Grizzlies 104, Spurs 96

Memphis is back to relying on its defense, and the result is a four-game winning streak.

That's quite a turnaround from the five-game skid that opened the month.

Mike Conley had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Zach Randolph added 18 points and the Grizzlies extended their recent success with a victory over San Antonio on Saturday night.

"We're playing with a sense of urgency defensively that we haven't played with all season long," Conley said. "It's almost as if we turned the switch on to playoff basketball."

The defense forced 15 turnovers and held San Antonio to 44 percent shooting. The Spurs, who entered leading the NBA in 3-point shooting at almost 40 percent, finished 9 of 28 from long range.

San Antonio, which briefly held the top spot in the Western Conference recently, lost its second straight.

"To beat a team of that caliber right now is a great win for us," Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said.

Memphis held an 89-86 lead with 5:45 left, then went on a 9-1 rally to match its biggest advantage of the game at 98-87 on a three-point play by Marc Gasol with 2:30 left.

Not long afterward, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent his reserves in.

"We made too many mistakes to win the basketball game," Popovich said.

"It was definitely not our best performance," said Spurs guard Tony Parker, who had four points after missing four games with a stiff back.

Gasol had 16 points and seven assists for Memphis, while JaMychal Green scored 13. The Grizzlies shot 42 percent, but converted 13 of 30 from outside the arc.

"Even though we were not making many shots," Gasol said, "we were so unselfish defensively and so connected that it carried on into our offense."

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 22 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and nine rebounds. Jonathon Simmons scored 14 for San Antonio.

Memphis took a 75-73 lead into the final period after the first three quarters featured six ties and 15 lead changes. The Grizzlies pushed their advantage to nine on a couple of occasions early in the fourth, but San Antonio stayed close with 3-pointers from Simmons, Leonard and Davis Bertans.

Memphis started its final spurt with three free throws from Conley, who then made a 3 with about four minutes left.

Thunder 110, Kings 94

Russell Westbrook had 28 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help Oklahoma City roll past Sacramento.

The Thunder won their fifth straight — the longest current streak in the NBA. They are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for fifth place in the Western Conference.

Westbrook had a triple-double in each of the first four games of the streak to raise his season total to 34. He needs seven more in Oklahoma City's final 13 games to tie Oscar Robertson for the NBA single-season record, set during the 1961-62 season.

Georgios Papagiannis had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Clippers 108, Cavaliers 78

Blake Griffin scored 23 points and Los Angeles capitalized on the Cavaliers' decision to rest their top three players with an easy victory over Cleveland.

LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat out for the Cavaliers, and the Clippers snapped their three-game losing streak by feasting on the defending champions' supporting cast.

J.J. Redick added 16 points for the Clippers, who swept their season series with the Cavs. Cleveland's personnel decision also allowed the Clippers to rest Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan for the entire fourth quarter while their reserves turned a comfortable win into a blowout.

Griffin sat out Thursday's loss at Denver to rest, and he poured in 13 points in the third quarter while Los Angeles pulled away.

Richard Jefferson scored 12 to lead the Cavs in their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Rockets 109, Nuggets 105

James Harden scored 40 points and finished with a triple-double as Houston snapped Denver's four-game winning streak.

Harden, who shook off a hard fall in the third quarter, had 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He scored 40 points for the second consecutive night.

With his team trailing 107-105, Nuggets guard Will Barton missed a 3-pointer and a layup in the final 30 seconds. Denver also missed five free throws late in the game, two by Barton.

Nene, who played the first decade of his 14-year NBA career in Denver, had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets.

Gary Harris led the Nuggets with 17 points.

Harden scored 18 points in the third quarter, including Houston's final 16 of the period. He capped the run with a buzzer-beating 3 that gave the Rockets an 80-74 lead.

Warriors 117, Bucks 92

Stephen Curry scored 28 points with six 3-pointers and Golden State overcame a sluggish start to beat Milwaukee.

Draymond Green added eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, Klay Thompson scored 21 and Matt Barnes made back-to-back 3s to spark a big run in the second quarter and help the Warriors complete a season sweep of the Bucks.

Golden State improved to an NBA-best 55-14 with its second straight win by 25 points or more. It was also the Warriors' third consecutive victory overall following a season-high three-game losing streak.

The win followed news that All-Star Kevin Durant, out since spraining a knee ligament on Feb. 28, has progressed to taking jump shots, an encouraging sign for a team trying to hold onto the top spot in the West.

Hornets 98, Wizards 93

Cody Zeller scored 19 points and Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Washington.

Kemba Walker had eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Marvin Williams added 16 points and eight rebounds as the Hornets handed the Wizards their second straight defeat.

The Hornets limited the Wizards to 37 percent shooting from the field.

John Wall had 19 points and eight assists for the Wizards, and Bradley Beal scored 18.

Charlotte is four games back of Miami for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games remaining.

Trail Blazers 113, Hawks 97

Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Portland took control with a dominant opening quarter to beat Atlanta.

C.J. McCollum had 22 points and Allen Crabbe added 16 for Portland, which raced out to a 17-3 lead and never trailed.

The Trail Blazers, who have won seven of nine, moved within 1½ games of Denver for the Western Conference's final playoff spot.

The Hawks have lost three straight, including the last two at home.

Atlanta held out four-time All-Star forward Paul Millsap after he experienced tightness in his left knee during pregame warmups. Ersan Ilyasova, who started for Millsap, had 23 points. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22.

Bulls 95, Jazz 86

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points and Bobby Portis added a career-high 22 in Chicago's victory over Utah.

In their second game without Dwyane Wade, who will miss the remainder of the season with a broken elbow, the Bulls leaned on their second team. Denzel Valentine, who had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

George Hill scored 18 points for the Jazz, and Gordon Hayward added 14. Rudy Gobert had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.

The Bulls, who beat Utah 85-77 on Nov. 17, swept the season series the first time since 2009-10.

Valentine's 3-pointer gave the Bulls a 75-73 lead with 7:21 remaining. Chicago never trailed again, scoring 34 points in the final quarter.