NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 44 points despite missing part of the third quarter with an apparent injury, and the New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 140-106, on Sunday, Jan. 12.

Brunson had 23 points in the first quarter, one off his career high for any period, and was off to another strong start in the third when he was slow to get up after having his shot blocked on a drive to the basket. Once he did stand up, he immediately motioned to the bench that he needed to come out and walked directly to the locker room area.

The Knicks never announced an injury and Brunson eventually emerged from the tunnel about six minutes later to a loud ovation and checked back into the game. He reached 40 points for the 17th time as a Knick, tying Carmelo Anthony for third on the franchise list.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost four of five before shooting 58% from the field.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Damian Lillard added 22 points.

Meanwhile in Dallas, Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Nikola Jokic added 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as the Denver Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks, 112-101.

The Nuggets trailed by 19 points late in the third period and by 12 early in the fourth. They outscored the Mavericks in the fourth period 33-12. After hitting only four of 25 3-pointers through three quarters, Denver shot 3 for 7 down the stretch while the Mavs missed all 11 3-point tries in the fourth.

The Nuggets won for the 12th time in 17 games.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks, who are 2-5 playing without All-Star guards Luka Doncic (calf strain) and Kyrie Irving (back sprain). Thompson was scoreless on four shots, all 3-pointers, in the fourth period.

Earlier, Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Indiana Pacers ended NBA-leading Cleveland’s winning streak at 12 games, beating the Cavaliers, 108-93.

The teams will complete the home-and-home set Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

Myles Turner added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jarace Walker had eight points and 12 rebounds off the bench to help Indiana win its sixth straight. The Pacers held the Cavaliers to a season low in points and outscored them 68-40 in the second half.

In Washington, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 27 points from the foul line to overcome his worst shooting performance of the season and help the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 136-95 rout of the Wizards.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot only 29.4% (5 of 17) from the floor over 30 minutes, well below his previous worst of 35% against San Antonio on Oct. 30.

In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 38 points with 11 rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 11 boards as the Celtics overcame the return of Zion Williamson to the New Orleans lineup and beat the Pelicans 120-119.

Trey Murphy III scored 30 points and Williamson scored 16 in his return from a one-game suspension for being late to team activities. The 2019 draft lottery prize also had seven rebounds in 28 minutes.

In Chicago, Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Chicago Bulls, 124-119, to extend their season-high win streak to seven games.

De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Sacramento after missing three games because of a bruised right glute. Malik Monk had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.