Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied the Louisville single-game scoring mark with 45 points and matched another single-game record with 10 3-pointers to lead the No. 24 Cardinals to a 118-77 win over visiting North Carolina State on Monday night.

Louisville (18-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed. Brown produced 21 points with five 3-pointers to stake the Cardinals to a 56-36 halftime lead before topping that total with five more 3-pointers in the second half.

He finished 14 of 23 from the field, 10 of 16 on 3-point attempts and 7 of 7 at the line while adding nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in 34 minutes. Ryan Conwell added 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals while going 5-for-6 from 3-point range.

When Brown hit his final 3-pointer with 2:09 to play — a swish from nearly 30 feet away — he tied Wes Unseld’s single-game school record set against Georgetown (Ky.) College on Dec. 1, 1967. Brown’s point total set the ACC freshman record, and his 10 3-pointers tied the school record established by Reyne Smith last season against SMU.

Louisville coach Pat Kelsey then called timeout to remove Brown from the game. The Cardinals wound up with their highest point total since beating Morehead State 119-61 on Dec. 6, 1995.

Louisville opened the game on a 7-0 run. NC State pulled within 25-20 on a Quadir Copeland dunk with 10:58 left in the first half.

Louisville answered with a 10-2 run, and NC State never got within single digits after that surge that included 3-pointers from Conwell and Brown.

The Cardinals racked up their sixth 100-plus scoring effort on the year. No Cardinal other than Brown and Conwell reached double figures, but Louisville shot 60% overall (39-for-65) and 60% from 3-point range (18-for-30).

NC State (18-7, 9-3) saw the end of a six-game winning streak as the Wolfpack allowed more than 85 points for just the second time this season. The Wolfpack were led by Ven-Allen Lubin’s 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Tre Holloman added 19 points and Copeland tallied 10.

The Wolfpack shot just 4-for-22 (18.2%) from 3-point range and were outrebounded 42-28.

–Field Level Media

Flory Bidunga scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas handed top-ranked Arizona its first loss of the season, 82-78 on Monday at Lawrence, Kan.

The Wildcats (23-1, 10-1 Big 12) achieved the best start in Big 12 history at 23-0 overall before the defeat. Kansas (19-5, 9-2) beat the No. 1 team at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time ever after losing five such games, including to Arizona the last time in 2003.

The Jayhawks won their eighth straight game overall despite playing without freshman star Darryn Peterson, who had flu-like symptoms. It was the 11th game Kansas played without Peterson, who has dealt with an ankle sprain, hamstring strain and chronic cramping.

Arizona led by 11 with 17:02 to go before Kansas rallied, scoring seven straight points in little more than a minute, then keeping the score within six until a Bidunga field goal gave the Jayhawks the lead with 9:32 to go. Kansas never trailed again. Miami (Ohio) is the nation’s lone remaining unbeaten at 24-0.

No. 17 St. John’s 87, Xavier 82 (OT)

Zuby Ejiofor scored six points in overtime for the Red Storm, who fended off an upset bid by the Musketeers to win in New York, giving coach Rick Pitino another milestone win against his son Richard.

The win was the 904th on-court victory for the elder Pitino, who snapped a tie with Roy Williams for third-place all-time. On Jan. 24, the Red Storm beat the Musketeers for Rick Pitino’s 900th win. The NCAA recognizes Rick Pitino with 781 wins after he was stripped of 123 victories due to violations at Louisville.

Ejiofor finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. John’s (19-5, 12-1 Big East), which has won 10 straight — the third 10-game winning streak in the last two seasons under Rick Pitino. Tre Carroll had 21 points and eight rebounds but missed a potential game-winning shot at the regulation buzzer for Xavier (12-12, 4-9).

No. 24 Louisville 118, North Carolina State 77

Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied the Louisville single-game scoring mark with 45 points and matched another single-game record with 10 3-pointers to lead the Cardinals past the visiting Wolfpack.

Brown matched Wes Unseld’s single-game school record set against Georgetown (Ky.) College on Dec. 1, 1967. Brown’s point total set the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record, and his 10 3-pointers tied the school record established by Reyne Smith last season against SMU.

Ryan Conwell added 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals (18-6, 8-4 ACC), who have won four in a row. North Carolina State (18-7, 9-3) got 20 points from Ven-Allen Lubin but had a six-game winning streak end.

–Field Level Media

Cade Cunningham led everyone with 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons held on for a 110-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night in a game marred by a massive third-quarter brawl.

The fighting resulted in four ejections prior to the Pistons winning for the seventh time in their last nine games and the Hornets seeing an end to their nine-game winning streak.

It began with a confrontation when Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate fouled Detroit’s Jalen Duren across the arms while trying to stop a shot attempt in the paint. Duren turned to square up with Diabate and issued a slap that set Diabate off. When that scrap wound down, another broke out near midcourt with the main participants being Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, who came off the bench.

By the end of the fighting, the mayhem spread across most of the court. Diabate, Bridges, Duren and Stewart were ejected at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter — at which point the Pistons owned a 70-62 lead. Duncan Robinson provided 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, Duren had 15 points in 20 minutes and Paul Reed added 12 points for the Pistons.

