NBA roundup: recap, scores, notes for every game played on December 23

Golden State Warriors 119, Detroit Pistons 113

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kevin Durant fired in 32 points and the Golden State Warriors overcame a season-high 23 turnovers to down the Detroit Pistons 119-113 on Friday night at The Palace.

Stephen Curry had 23 points and eight assists for the Warriors (27-4), who won their seventh straight heading into their Christmas Day showdown with Eastern Conference leader Cleveland. Klay Thompson added 17 points and JaVale McGee chipped in 15.

Warriors forward Draymond Green, who flew back to the Bay Area on Thursday for the birth of his son, returned to action after a one-game absence. Green contributed five points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy made a lineup change, inserting Joe Leuer at power forward in place of Tobias Harris. That wound up benefiting Harris, who had 26 points and seven rebounds.

Oklahoma City Thunder 117, Boston Celtics 112

BOSTON -- Russell Westbrook posted his 14th triple-double of the season, but saved his best for last while winning a personal battle with Isaiah Thomas.

Westbrook, adjusting quite well to life without Kevin Durant, scored 12 of his 45 points in the final 1:36 to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over Boston, ending the Celtics' four-game winning streak.

Westbrook also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in his third straight 40-point game -- surviving a battle with Thomas, who had 34 points, 24 in the second half, and 10 assists.

Memphis Grizzlies 115, Houston Rockets 109

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Mike Conley had 24 points and five assists and Memphis held off Houston for a victory at FedExForum.

The Grizzlies led 103-92 with 3:22 left in the game, but the Rockets pulled within three points with 12 seconds left when Ryan Anderson (season-high 31 points) hit his eighth 3-pointer of the night.

A free throw from Conley and a basket from Memphis center Marc Gasol (16 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks) completed the scoring.

Sacramento Kings 109, Minnesota Timberwolves 105

MINNEAPOLIS -- DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 32 points as Sacramento won for the fourth time in the past five games, rallying in the final quarter to beat Minnesota.

Anthony Tolliver added 17 for Sacramento, which trailed by six with 10 minutes to play, but kept hitting from long range to overtake the Wolves. It was the sixth time this season that the Kings have shot 50 percent or better from the field, and they are now 6-0 in those games. They had 15 treys in the game.

Minnesota, which was seeking its first three-game winning streak of the season, was plagued by a fourth-quarter fade yet again. The loss came despite a career-best 40 points from Zach LaVine. He tied a career mark with seven 3-pointers.

New Orleans Pelicans 91, Miami Heat 87

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis scored 28 points and grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds and New Orleans erased 14-point deficit in the final 15 minutes to defeat Miami at the Smoothie King Center.

Jrue Holiday's driving layup put the Pelicans up 90-85 with a minute left and he made a foul shot with 9.2 seconds left to give New Orleans a 91-87 lead. Holiday finished with 22 points and six assists.

Goran Dragic scored a team-high 23 points for the Heat, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 18 rebounds.

Milwaukee Bucks 123, Washington Wizards 96

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcom Brogdon set career highs, scoring 39 and 17 points, respectively, to lead Milwaukee to a rout of Washington at the Bradley Center.

Antetokounmpo made 12 of 19 shots and 15 of 17 free-throw attempts while pulling down eight rebounds with six assists in 33 minutes of work.

Jabari Parker added 21 points with eight boards while Greg Monroe finished with 12 and Tony Snell scored 11 on 5 of 8 shooting.

Cleveland Cavaliers 119, Brooklyn Nets 99

CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving scored 13 points, passed for 10 assists and tied his career high with six steals in Cleveland's win over Brooklyn.

It is the third time in his last four games Irving has reached double figures in assists. LeBron James scored 19 points and Kevin Love returned with 14 points and 15 rebounds after missing the last two games with a sore knee.

Tristan Thompson added a season-high 16 points and 11 rebounds on a night the Cavs destroyed the Nets. They missed seven of their first nine shots, yet still led 29-15 after the first quarter.

Charlotte Hornets 103, Chicago Bulls 91

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nicolas Batum is showing why Charlotte gave him a five-year, $120 million contract during the offseason.

The 6-foot-8 guard continued what has been a torrid December with his first triple-double of the season as the Hornets beat Chicago at the Spectrum Center.

Batum finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh career triple-double and his third while with the Hornets. He was 7 of 15 from the field with one 3-pointer.

Orlando Magic 109, Los Angeles Lakers 90

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Elfrid Payton scored 25 points and added nine assists in leading Orlando to a victory over slumping Los Angeles at the Amway Center.

The Lakers lost their 12th game in the last 13 tries, closing a rocky, seven-game road trip with six losses.

Magic forward Serge Ibaka recorded his second consecutive double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. Nikola Vucevic, D.J. Augustin and C.J. Watson each had 11 points.

San Antonio Spurs 110, Portland Trail Blazers 90

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points to lead short-handed San Antonio to a victory over Portland at Moda Center.

Patty Mills came off the bench to add 23 points and LaMarcus Aldridge collected 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Spurs, who won for the sixth time in seven games.

CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard each scored 16 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fifth straight game and for the ninth time in the last 10 outings.

San Antonio was without veterans Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who were given the night off for rest.

Atlanta Hawks 109, Denver Nuggets 108

DENVER -- Paul Millsap hit two free throws with six seconds left and grabbed a key rebound in the last second, and Atlanta beat Denver.

Millsap finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and Dennis Schroder scored for the Hawks.

Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and a season-high 11 rebounds and Wilson Chandler had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Atlanta played its third straight game without center Dwight Howard but is 2-1, with both wins coming on the road.

Phoenix Suns 123, Philadelphia 76ers 116

PHOENIX -- Phoenix erased a 14-point deficit, pulling away late for a win over Philadelphia.

Eric Bledsoe had 24 points and 11 assists. Devin Booker, running his double-digit scoring streak to 26 games, had 23 points for the Suns.

Booker's 3-pointer with 3:05 left gave the Suns a decisive 112-100 lead.

Forward Joel Embiid had 27 points and seven rebounds for the Sixers (7-22). Guard Sergio Rodriguez added 21 points. Robert Covington had 16 points and forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 14.

Toronto Raptors 104, Utah Jazz 98

SALT LAKE CITY -- Kyle Lowry scored 24 of his season-high 36 points in the second half to lift Toronto to a victory over Utah.

DeMar DeRozan added 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto won a franchise-record sixth straight road game by shooting 43-of-81 from the field. Lowry by himself went 15-of-20 from the floor.

Gordon Hayward scored 23 points to lead Utah and Trey Lyles chipped in 19 points off the bench. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th consecutive double-double. It wasn't enough to help the Jazz avoid losing their third straight game.

Dallas Mavericks 90, Los Angeles Clippers 88

LOS ANGELES -- Harrison Barnes hit a floater in the lane with 3.7 seconds remaining, and Dallas defeated short-handed Los Angeles at Staples Center.

Barnes finished with 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who improved to 3-13 on the road with their second consecutive decision. Dirk Nowitzki (right Achilles strain) returned to the Dallas lineup for the first time in almost a month. Nowitzki finished with 17 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, all in the first half.

Wesley Matthews added 16 points and Deron Williams collected 12 points and nine assists for Dallas.