Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, his best of the season, and added six assists as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards 109-100 on Wednesday night.
OG Anunoby added 21 points and five rebounds for the Raptors, who have won five in a row and four in a row on the road.
Bradley Beal has 25 points along with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Wizards, who have now lost two in a row. Montrezl Harrell had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, while Kyle Kuzma had just two points on 1 in 10 shot before leaving the game with a bruised forearm in the third quarter.
The Raptors, who led by 16 in the third quarter, led by nine before the fourth. The lead reached 12 points with 7:36 remaining after Khem Birch scored four straight points for Toronto.
Anunoby scored three points with 7:04 remaining, increasing the lead to 15, but the Wizards scored the next seven points.
When Harrell made a layup with 3:53 remaining, the margin was six. After Beal missed a three-point attempt, VanVleet came back with a layup, then Dinwiddie missed a three with 1:04 left before the Raptors put the game aside.
Eastern Conference
Durant flies away with 32 against the Hawks
Kevin Durant scored 15 of his 32 points in the third quarter when the Brooklyn Nets took the lead and pulled away for a 117-108 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks in New York.
Durant helped the Nets close the third by scoring 13 points in a 20-4 streak that spanned the 4:40 final. He broke a 75-75 tie with two free throws and finished the quarter with an imbalance of three against Cam Reddish just before the buzzer to put Brooklyn at 95-79.
Durant had his third 30-point game of the season and the star forward shot 13 of 20 from the field. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. James Harden followed up his first triple-double of the season with 16 points and 11 of Brooklyn’s 34 assists.
DeAndre Hunter reached a career-high six for three points and scored 26 points, but Atlanta has lost for the 11th time in the last 13 games against the Nets. Trae Young scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 21 and 10 assists on 6 of 22 shots from the floor.
Turner’s career night pushes back Knicks
Myles Turner hit a career-high seven three-pointers, including two to start an 11-point opener by host Indiana Pacers, who never trailed in a 111-98 victory over the Knicks from New York.
The Pacers have won back-to-back wins after a four-game losing streak while the Knicks have lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak.
Turner finished with a high of 25 points while adding 13 rebounds to his third double-double of the season. The center entered Wednesday with just 11 three-pointers in the first eight games, but went from 7 for 10 from beyond the arc to surpass his previous career record for three points – five, which he did it twice before.
Caris LeVert scored 21 points, including nine in the third quarter as the Pacers held off a pair of Knicks rallies. Julius Randle (18 points, 14 rebounds) posted a double-double for the Knicks while RJ Barrett scored 23 points.
76ers survive late Bulls rally
Highlights of Chicago Bulls’ visit to Philadelphia 76ers in NBA week three
Seth Curry scored 22 points while Joel Embiid added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to put the host of the Philadelphia 76ers past the Chicago Bulls 103-98.
Georges Niang contributed 18 points, Tyrese Maxey added 14 and Furkan Korkmaz had 11 for the Sixers, who won their fourth in a row.
The Sixers have played without Ben Simmons (personal reasons), Tobias Harris (health and safety protocols) and Danny Green (left hamstrings).
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 37 points and 10 rebounds while Zach LaVine added 27. Lonzo Ball had 13 for the Bulls, who had won six of the first seven games. Nikola Vucevic took 10 rebounds.
When Maxey converted a crooked layup with 4:11 left, the Sixers were leading 98-89. The Bulls then bounced back and DeRozan’s shot in the lane with 29.9 seconds left closed them at 100-98.
Curry then responded with a jumper with 10.7 seconds remaining as Alex Caruso waved his hand in front of his face to seal the match.
Cavs Surprise Package Borders Blazers To Climb Above .500
Highlights of the Portland Trail Blazers’ visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers in NBA week three
Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 17 rebounds to take host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Collin Sexton scored 21 points, Darius Garland added 19 points and 10 assists and Evan Mobley had 11 points and 11 rebounds to propel the Cavaliers to their second straight victory.
Damian Lillard scored a high of 26 points despite a 3-for-12 performance in a three-point range.
Norman Powell scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and CJ McCollum added 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who concluded an unsuccessful three-game march and fell to 0-4 on the road this season.
Lillard drained a three-point pointer and McCollum made a small bucket to reduce the Cleveland lead to 103-101 before Mobley and Sexton responded with a pair of buckets to push back the lead to six.
Lillard converted a three-point play to cut the deficit in half, but his attempt at a deep imbalance took off the rim to end the game.
Celtics respond with victory over Magic
Highlights of Boston Celtics’ visit to Orlando Magic in NBA week three
Jaylen Brown led four Boston players in double digits with a 28-point record and the Celtics ended a three-game losing streak with a 92-79 victory over host Orlando Magic.
Boston opened the third quarter with 16 straight points – creating a 21-0 streak that stretched into interim periods – as a basket from Robert Williams III gave the Celtics a 60-46 advantage.
Wendell Carter Jr. converted the second of two free throws with 5:59 left in the third quarter, ending a drought in Orlando that lasted nearly 10 minutes. However, the Celtics’ lead climbed to 69-50 after Dennis Schroder scored back-to-back baskets.
Boston, which lost a 14-point lead after the three-quarters Monday night in a 128-114 loss to the Chicago Bulls, had no problem holding on this time around as Orlando approached at 84-70 with 3:59 to play.
