Siakam scores 22, Haliburton has 21 points and 10 assists to lead Pacers past Pelicans

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 22 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points and 10 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers past the struggling New Orleans Pelicans 119-104 on Sunday.

Andrew Nembhard had 17 points, and Myles Turner finished with 14 points and four blocks as the Pacers won for the third time in four games.

Brandon Boston scored 20 points to lead five Pelicans players in double figures. Dejounte Murray and Herbert Jones each scored 19 points while Murray had seven rebounds and seven assists.

New Orleans had 18 turnovers and was 10 of 33 from 3-point range in its fourth straight loss. The Pelicans have lost 13 of 14 since mid-November.

CELTICS 112, WIZARDS 98

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Boston cruised to a victory over Washington.

Tatum had missed two of Boston’s previous four games with a knee issue. He helped the Celtics win their seventh straight over the Wizards and third in Washington this season.

Payton Pritchard added 15 points on five 3-pointers, and Derrick White also had 15 points.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 21 points, and Bilal Coulibaly added 19. The Wizards have lost three in a row and 16 of 17.

KNICKS 100, MAGIC 91

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 31 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 22 rebounds and New York beat Orlando.

Mikal Bridges had 17 points for the Knicks and Josh Hart added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Moritz Wagner led the Magic with a career-high 32 points in Orlando’s first homecourt loss of the season. Rookie Tristan da Silva added a career-high 20 points.

Jalen Suggs had nine points, eight assists and three blocks for Orlando before fouling out with 3:59 left. Suggs shot 4 for 19.

TIMBERWOLVES 106, SPURS 92

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 26 points and Minnesota rolled past San Antonio.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, which has won two straight and five of seven.

Victor Wembanyama had 20 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio. Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes scored 17 points.

San Antonio opened the second half on a 20-9 run to trim Minnesota’s lead to 61-57. The Timberwolves responded by outscoring the Spurs 30-22 in the final quarter.

San Antonio was unable to muster another comeback after rallying from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Portland on Friday.

Minnesota forced 10 turnovers and had 13 second-chance points to build a 16-point lead in the first half.

SUNS 116, TRAIL BLAZERS 109

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points and Phoenix beat Portland to extend the Trail Blazers’ losing streak to six games.

Kevin Durant added 20 points, Tyus Jones had 19, and Royce O’Neale — starting for the injured Bradley Beal — scored 13 points. Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Anfernee Simons scored 20 points to lead the Trail Blazers. Jerami Grant and reserve Deni Avdija scored 17 apiece.

A game after the Suns made 22 3-pointers in a victory at Utah, they hit 15 on Sunday. Booker and Grayson Allen each made four to lead Phoenix.

MAVERICKS 143, WARRIORS 133

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Luka Doncic had his 80th career triple-double with a season-high 45 points along with 13 assists and 11 rebounds, and Dallas beat Klay Thompson’s former Golden State Warriors in a second visit to Chase Center in just more than a month.

Thompson hit two late 3-pointers for seven total and finished with 29 points after the Mavericks lost 120-117 in his emotional return Nov. 12.

His former Splash Brother Stephen Curry had 26 points and 10 assists for Golden State in a game added to the schedule once the teams were eliminated from the NBA Cup. The Warriors lost by a point at Houston on Wednesday.

Dallas opened 14 of 19 to go ahead 39-18 before Draymond Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Green had season highs of five 3s and 21 points.

LAKERS 116, GRIZZLIES 110

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis had 40 points and 16 rebounds, LeBron James added 18 points in his return and Los Angeles beat Memphis.

James also had eight rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers in 34 minutes after missing the previous two games because of a left foot injury. He was away from the team most of last week due to personal reasons.

Austin Reaves scored 19 points for Los Angeles. The Lakers never trailed and led by 23 points in the second half.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points for Memphis, which had won four in a row. Ja Morant had 20 points, Zach Edey added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Luke Kennard had 12 points.

New Orleans Pelicans' Herbert Jones, second from left, goes to the basket against Indiana Pacers' Pascal Siakam, left, and Tyrese Haliburton, front right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — By adding Dennis Schroder, the Golden State Warriors believe they have found the perfect backcourt mate to complement Stephen Curry.

Curry can't wait to get going in what he expects to be a “seamless transition for him.”

“It can help me, it can help us,” Curry said. “What helps me helps us.”

Golden State landed Schroder in a trade with Brooklyn finalized Sunday that sends injured guard De’Anthony Melton and guard Reece Beekman to the Nets.

The Warriors are looking forward to seeing Schroder on both ends, attacking the basket and bringing a much-needed intense defensive dynamic.

“I just love his competitive nature, he's got that Dawg in him and you can kind of tell,” Curry said. “He doesn't talk that much but he's very animated and I've never not seen him in the moment trying to rip-your-head-off type vibe. I like that.”

Schroder is expected to join the team Monday to undergo his physical and have a couple of practices ahead of Thursday's game at Memphis.

“I’m thrilled. I told Dennis today he’s kicked my (butt) on three different continents,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You can’t beat ‘em, join ’em — ’22 playoffs I thought he was brilliant against us with the Lakers. Watching him in FIBA the last two summers, Philippines and we played them in London in an exhibition game. He’s a gamer, he’s a competitor, pick-and-roll player, two-way player.”

Kerr said he and his staff will discuss Schroder's role but considers him a likely starter considering “we've been changing our starting lineup almost nightly, searching.”

The trade was agreed to Saturday. League rules didn't allow the trade to become official until Sunday, when Melton's contract became eligible to be moved.

Also in the trade: a slew of second-round draft picks. Golden State will receive a second-rounder next year (a top-37-protected pick that originally belonged to Miami) and Brooklyn gets three second-rounders — in 2026 and 2028 (both via Atlanta) and Golden State's pick in 2029.

Schroder averaged 18.4 points and 6.6 assists this season for the Nets, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference. But the trade doesn't give them much in the way of on-court help this year: Melton is out for the remainder of the season while recovering from surgery to repair his left ACL.

“Losing Melt was a huge loss,” Kerr said. “I want to say thanks to De'Anthony and Reece Beekman for everything — their contributions, their commitment, their effort. It's always hard to trade guys and we wish them both well. But you've got to do what you've got to do to get better and this was a move that we felt made perfect sense, so he will fill what Melt was doing for us in terms of being able to play on or off the ball, excellent defender, long wingspan. He's a steals guy, forced turnovers, pace, everything that we need we feel like he can provide.”

Beekman scored two points in two appearances with Golden State this season.

The move gives the Warriors, who enter Sunday fifth in the Western Conference at 14-10, another shooter to pair alongside all-time 3-point leader Curry. Schroder is making 2.5 3-pointers per game this season and shooting 39% from beyond the arc — both career bests.

Golden State becomes Schroder's eighth team in 12 NBA seasons. He had stints with Atlanta, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston, Toronto and Houston before joining the Nets. He also helped lead Germany to the 2023 Basketball World Cup title.

“It's a great pickup for the Warriors,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said, “a veteran who understands how to win.”

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this story.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder reacts after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder, left, looks to shoots over Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)