Jaylen Brown's 30 points, Celtics' 20-3 run end Cavaliers' win streak

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, including 13 during a 20-3 run to end the first half that helped the Boston Celtics pull away from Cleveland to win 125-105 on Wednesday night and snap the Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak.

Sam Hauser scored 21 points off the bench for Boston, which has won two straight since opening the season with three losses in a row. Josh Minott had 14 rebounds, Neemias Queta had 13 and Payton Pritchard had 10 assists for the Celtics.

Evan Mobley scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and Jaylon Tyson also scored 19 for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell made all four 3-point attempts for 12 points in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers led 42-40, but made just one of his last eight shots and finished with 15 points.

Boston led by 19 points midway through the third quarter and had a 98-80 advantage in the final two minutes of the third before Cleveland scored the next eight points. The Cavs never got closer than nine points from there, shooting 33% (8 for 24) in the fourth quarter as they failed to chip into Boston’s lead.

ROCKETS 139, RAPTORS 121

TORONTO (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added a season-high 25 and Houston thumped struggling Toronto.

Alperen Sengun had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Rockets won their second straight after starting the season with back-to-back losses.

Amen Thompson scored 18 points and Tari Eason added 14 points for the Rockets. Steven Adams scored 12 points and led Houston with 12 rebounds.

Houston outrebounded Toronto 53-22. Seven Rockets players had five or more rebounds.

Durant finished 11 of 19 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

Scottie Barnes scored 31 points and Brandon Ingram matched his season high with 29 for Toronto, which lost its fourth straight after winning its season opener at Atlanta. All four defeats have been by 10 points or more.

PISTONS 135, MAGIC 116

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 30 points and 10 assists as Detroit overcame a slow start to beat Orlando.

Cunningham added six rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.

The Pistons trailed for most of the first half, but outscored Orlando 70-52 in the final two quarters. The Magic have lost four straight after winning their opener.

Tobias Harris added 23 points for Detroit, which improved to 3-2, and Jalen Duren had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Paolo Banchero (24) and Franz Wagner (22) combined for 46 points, but missed 17 of 30 field-goal attempts and 11 of 28 free-throw attempts.

The Pistons used a 14-1 run to take a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter, and led by as many as 16 late in the period. The Magic attempted a rally, but missed 10 of 33 free throws in the first 36 minutes.

HAWKS 117, NETS 112

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 23 points, and Atlanta held off winless Brooklyn after losing star guard Trae Young to a sprained right knee in the first quarter.

Young was hurt when teammate Mouhamed Gueye fell and collided with his knee. The four-time All-Star grabbed the knee in pain after the collision and was soon ruled out for the rest of the game. He had six points in seven minutes.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points, Luke Kennard added 17 and Onyeka Okongwu had 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for the Hawks.

Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 32 points for the Nets, who fell to 0-5 for the first time since the 2015-16 season, when they lost their first seven games. Cam Thomas scored 19 points on 6-of-20 shooting, and Nic Claxton had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

The Hawks spotted the Nets a 12-0 lead but pulled ahead 20-19 with 5:17 left in the first quarter and never trailed again, although Brooklyn made it close at the end. Two free throws by Porter got the Nets within 115-112 with 1:28 left, and Brooklyn had a chance to draw closer but missed its final five shots.

BULLS 126, KINGS 113

CHICAGO (AP) — Matas Buzelis scored 27 points, and Chicago defeated Sacramento to remain unbeaten.

Chicago improved to 4-0, its best start since 2021-22.

Josh Giddey had 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Chicago. Kevin Huerter added 18 points for the Bulls, who shot 53.8% from the field.

Sacramento’s Zach LaVine scored 30 points in his return to Chicago. He played for the Bulls from 2018 until he was traded to the Kings before the All-Star break last season. The Bulls played a video tribute to him during the first quarter.

DeMar DeRozan, another former Bull, scored 19 points for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Kings, who lost their third straight. The Kings shot 53.1% from the field but made just 7 of 28 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 122, PELICANS 88

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, matching an NBA record with his fourth straight triple-double to start the season, and Denver routed winless New Orleans.

Jokic joined Oscar Robertson (1961-62) and Russell Westbrook (2020-21) as the only players to begin a season with four consecutive triple-doubles. Those are the only players Jokic trails on the career triple-double list; the three-time MVP now has 168.

Jokic shot 10 of 15 from the field and played 28 minutes. He sat out the fourth quarter after the Nuggets went on a 24-0 run in the third period to open up a 33-point lead.

Jamal Murray and Christian Braun scored 17 points apiece for the Nuggets, who have won three straight since a season-opening loss at Golden State.

MAVERICKS 107, PACERS 105

DALLAS (AP) — Brandon Williams scored 20 and Dwight Powell scored 18 points as Dallas beat Indiana in a matchup of injured-depleted teams.

Indiana had a chance to win when Aaron Nesmith grabbed an offensive rebound after RayJ Dennis intentionally missed a second free throw with 3.4 seconds left, but Nesmith’s desperation 3-pointer missed.

Dallas’ bench contributed a season-high 64 points as the Mavericks (2-3) completed a season-opening five-game homestand, the longest since a five-gamer by the 1983-84 Kansas City Kings.

The Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last summer’s NBA draft, had his second double-double with 15 points (most among Dallas starters) and 10 rebounds.

Pascal Siakam had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Jarace Walker scored a career-high 20 points for the Pacers, who are 0-4 for the first time since they opened the 1988-89 season with nine losses.