Myles Colvin scored 32 points behind a blistering shooting effort as Wake Forest topped Syracuse 88-83 on Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Colvin had shot a combined 1 of 16 from the field — including 1 of 9 from long range — over the last two games, both losses. But he was on fire from the start in this one, making his first seven 3-pointers and finishing 9-of-12 from the field, 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Tre’Von Spillers contributed 16 points for Wake Forest (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Juke Harris notched 13 points.

Donnie Freeman scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Syracuse (15-14, 6-10), which shot well from the field (51.9%), the 3-point arc (13 of 26) and the free-throw line (14 of 17) but still lost its third straight game.

Nate Kingz chipped in with 20 points for the Orange, while Naithan George had 13 points and 10 assists.

Wake Forest trailed by four points at halftime and faced the same deficit early in the second half when Kingz knocked down a 3-pointer to put Syracuse ahead 56-49.

The Orange led 62-58 with 11:33 left when Colvin and Harris made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to tilt the scoreboard in favor of the Demon Deacons. Those outside shots sparked a 14-3 run which put Wake Forest ahead 72-65 with 7:37 left.

Spillers’ layup with 3:07 to play gave the Demon Deacons their largest lead, 82-72, marking the first and only time either team had a double-digit lead.

Syracuse quickly erased half that deficit, closing to within 82-77 on Freeman’s three-point play. Freeman’s drive to the rim with 1:07 left brought the Orange within 84-80. However, Cooper Schweiger grabbed an offensive rebound on Wake Forest’s next possession, scoring a putback layup to halt the visitors’ momentum.

With the game tied at 29-29, Syracuse scored eight straight points – the final five by George – and went on to lead 46-42 at intermission.

Freeman (15 points) and Kingz (14) combined for seven 3-pointers in the first half. As a team, the Orange were 10-of-18 from long distance (55.6%) in the first 20 minutes.

Colvin paced the Demon Deacons with 19 first-half points. He was 4-of-4 from outside the arc in the opening session.

–Field Level Media

Nijel Pack scored 21 points, Xzayvier Brown had 20 and Oklahoma pulled away from LSU 83-67 on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

Dayton Forsythe scored 13 points and Mohamed Wague added 10 for the Sooners (15-14, 5-11 Southeastern Conference), who won for the fourth time in six games since a nine-game losing streak.

Max Mackinnon scored 17 points, PJ Carter had 12, Michael Nwoko added 11 and Pablo Tamba had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers (15-14, 3-13), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Mackinnon made a layup to start the second-half scoring and pull LSU within six points, but Oklahoma pushed the lead to nine three times. Tamba’s two free throws trimmed the lead to 51-46 with 14:13 left in the second half.

The margin stayed between five and nine points throughout the first 10-plus minutes of the half until Pack made a 3-pointer that gave the Sooners a 64-52 lead. Brown scored the next five points and Tae Davis added a dunk to produce a 17-point advantage, 71-52, with 7:48 remaining.

Mackinnon made two free throws to end Oklahoma’s 12-0 run, but Pack answered with a jumper. Carter’s 3-pointer ended a 3 1/2-minute field-goal drought for the Tigers, but the Sooners expanded the lead to 79-57 with 5:54 remaining.

Carter had back-to-back 3-pointers to complete and 8-0 run that pulled LSU within 14, but Davis made two free throws and Brown added a layup to push the lead to 18 with 3:31 left.

LSU scored the first five points of the game, but Oklahoma scored the next 10, five of which came from Brown. Jalen Reece made a 3-pointer to stop the run before five different Sooners scored to extend the lead to 20-11.

Carter answered with a 3-pointer and Nwoko added a jumper, but Oklahoma pushed the lead to eight points on two occasions. The Tigers closed within 28-25 on Tamba’s three-point play, then Oklahoma increased the lead to 38-29 on a jumper by Kirill Elatontsev.

LSU crept within five, but Pack’s 3-pointer with 3 seconds to go gave the Sooners a 41-33 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has only played one game with Jared McCain but the recently acquired guard has made a big impression for the Oklahoma City Thunder, both during Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence with an abdominal strain and during Friday’s overtime win over Denver.

Gilgeous-Alexander, McCain, and the Thunder take on the Dallas Mavericks on the road Sunday.

“He has great shooting touch, as we all see,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s going to continue to get better as he plays in our system and learns our system more. Yeah, kid’s good. Really talented at basketball. He can grow as much as he wants to. Sky’s the limit.”

McCain was acquired in a Feb. 4 trade with Philadelphia, the day after Gilgeous-Alexander suffered the injury that kept him out nine games before his return Friday.

The sample size remains relatively small, but McCain’s production has turned upward significantly during his nine games with Oklahoma City.

After averaging 6.6 points and shooting 38.5% overall and 37.8% on 3-pointers in 37 games with the 76ers, McCain is averaging 11.9 points while shooting 48.1% from the field and 45.9% from deep since the trade.

Where McCain said he’s experienced the most growth, though, is on the defensive end as he acclimates to the Thunder’s system.

“Being able to have such elite defenders and just watch it every day, it helps me,” McCain said. “… I think when you focus on the defensive side, offense comes.”

McCain hit some big shots, including a fourth-quarter 3-pointer, in Friday’s come-from-behind win that gave Oklahoma City its sixth win in eight games.

McCain figures to continue to have a significant role, especially with Jalen Williams remaining out with a hamstring strain and Ajay Mitchell out with an abdominal strain.

Dallas comes into Sunday’s game having dropped back-to-back games and 12 of its last 14.

Sunday’s matchup is the last of three between the teams this season.

Oklahoma City has won the previous two, including 21-point win over the Mavericks on Dec. 5 in their most recent meeting.

While the Thunder got a big boost Friday with the return of Gilgeous-Alexander, Dallas is still without Cooper Flagg.

Flagg hasn’t played since Feb. 10 with a left foot sprain and figures to miss at least two more games.

The Mavericks were more short-handed than just missing Flagg in Friday’s 19-point home loss to Memphis, playing without Marvin Bagley III, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Caleb Martin among others.

“The continuity is definitely not there right now with the injuries,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “I think as we go forward, hopefully we’ll get some bodies back.”

While Oklahoma City has integrated McCain in quickly, the Mavericks are still working through things with their new-look lineup after the deadline deal that was centered around trading Anthony Davis to Washington.

“We’re learning on the fly,” Brandon Williams said. “… It’s pretty tough just trying to gel with each other in a short amount of time, and it’s on us point guards to try to take on that responsibility.”

Dallas made a roster move Saturday, waiving Tyus Jones. The Mavericks will sign Ryan Nembhard, who had been on a two-way contract, to a two-year deal, according to reports.

For the Mavericks, Sunday’s game is the last at home before a six-game road trip.

–Field Level Media