Brooklyn Nets forward Bruce Brown shoots in front of Sacramento Kings center Richaun Holmes in the second half  Monday in New York. Corey Sipkin/Associated Press

NEW YORK — In his first game as a member of the Nets, Seth Curry scored 23 points to lead Brooklyn to a 109-85 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Brooklyn snapped its 11-game losing streak, and Curry was one of five players who finished in double figures. Bruce Brown set season-highs with 19 points, six assists, and five steals. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 19 points, Cam Thomas added 14 off the bench and Andre Drummond contributed 11.

Despite getting a game-high 26 points from De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento’s modest two-game winning streak came to an end. Davion Mitchell finished with 13 and Donte DiVincenzo chipped in with 12.

The new-look Nets debuted two of the three players acquired from Philadelphia in last Thursday’s star-laden deal with the 76ers. Curry and Drummond started at off-guard and center. Simmons, the centerpiece of the trade for the Nets, sat on the bench, wearing a beige sweater and black pants.

Even without the three-time All-Star, the Nets looked like a drastically different squad than the one that tumbled down the Eastern Conference standings over the last three weeks. Offensively, Brooklyn’s spacing was much improved and the ball moved freely and crisply from player to player.

Simmons “did his assessments” with the team during morning shoot-around, Coach Steve Nash said before the game.

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He also stressed putting the 25-year old into the lineup won’t be immediate.

“There’s been a long period of non-NBA activity,” Nash said. “We’ll see how they put his program together and how long it takes.”

THUNDER 127, KNICKS 123: Josh Giddey had a triple-double of 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, and visiting Oklahoma City rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat New York.

New York’s Immanuel Quickley had a chance to send the game into a second overtime, but missed a 3-pointer from in front of the Thunder bench.

Giddey, the sixth overall in the 2021 NBA draft, shot 11 for 22 from the field and hit three 3-pointers for the Thunder, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Tre Mann added 30 points and Darius Bazley chipped in 23 for Oklahoma City.

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Julius Randle had triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Knicks, who have lost 9 of 11.

WIZARDS 103, PISTONS 94: Kyle Kuzma scored 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16, and Deni Avdija had 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as Washington sent visiting Detroit to its eighth straight loss.

Saddiq Bey led Detroit with 24 points. Jeremi Grant scored 14 and Cade Cunningham, who leads NBA rookies in scoring, was in foul trouble for much of the game and finished with 12 points.

Washington, losers of nine of 11, took a 75-74 lead on Ish Smith’s jumper with 2:47 left in the third. Kuzma scored seven points in the final 80 seconds of the quarter as the Wizards took an 87-78 lead after three.

The Pistons, held scoreless for more than four minutes late in the fourth quarter, are 4-25 on the road.

BULLS 120, SPURS 109: DeMar DeRozan scored 19 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, and host Chicago won its fourth straight.

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It was DeRozan’s seventh consecutive game with at least 30 points, extending his career high. The All-Star is the first player with such a streak for the Bulls since Michael Jordan during the 1996-97 season.

TRAIL BLAZERS 122, BUCKS 107: Anfernee Simons scored 31 points and visiting Portland capitalized on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence, beating Milwaukee for its third straight victory.

Simons has averaged 30 points and has shot 18 of 39 from 3-point range during Portland’s winning streak.

Antetokounmpo didn’t play for the Bucks due to a sore left ankle. Milwaukee Coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game he believes it’s a short-term issue.

PELICANS 120, RAPTORS 90: CJ McCollum scored 23 points, and New Orleans shot a season-best 58.4% to defeat visiting Toronto.

Brandon Ingram had 10 points and 11 rebounds and eight assists, leaving him two short of his first triple-double when he was pulled after playing 29 minutes because the game was not close – and because New Orleans plays again Tuesday night.

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Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes, and reserve big man Jackson Hayes added 14 points for New Orleans, which never trailed and led by as many as 34 points.

Fred VanVleet scored 20 points and Pascal Siakam added 18 points for Toronto, which has lost two straight on the heels of an eight-game winning streak.

NOTES

ALL-STAR GAME: Passed over in fan voting and overlooked by coaches as a reserve, Cleveland center Jarrett Allen will replace an injured James Harden at this year’s All-Star Game in Cleveland and give the Cavaliers two All-Stars for the first time since 2018.

Allen’s strong second season with the Cavs has helped push them among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The 6-foot-10 Allen was rewarded by being chosen to take Harden’s place by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Allen will join teammate Darius Garland for this year’s event at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Both will play for Team LeBron (James), which will be coached by Phoenix’s Monty Williams.

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Harden is dealing with a left hamstring issue that is delaying his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden, who was chosen by coaches as an All-Star reserve, was traded last week by the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal for Ben Simmons.

BULLS: Guard Zach LaVine is slated to visit with doctors in Los Angeles on Tuesday, looking for more answers about periodic soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.

LaVine missed his second straight game Monday when the Bulls hosted the San Antonio Spurs, and Coach Billy Donovan said LaVine also will miss Wednesday night’s matchup with Sacramento.

No decision has been made about LaVine’s availability for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland.


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