NBA: Jaylen Branson helps New York Knicks beat Washington Wizards

Jaylen Branson scored 55 points – including nine in overtime – as the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to seven games with a 136-132 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who have now won 17 of their past 21 games, including 11 of 13 in December.

Washington, without injured leading scorer Jordan Poole, was led by Justin Champagne with 31 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.

Among the eight NBA games on Saturday night, Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 132-122 despite the hosts being without LeBron James, who was out due to illness.

Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 15 rebounds, while Austin Reaves added 26 points and 16 assists for the Lakers.

Sacramento played a day after head coach Mike Brown was fired, and interim coach Doug Christie was unable to prevent the Kings from falling to their sixth straight loss.

Elsewhere, the Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City Thunder earned their 10th straight regular season win by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 106-94.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again led the visiting Thunder with 22 points, while Jaylen Williams added 20 points as Charlotte lost its seventh straight game.

Reserve Jonathan Cumminga led with 34 points, and Stephen Curry added 22 more points. Golden State Warriors won 109-105 against the Phoenix Suns in San Francisco to snap a three-game losing streak.

Hosts the Denver Nuggets survived a fourth-quarter rally by the Detroit Pistons as Nikola Jokic scored 37 points and Jamal Murray had 34 in a 134-121 victory.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese McKay each scored 32 points to help Philadelphia 76ers earn a 114-111 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

The Portland Trail Blazers recorded a 126-122 home win over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without star Luka Doncic for one more game due to a calf strain.

Jaylen Johnson had 28 points and 13 rebounds Atlanta Hawks won its third straight game with a 120-110 victory at home against the Miami Heat.

There was also a 116-111 victory Chicago Bulls over the Milwaukee Bucks as Josh Giddy returned from a four-game absence to record a triple-double of 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to help end the Bulls’ three-game losing streak.