Brown scores 32, Tatum adds double-double as Celtics top Warriors 120-99
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 23 of his 32 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 120-99 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Jayson Tatum added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won three straight.
It was Tatum’s fifth time scoring at least 20 points in the six games he’s played since making his season debut following Achilles tendon surgery. It also marked his third double-double.
Golden State cut a 21-point third-quarter deficit to 11 early in the fourth, but Boston responded with a 17-6 run to push the lead back to 22 with just more than five minutes to play.
Gary Payton II and Pat Spencer both had 14 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost six of seven. They are 6-13 since star guard Stephen Curry was sidelined with a right knee injury. Draymond Green and Gui Santos scored 13 apiece.
Kristaps Porzingis, who played for the first time in TD Garden since winning a championship with Boston to cap the 2023-24 season, finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
THUNDER 121, NETS 92
NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points and Oklahoma City beat Brooklyn for their 10th straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 9 from the field and was subbed out with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter with the Thunder leading by 38. The reigning NBA MVP extended his NBA-record of 62 consecutive road games with at least 20 points.
Jared McCain had 26 points and Aaron Wiggins finished 17 for the Thunder, who led by as many as 42 and never trailed in the second game of a back-to-back.
Jalen Wilson had 15 points off the bench and rookie Nolan Traore was the lone starter in double figures with 13 for the Nets, who have lost their last five games and 15 of 17. Leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. (ankle) missed his fourth straight game.
Oklahoma City shot 53% from the field and 40% from long distance to improve to a league-best 25-8 on the road.
TRAIL BLAZERS 127, PACERS 119
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 23 of his 32 points in the first half Wednesday night and Donovan Clingan added a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help Portland hold off hard-charging Indiana.
Portland won the for the third time in four games as the 10th-seeded Trail Blazers close in on clinching a Western Conference play-in spot in what figures to be a wide-open postseason.
Indiana extended the longest losing streak in its NBA franchise history to 15 games. The Pacers’ last win came Feb. 11.
Avdija also had 11 rebounds for Portland, which matched its highest-scoring half of the season with 79 points in the first two quarters. Clingan was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers and had two blocks.
Ivica Zubac led the injury-riddled Pacers with 18 points. Jalen Slawson had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
RAPTORS 139, BULLS 109
CHICAGO (AP) — RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Brandon Ingram had 18 and Toronto pounded Chicago for their third consecutive win.
Toronto shot 57% (48 for 84) from the field and put seven players in double figures in the opener of a five-game trip. Scottie Barnes had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Ja’Kobe Walter also scored 18.
The Raptors led by as many as 38 while completing a sweep of their three-game season series against the Bulls.
Matas Buzelis scored 19 points for Chicago, which lost for the third time in four games. Collin Sexton had 14 in his return from a left leg injury.
Bulls guard Josh Giddey was held to nine points, three assists and no rebounds. The 23-year-old Giddey had been on a tear, posting five triple-doubles while averaging 19 points, 12 assists and 11.7 rebounds over his previous seven games.
PELICANS 124, CLIPPERS 109
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 25 points, Trey Murphy added 23 and New Orleans overcame an early 18-point hole to beat Los Angeles.
Dejounte Murray had 17 points and 11 assists, while Zion Williamson and rookie Derrick Queen each scored 14 for the Pelicans, who received a standing ovation as the final seconds wound down on their sixth straight victory at home and ninth win in their past 13 games overall
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins added 18 for the Clippers, who dropped a game below .500 (34-35), but maintained a tenuous hold on the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Portland.
Bey hit five of 10 3-point shots to help New Orleans go 16 of 37 (43.2%) from deep. The Pelicans also made 20 of 21 free throws, with Queen making all nine of his.
Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears chipped in 11 points off the bench.
TIMBERWOLVES 147, JAZZ 111
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points and had nine rebounds in his second straight start in place of the injured Anthony Edwards and Minnesota took charge in the second quarter to cruise past Utah.
Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle also scored 21 points and had eight assists for the Timberwolves, who have won two in a row without their All-Star guard.
Minnesota announced Tuesday that Edwards will miss one to two weeks with right knee inflammation before being re-evaluated. The Timberwolves beat the Phoenix Suns 116-104 behind 32 points from Randle.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 41 points, two off his career high, to lead the Jazz, who have lost four in a row and 12 of their last 14.
Ace Bailey added 17 points for Utah, which went 0-3 on its road trip. Walker Kessler (shoulder), Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (face) remained sidelined.
GRIZZLIES 125, NUGGETS 118
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ty Jerome had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Memphis snapped their eight-game losing streak with a victory over Denver.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 19 points and GG Jackson added 16 for the injury-depleted Grizzlies (24-44), who are 4-15 in their last 19 games after winning for the first time since March 1 at Indiana.
Cedric Coward provided 15 points and seven rebounds. Taylor Hendricks scored 13 off the bench and made six of Memphis’ 12 steals as the Nuggets (42-28) committed 19 turnovers in the makeup of a game postponed Jan. 25 because of bad weather.
Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Denver, just missing his sixth triple-double in the past eight games — although he did rack up 10 turnovers.
HAWKS 135, MAVERICKS 120
DALLAS (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 24 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 22, and Atlanta beat Dallas for their 11th straight win.
Dyson Daniels had 19 points on 9 for 13 shooting and Jalen Johnson scored 17 points with 11 rebounds for the Hawks, who at 38-31 are in the middle of the race for a play-in playoff spot.
Atlanta hasn’t won at least 11 in a row since winning a franchise-record 19 straight during the 2014-2015 season. Their current streak is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in club history.
Daniel Gafford came off the bench to lead the Mavericks with 24, P.J. Washington had 23 and Cooper Flagg added 17.
The Mavericks have now lost 11 of their last 13 and appear destined for the draft lottery at 23-47.
LAKERS 124, ROCKETS 116
HOUSTON (AP) — Luka Doncic had 40 points and LeBron James added 30 as Los Angeles extended their winning streak to seven games with a win over Houston.
It’s the 10th win in 11 games for the Lakers, who also beat Houston 100-92 on Monday night.
The Lakers led by 4 with about 90 seconds remaining when Doncic found James for an alley-oop dunk. Kevin Durant had a turnover on the other end and Doncic made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 120-111 with less than a minute left.
Doncic had 10 assists and nine rebounds to finish one rebound shy of a triple-double. James was 13 of 14 from the floor — tying the best single-game shooting effort of his career — and had five rebounds to give him 12,002, making him the 23rd player in NBA history to reach 12,000 rebounds. James also shot 13 of 14 for Miami against Charlotte on Feb. 4, 2013.
Alperen Sengun had 27 points and 10 assists for the Rockets in his return after missing two games with a back issue. Amen Thompson added 26 points and 11 rebounds as Houston lost for the third time in four games.