Highlights of Friday's
NBA games

[March 11, 2017]  March 10 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Friday's NBA games.

Rockets 115, Bulls 94

Despite a slow start, the Houston Rockets made sure coach Mike D'Antoni got his 500th career NBA coaching win Friday night at the United Center.

The Rockets overcame a 13-point first-quarter deficit and cruised to a 115-94 victory against the Chicago Bulls, avoiding their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Timberwolves 103, Warriors 102

Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points, 20 in the second half, including two big free throws with 12.8 seconds left, as Minnesota held off Golden State.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points, and Ricky Rubio added 17 points and 13 rebounds as Minnesota won for the eighth time in 12 games and beat Golden State for the first time in their three games this season.

Hornets 121, Magic 81

Kemba Walker scored 23 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter and Charlotte continued its mastery of Orlando with a victory at the Spectrum Center.

The Hornets were in command throughout and led by as many as 42 points. They scored the first eight points of the game, led 44-24 two minutes into the second quarter and never trailed. It was their first wire-to-wire victory of the season.

Bucks 99, Pacers 85

Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 points each as Milwaukee extended its winning streak to a season-high five games with a victory over Indiana at the Bradley Center.

The victory moved Milwaukee a half-game ahead of Chicago for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, and 1 1/2 games behind the Pacers for the sixth seed.

Hawks 105, Raptors 99

If Atlanta and Toronto tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks will have the tiebreaker for home court over the Raptors thanks to an edge in the season series.

The Hawks put the defensive clamps on Toronto in the fourth quarter and took two of the three regular-season games between the teams.

Nuggts 119, Celtics 99

Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the lineup, and Denver beat Boston.

Jokic missed two games with the flu but looked fresh against Boston, finishing three assists shy of his fifth triple-double. Danilo Gallinari scored 20 after missing Wednesday's game with vertigo.

Mavericks 105, Nets 96

Dallas probably didn't expect much of a fight from the NBA's worst team, but it got one.

If it wasn't for a fourth-quarter surge, the Mavs likely wouldn't have escaped American Airlines Center with a win over Brooklyn. Dallas went on an 22-8 run to open the final period and pulled away for its fourth straight victory, tying a season high.

Wizards 130, Kings 122

Bradley Beal scored a game-high 38 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime as Washington defeated Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center on Friday.

Washington erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to claim the win, showing the mettle that has made it the winningest team (24-8) in the NBA since Jan. 1. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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