No stopping Knicks: Pelicans latest to fall in streak

Jalen Brunson has scored 32 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and New York beat New Orleans 121-116 for their seventh straight victory.

Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby each added 21 points for the Knicks (48-25), who pulled within percentage points of Boston (47-24) for second place in the Eastern Conference. Towns also grabbed 14 rebounds on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).

But it was Brunson who made the difference for the hosts, scoring back-to-back baskets after the Pelicans had cut it to 109-107 with under five minutes remaining.

New York have feasted on a soft part of their schedule, beating Indiana twice, Utah, Brooklyn and Washington during the winning streak, which came entirely against teams with losing records. They will get tested on a four-game road trip that begins on Thursday at Charlotte and features stops at NBA champions Oklahoma City and Houston.

In Cleveland, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored 42 points, James Harden added 26 and the Cavaliers beat Orlando 136-131 to extend their winning streak to four.

It is Mitchell's sixth game with at least 40 points this season, tied for fourth-most in the league, and his third 40-point game in 23 regular-season meetings against the Magic.

Paolo Banchero had 36 points for Orlando (38-34), who have dropped six straight and into a three-way tie with the Hornets and Miami for eighth place in the East, while the Cavs (45-27) are two-and-a-half games behind the Knicks in third.

Coby White made six of Charlotte's franchise-tying 26 three-pointers and finished with 27 points as the Hornets routed Sacramento 134-90 for their fourth straight win.

LaMelo Ball had 20 points on six triples and Australian guard Josh Green had six points, on two threes from four attempts, for the Hornets (38-34), who pulled within two games of Atlanta for sixth place in the East.

In the Western Conference, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 17 rebounds and tied a season high with 17 assists to lead Denver over Phoenix 125-123.

Three-time MVP Jokic had his NBA-leading 29th triple-double of the season by early in the third quarter for the Nuggets (45-28), who have won six of their last eight and are one-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the No.3 spot.

The sliding Suns (40-33) have dropped six of seven and face an uphill battle to avoid the play-in tournament. They're currently seventh in the West.