to hand Philadelphia their fourth straight loss. Playing without All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the 76ers matched their lowest point total and suffered their most-lopsided loss of the season. Denver Nuggets 129 — 116 Houston Rockets Michael Porter Jr scored a career-high 39 points, Nikola Jokic had 24 points and Denver beat undermanned Houston. PJ Dozier started at guard in place of the injured Will Barton and added a career-high 23 points for the Nuggets. They are 13-3 in their last 16 games while dealing with a wave of backcourt injuries. The Rockets, too, have been besieged by injuries and roster upheaval and only seven players logged playing time against the Nuggets. D.J. Wilson led Houston with 25 points, Kelly Olynyk had 21 and Kenyon Martin Jr. 18. Denver swept the three-game season series. Indiana Pacers 115 — 109 Detroit Pistons Malcolm Brogdon scored 26 points, Caris LeVert had 25 and Indiana had a late 12-0 run to beat Detroit. With the Pacers down 101-97 with 4:41 remaining, LeVert made a layup to start the run. Brogdon hit a 3-pointer and added a layup, with the latter making it 109-101 with 2:42 remaining. Edmond Sumner added 22 points for the Pacers. They swept the season series from the Pistons for the first time since 2016-17 and have won 10 of 12 at home against Detroit. Jerami Grant, led the Pistons with 25 points. Mason Plumlee had 17 points and 21 rebounds. San Antonio Spurs 110 — 108 New Orleans Pelicans DeMar DeRozan scored 11 of his team-high 32 points in the final 7:40 and made all 12 of his free throws in San Antonio’s victory over New Orleans. With the Spurs clinging to a 104-103 lead with 2:04 left, DeRozan scored the next four points, and the Pelicans could not respond. The Pelicans damaged their chances by committing 19 turnovers and going 17 of 32 from the foul line. San Antonio made 27 of 32 free throws. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 33 points and 14 rebounds, and Brandon Ingram had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists. Miami Heat 106 — 101 Chicago Bulls Duncan Robinson made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Kendrick Nunn had 22 and Miami held off a big Chicago rally. Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 10 assists for the Heat, and Jimmy Butler added 20 points. Miami trailed but saw what was a 24-point lead cut to two in the final moments. Coby White scored 31 points for Chicago, and Nikola Vucevic had 26 points and 14. The Bulls outscored the Heat 60-45 in the second half, but wound up losing for the seventh time in their last 10 games. The teams will meet in Miami again Monday.