Cavaliers 119, Nuggets 117

Donovan Mitchell hit two free throws with less than a second left and Cleveland rallied from down seven late in the fourth quarter to beat host Denver for the Cavaliers’ ninth win in 10 games.

Mitchell finished with 32 points and 10 assists, James Harden added 22 points and 10 rebounds in his second game with the Cavaliers, and Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Nikola Jokic put up 22 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, but the Nuggets lost for the fourth time in five games when he missed a 3-point attempt at the horn. Jamal Murray amassed 17 points and 11 assists.

Thunder 119, Lakers 110

Jalen Williams scored 23 points and Isaiah Joe added 19 as Oklahoma City ended a two-game losing streak with a win in Los Angeles in a game where both teams were missing an All-Star.

Alex Caruso put up 17 points and Chet Holmgren totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) for the third consecutive game. Gilgeous-Alexander will be replaced in the All-Star Game on Sunday by the Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun.

LeBron James scored 22 points and dished 10 assists while Marcus Smart added 19 points for the Lakers, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) for the second consecutive game. Doncic (32.8 points per game) and Gilgeous-Alexander (31.8 ppg) are the NBA’s top two scorers.

Trail Blazers 135, 76ers 118

Toumani Camara established career highs of 30 points and eight 3-pointers as Portland routed visiting Philadelphia, which was playing the final game of a five-game trip.

Deni Avdija returned from a four-game absence caused by a back injury to produce 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Portland, which outscored the 76ers 49-22 in the decisive third quarter. Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan added 15 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, who won their third straight game.

Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for the 76ers, who played without Joel Embiid (knee) while concluding the 3-2 road trip. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 19 points while Trendon Watford and backup Justin Edwards each scored 12 for Philadelphia, which lost for the second time in their past eight games.

Warriors 114, Grizzlies 113

Gui Santos turned a scramble under the hoop into a go-ahead layup with 19.4 seconds remaining and Golden State rallied from 17 points down in the second half to stun Memphis in San Francisco.

Pat Spencer had 17 points and seven assists to lead the Warriors, who were without injured Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III as they await the debut of Kristaps Porzingis. Memphis was missing Ja Morant, Santi Aldama and Zach Edey.

Ty Jerome was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points to complement seven assists for the Grizzlies, who lost their third game in a row. Rookie Jahmai Mashack chipped in with a career-high 17 points but missed a shot in the final seconds.

Jazz 115, Heat 111

Reserve Brice Sensabaugh knocked in a go-ahead 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter as visiting Utah shocked Miami.

Utah, which entered Monday with 18 losses in its 22 previous games, led 85-82 after three quarters. However, for the second straight game, the Jazz benched multiple starters for the entire fourth quarter.

Still, the Jazz prevailed despite the late absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. (22 points), Markkanen (17 points) and Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, game-high 16 rebounds). The Heat were led by Andrew Wiggins, who scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. Bam Adebayo added 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Pelicans 120, Kings 94

Trey Murphy III produced 21 points and seven assists, Zion Williamson added 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, and New Orleans knocked off visiting Sacramento, handing the Kings a record-setting defeat.

The Kings took their 13th defeat in a row, setting a club record since the team moved to Sacramento ahead of the 1985-86 season. The franchise-worst skid is 14 games, recorded by the Cincinnati Royals in both 1959-60 and 1971-72.

Jeremiah Fears added 20 points off the bench for the Pelicans, who won their second straight game while posting their biggest win of the season in terms of margin of victory. Rookie Maxime Reynaud totaled 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to lead Sacramento.

Nets 123, Bulls 115

Nic Claxton collected a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds and Brooklyn came back from blowing a 15-point lead in the third quarter to beat Chicago in New York.

The Nets won consecutive games for the third time this season thanks to Claxton, who made 12 of 15 shots and surpassed his previous career high of 27 set against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 26, 2023. He recorded his 10th double-double and added four assists.

Claxton’s big night helped the Nets improve to 2-9 this season when Michael Porter Jr. is held out. Porter sat due to right knee tendinitis and rookie Egor Demin was rested. The Bulls dropped their fifth straight and fell for the eighth time in nine games.

Timberwolves 138, Hawks 116

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting and Minnesota pulled away for a win over Atlanta in Minneapolis.

Julius Randle notched 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who bounced back from a 19-point loss one day earlier against the Los Angeles Clippers. Ayo Dosunmu recorded 21 points off the bench.

CJ McCollum put up 38 points to lead Atlanta, which lost its second game in a row. Nickeil Alexander-Walker registered 23 points and 12 rebounds against his former team.

Magic 118, Bucks 99

Franz Wagner scored 14 points in 17 minutes in his return to action for Orlando and was a catalyst in a game-changing third-quarter run as the Magic downed visiting Milwaukee.

Anthony Black amassed 26 points and Desmond Bane added 25 for the Magic, who have now won three in a row, matching their best runs of the season.

Milwaukee’s modest three-game winning streak — its longest of the season — was snapped. The Bucks, still without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), got 28 points and seven assists from Kevin Porter Jr. plus 15 points from AJ Green.

–Field Level Media