Five-star Al-Attiyah and Benavides take honors at Dakar Rally

INDIANAPOLIS: Ja Morant had 23 points, 10 assists and another ferocious dunk, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers 130-112 on Saturday night to extend the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games.

Desmond Bane scored 25 points to lead the Grizzlies, who tied Denver for the Western Conference’s best record at 29-13.

Neither Bane nor Morant was needed in the fourth quarter. Morant’s soaring slam over Jalen Smith made it a 20-point game with 4:20 left in the third, and Memphis led by as much as 34 in the fourth.

Santi Aldama added 17 points and Ziaire Williams 13 for the Grizzlies.

Reserve guard Chris Duarte scored 25 points for the Pacers. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin had 16 and T.J. McConnell 13.

CELTICS 122 HORNETS 106

In Charlotte, N.C., Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 33 points in a pivotal third quarter, Malcolm Brogdon added 30 points and Boston beat Charlotte to push its winning streak to six.

Al Horford had 16 points and Marcus Smart added 13 points and 12 assists for the Celtics, who made 19 3-pointers and erased a 16-point, first-half deficit.

LaMelo Ball finished with 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Charlotte. Terry Rozier had 21 points for the Hornets, who have lost seven of their last eight games.

Tatum, who had 35 points in a 140-105 rout of the Hornets on Nov. 28, shook off a slow start and an early technical foul and finished 12 of 27 from the field.

76ERS 118 JAZZ 117

In Salt Lake City, Joel Embiid made a jumper with 5.7 seconds to lift Philadelphia to a victory over Utah.

James Harden had 31 points and 11 assists to lead Philadelphia. Embiid chipped in 30 points and seven rebounds. Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points and Shake Milton added 17.

Jordan Clarkson scored 38 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Utah. Talen Horton-Tucker chipped in a season-high 20 points off the bench. Mike Conley added 14 points and eight assists, while Walker Kessler finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

HEAT 111 BUCKS 95

In Miami, Gabe Vincent scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Miami beat Milwaukee.

Victor Oladipo added 20 points and Jimmy Butler had 16 for the Heat. Miami won their second straight against the Bucks after a 108-102 home victory on Thursday.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the two games against Miami because of left knee soreness. The Heat also were short-handed as guards Tyler Herro (Achilles soreness) Kyle Lowry (knee discomfort) sat out.

Bobby Portis scored 15 points, Pat Connaughton had 14 points and Brook Lopez finished with 13 for the Bucks, who finished 2-2 on their road trip.

TRAIL BLAZERS 136 MAVERICKS 119

In Portland, Oregon, Damian Lillard had 36 points and 10 assists, and Portland snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over Dallas.

Jusuf Nurkic added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers.

Spencer Dinwiddie led Dallas with 25 points. Luka Doncic was held to a season-low 15 points before Mavericks coach Jason Kidd pulled him with seven minutes to go.

Portland led by as many as 20 points early in the second half and went into the fourth quarter up 106-90.

The teams complete their four-game season series Sunday night in Portland.

HAWKS 114 RAPTORS 103

In Toronto,  Trae Young scored 29 points, Dejounte Murray had 27 and Atlanta never trailed in a victory over Toronto.

Onyeka Okongwu had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and AJ Griffin came off the bench to score 13 as the Hawks won for the third time in four games after losing five of their previous six. Atlanta won at Indiana on Friday on a last-second basket by John Collins.

Ninth-place Atlanta came in one game ahead of 10th-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hawks won the third and final regular-season meeting between the teams to take the series 2-1.

Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam scored 15 points before fouling out.

TIMBERWOLVES 110 CAVALIERS 102

In Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored 26 points and Minnesota got a huge boost from its bench in a victory over Cleveland.

Naz Reid scored 17 of Minnesota’s 56 bench points, while Jalen Nowell had 16. Luka Garza added nine for the short-handed Wolves.

Minnesota were without Rudy Gobert for the second half due to right groin soreness, and Jaden McDaniels picked up his fifth foul just 2:37 into the second half.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both scored 19 points for Cleveland, and Darius Garland added 15. Donovan Mitchell, who was questionable for Saturday’s game with an illness, finished with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.