NBA-Highlights from Monday's NBA games

Nov 16 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights from National Basketball Association games on Monday: - - - - Mavericks 92, 76ers 86 Veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki scored seven of his 21 points in the final 3:23 as the Dallas Mavericks held off the winless Philadelphia 76ers. Chandler Parsons added a season-high 20 for Dallas, while guard Deron Williams contributed 12 points and six assists. Rookie center Jahlil Okafor had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Sixers, who have lost 21 successive games dating back to March 25, when they beat the Denver Nuggets. Rookie guard T.J. McConnell and forward Jerami Grant each scored a season-high 13 points for Philadelphia, while forward Nerlens Noel chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds. - - Celtics 111, Rockets 95 Guard Avery Bradley scored 21 points off the bench as the Boston Celtics beat the struggling Houston Rockets. Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas added 23 points and six assists as Boston erased a 15-point deficit with a 15-0 blitz late in the second quarter. Boston closed the third quarter with another 15-0 run, turning a 72-68 lead into an 87-68 advantage. - - Bulls 96, Pacers 95 Bulls guard Jimmy Butler blocked Indiana Pacers forward Paul George's game-winning shot attempt just before time expired as Chicago pulled out a 96-95 victory. Butler, who scored 17 points, gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead with 15-foot jumper with 1:23 remaining. The Pacers pulled within a point when guard Monta Ellis scored with 45 seconds remaining. Chicago failed to score on its next possession, giving Indiana a final chance to win but they were denied by Butler. Bulls guard Derrick Rose scored 23 points, but he missed the final stretch of the fourth quarter due to a left ankle injury. - - Grizzlies 122, Thunder 114 Mario Chalmers set his career high for points off the bench with 29 as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chalmers, recently acquired in a trade with Miami, did much of his work in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points while Mike Conley scored 22 points with nine assists. Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 40 points and 14 assists. - - Spurs 93, Trail Blazers 80 Forward Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points and veteran guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker hit key shots down the stretch as the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers 93-80 for their fifth successive victory. The Spurs led for all but two minutes in the first quarter but the game went down to the final minutes, when the Trail Blazers got to within 81-78 on a three-pointer by forward Noah Vonleh with 3:48 to play. San Antonio then outscored Portland 12-2 down the stretch. Ginobili added 17 points for the Spurs while forward Boris Diaw and guard Danny Green hit for 12 and Parker and Tim Duncan scored 10 apiece. Portland got a game-high 27 points from guard Damian Lillard. Forward Al-Farouq Aminu added 17 points and guard CJ McCullum 15 for the Trail Blazers. - - Suns 120, Lakers 101 Phoenix guard Brandon Knight recorded his first career triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists as the Suns broke open a tight game early in the fourth quarter to post a 120-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Guard Eric Bledsoe added 21 points, all in the first three quarters, while T.J. Warren added 19 points off an active bench for the Suns. Guard Jordan Clarkson had 20 points for Los Angeles, who played without the resting Kobe Bryant. Center Roy Hibbert added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers. - - - -