Knicks 110, Bulls 92

The Knicks have won two straight games for the first time in almost two months, and they’re not apologizing for the caliber of their competition.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points and Michael Beasley added 17 as New York beat depleted Chicago on Monday night.

“We don’t care who they put out there,” Beasley said. “They could put a bunch of toddlers out there. Once the game starts, the game starts.”

Enes Kanter had 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Troy Williams added 11 for the Knicks.

Cristiano Felicio scored a career-high 17 points for the Bulls, who were missing their top three scorers and went 3-for-30 from 3-point range. Bobby Portis and Antonio Blakeney scored 16 points apiece.

The Knicks used an 11-0 run to end the second quarter and take a 47-37 halftime lead.

Felicio scored Chicago’s first 11 points of the second half and the Bulls pulled within four, 56-52, on Denzel Valentine’s layup with 7:45 left.

That was close as they would get, as the Knicks followed with a 21-5 stretch and opened up a 77-57 lead on the second of Hardaway’s consecutive 3-pointers with 2:35 left in the quarter.

“We are out there competing,” Valentine said. “Everybody competes and gives it there all with their minutes, but if the ball don’t go in the basket, you lose. We got 12 more games left and we have to make the most of them.”

New York led 83-67 at the end of the third, and the Bulls got within 10 points midway through the fourth. The Knicks responded with an 11-2 run that put away a win that doesn’t mean much for a team bound for the draft lottery.

“I don’t think it’s for real, like ‘We’re going to tank,’” said Kyle O’Quinn, who had of the Knicks’ season-high 61 rebounds. “But, I think it’s encouraged. You know, why not? But, I don’t think you can get five guys out on the court and tell them to lose as professionals.”

Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said New London's Kris Dunn (13.4 points per game) was being put in a walking boot after he suffered a right toe sprain against Memphis on Thursday. Zach LaVine (16.7) and Lauri Markkanen (14.9) were also out with injuries. Dunn also missed Chicago's game against Cleveland on Saturday.

Cavaliers 124, Bucks 117

LeBron James made certain another news-filled day ended with his own headline.

James scored 40 points as part of his third triple-double in four games and Cleveland beat Milwaukee as coach Tyronn Lue began his leave of absence to address health issues.

Lue said Monday in a statement he been dealing with chest pains and loss of sleep, and that tests have offered no conclusion about what the issue is. Associate head coach Larry Drew will run the team in Lue’s absence.

Lue’s departure came several hours before Kevin Love returned after missing six weeks because of a broken left hand. The All-Star forward scored 18 points in 25 minutes.

Losing their coach while getting back a star player seems to fit the narrative of this turbulent season. The Cavaliers (41-29) are third in the Eastern Conference and have endured roster shake-ups, injuries and other distractions as they try to reach the NBA Finals for the fourth straight time.

“If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” James said.

James scored 17 points in the third quarter and finished with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his 16th triple-double this season and 71st of his career.

The four-time MVP took over in the third beginning with back-to-back 3-pointers. After not getting a foul called on a third attempt, he finished Cleveland’s next possession with a massive dunk. He was fouled attempting another dunk and made both free throws the following time down.

James expressed his displeasure, as did the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena, after the officials didn’t call a foul when he attempted his third 3-pointer. He quickly took out his frustration on the next two possessions.

James is trying to use humor in dealing with the lack of calls.

“I got hit in the head three times today, got elbowed in the nose,” he said. “It is what it is at this point. I went to keep pushing and try not to get caught up in the battle with the calls that should be called.”

Milwaukee cut a 17-point lead to 117-109, but James drove the length of the floor for a dunk with just over a minute left.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points and went 11 for 11 at the foul line for Milwaukee, which fell to eighth in the Eastern Conference after Miami defeated Denver.

James’ performance led to Antetokounmpo having an unusual postgame conversation.

“I was talking to myself taking a shower, asking what I did wrong because he was the first player to score 40 on me,” he said. “He’s the best player in the world.”

Khris Middleton had 30 points, making 11 of 16 from the field.

Lue, 40, led Cleveland to the 2016 NBA championship after taking over for David Blatt midway through that season.

No timetable has been given for when Lue will return. He missed the second half Saturday, the second time this season he left a game because he wasn’t feeling well. Lue also sat out a game against Chicago at home in December.

Love was pleased with the results in his first game since Jan. 30.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “Initially, that first wind is always tough, but even after that I felt like my legs were underneath me and that I could’ve played a little bit more.”

Heat 149, Nuggets 141 (2OT)

They broke the stat system. That’s how good Miami and Denver were — even modern technology couldn’t keep up with the Heat and Nuggets.

For 48 minutes, they went back and forth.

And one overtime wouldn’t decide it, either.

Finally, after three hours, the Heat said enough. James Johnson scored a career-high 31 points, Kelly Olynyk added 30 off the bench and Miami set a franchise single-game scoring record by beating the Nuggets in double overtime.

“There didn’t deserve to be a loser,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Guys probably really enjoyed playing in a game like this.”

