SportyTV | NBA: Flagg, Brunson leave with ankle injuries in losses

Jamal Murray scored 33 points and the Denver Nuggets held on for a 118-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without Cooper Flagg for the second half after the No. 1 overall pick sprained his left ankle Wednesday night.

The Nuggets were comfortably in front when Flagg turned the ankle as he stumbled to the court when he was called for a foul while defending Peyton Watson with 6:01 remaining in the second quarter.

Flagg limped to the locker room but returned and played the final 2:35 before the break. He didn't come out for the second half before the announcement that he was done for the night. The 19-year-old former Duke standout scored six points in 15 minutes.

Aaron Gordon had 22 points and Watson added 18 for Denver.

Naji Marshall scored 24 points and Brandon Williams had 20 for Dallas, which shot a season-worst 14.7% from 3-point range (5 of 34).

Cooper Flagg (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 15, 2026

Brunson injures ankle in Knicks’ loss

DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points to move into 22nd place on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Knicks 112-101 after New York lost star guard Jalen Brunson to an ankle injury.

The Kings (11-30) won their third straight to spoil the return of Knicks coach Mike Brown, who made his first appearance in Sacramento since being abruptly fired early in the 2024-25 season.

Mikal Bridges scored 19 points for the Knicks, who played most of the night without Brunson. The team’s leading scorer injured his right ankle and limped off the floor after scoring four points in five minutes.

DeRozan, a six-time All-Star playing in his 17th NBA season, shot 7 of 16 with one 3-pointer and made 12 of 13 free throws. That gave the 36-year-old 26,077 career points, moving him past Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. Garnett had 26,071 points in 21 NBA seasons.

OG Anunoby had 15 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 13 for New York, which shot 39% and was 8 of 41 behind the arc.

beam bong! pic.twitter.com/oV7x4hBZ8q
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 15, 2026

Garland injured in Cavaliers’ win

Donovan Mitchell had 35 points and nine assists, Darius Garland scored 20 points before leaving with an injured foot and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 133-107.

Garland was ruled out for the game late in the third quarter when he hurt his right foot diving for a loose ball. He already had surgery in June on the big injured left toe that hampered him during Cleveland’s exit from the playoffs.

The All-Star guard averaged 17.9 points after a slow start this season as he recovered from surgery. Garland continued his recent hot streak and shot 8 for 13 against the 76ers.

Joel Embiid scored 20 points and hit a 3-pointer that helped him reach 13,000 career points, the seventh player in team history to hit that mark.

Paul George had 17 points for the Sixers in the opener of a two-game series.

Sixers fans booed the team off the court in the third quarter headed into a timeout and trailing 75-53.