His guys did, anyway. Olynyk became the second reserve in Heat history to score 30. Wayne Ellington had 23 points, and the Heat made 20 3-pointers — second-most in franchise history.

All that comes with a serious disclaimer. There was no official boxscore after the game, because the system crashed in the first overtime and crews were scrambling to determine official numbers long after the final buzzer. What mattered most was the score — one that moved Miami (38-33) into seventh in the Eastern Conference and left the Nuggets two games back of the last Western Conference spot.

“They just executed,” Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said. “They got some, I think, fluke plays and a little luck and they’re at home, you know. Momentum shifted a little bit.”

Miami’s point total was also an NBA season high. Houston and Oklahoma City each scored 148 in games earlier this season.

Nikola Jokic had 34 points and 14 rebounds for Denver (38-33), while Wilson Chandler added 26 for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray scored 23 and Will Barton finished with 22 for Denver.

“There’s no stats. The stat machine blew up I guess,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But the only stat I cared about tonight is that I’m proud of the way we competed, I’m proud of the way we executed, I’m proud of the fact that we gave ourselves a chance.”

Neither team was at full strength. For Miami, Dwyane Wade (left hamstring strain) missed his fourth consecutive game, and Hassan Whiteside (left hip pain) sat out his fifth straight contest. Denver was without leading scorer Gary Harris, sidelined again by a strained right knee that could keep him out several more days.

Denver led 16-5 after 3 ½ minutes, and that was the only double-digit lead by either side for about the next three hours. It was airtight until the very final moments, almost to an absurd degree.

After one quarter, Denver led by one.

Halftime, Miami led by one.

After three, Miami still by one.

After regulation, tied.

After one overtime, still tied.

“That’s as playoffs as it comes,” Olynyk said.

Back and forth they went all night, two teams who played a one-point game at Denver back in November — that one not being decided until Dion Waiters’ missed jumper as time expired sealed the Nuggets’ win. This one had even more fireworks, with the Heat missing shots at the end of regulation and the first overtime before finding a way in the second OT.

Olynyk and James Johnson had all 13 Miami points in the first overtime.

“We didn’t exactly want it to be like this,” said Ellington, who rattled home a 3-pointer to start the second OT and put Miami ahead for good. “But these are the types of games that show your character.”

Spurs 89, Warriors 75

LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio blew a 16-point lead to injury-ravaged Golden State before pulling away for a victory.

The Spurs beat Golden State for the first time in four tries this season and won their fourth straight overall to move into fifth place in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of idle Utah and New Orleans.

Already without injured All-Stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Warriors lost Draymond Green in the second quarter to a bruise in the pelvic area. Green took a knee to the groin while defending a drive to the basket by Danny Green.

Aldridge scored five straight points early in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs recapture a 66-65 advantage. He finished with 17 points in the fourth, including 11 straight that erased a four-point deficit and gave San Antonio a 72-65 lead it would not relinquish.

Cook led Golden State with 20 points, Looney added 12 and Andre Iguodala and Nick Young had 10 each.

Mills finished with 12 points and Danny Green added 11.

Nets 118, Grizzlies 115

Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert each scored 22 points and Brooklyn beat Memphis.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and DeMarre Carroll scored 18 points for the Nets, who have two straight wins for the first time since Jan. 19-21.

Andrew Harrison, who missed Memphis’ last nine games due to a right wrist injury, scored 19 points, and Brionte Webber had a career-high 15. The Grizzlies have lost 20 of 21.

76ers 108, Hornets 104

Joel Embiid had 25 points and 19 rebounds and Ben Simmons had a triple-double to lead Philadelphia over Charlotte.

Simmons had 11 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists to help the Sixers keep alive their shot at finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference and earning home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The 76ers have one of the easiest schedules of any team the rest of the season. The Sixers would have to pass Washington and Indiana to grab the No. 4 seed and stave off a potential Toronto or Boston matchup for at least a round.

The Hornets missed 17 of 21 shots in the third (1 of 5 on 3s) to crush their chances of stretching a seven-point halftime lead.

Pacers 110, Lakers 100

Victor Oladipo sparked a decisive run and finished with 20 points, Myles Turner had 21 points and Indiana recovered from a poor start for a victory over Los Angeles.

The victory snapped Indiana’s two-game losing streak.

Los Angeles was led by Kyle Kuzma with 27 points and Brook Lopez with 23, but the Lakers still lost their third straight.

Oladipo and Darren Collison got Indiana going with back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the third quarter for a 77-70 lead.

Pistons 106, Kings 90

Blake Griffin had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Detroit pulled away in the third quarter to beat Sacramento.

Ish Smith had 18 points, Reggie Bullock added 17 and Anthony Tolliver scored 12 points behind three 3-pointers — one of three Pistons with a trio of 3s. Andre Drummond had just four points but pulled down 16 rebounds to help Detroit end its three-game losing streak.

The Pistons won on the road for only the 10th time this season.