Celtics stumble past Timberwolves
The Celtics and Timberwolves both hovered under 40 percent shooting for most of the night before Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter to capture a 91-84 victory over visiting Minnesota.
Marcus Smart had 18 points off the bench to pace the Celtics. Kyrie Irving finished with 16 points (on 6-of-16 shooting) and eight assists and Aron Baynes doubled up with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Boston (32-10) followed up its 102-88 thumping of the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Wednesday with its fifth straight victory. The Celtics won despite shooting 40.4 percent.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 23 rebounds, Jimmy Butler scored 14 and Jamal Crawford had 13 off the bench for the Timberwolves. Minnesota, which shot 36.8 percent, lost its 12th consecutive game in Boston.
Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 21 points and Kawhi Leonard also hit for 21 as San Antonio blew past visiting Phoenix, 103-89.
The Spurs topped the Suns for the third time in three meetings this season.
A 17-8 Spurs run over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter expanded an eight-point lead to 97-78 and turned a game that had been very competitive through 36 minutes into a runaway.
Bryn Forbes added 16 points for San Antonio. Devin Booker paced the Suns with 21 points.
John Wall and Bradley Beal took turns torching Memphis, combining for 59 points as Washington won at Memphis, Tennnessee, 102-100.
Beal tallied 34 points on just 18 shot attempts, hitting the 30-point mark for the seventh time this year. He also chipped in five assists. Wall needed only 16 shot attempts to score 25 points, and he added nine assists.
Tyreke Evans scored 26 points and dished out seven assists to pace the Grizzlies.
In other NBA games, it was Heat 107, Knicks 103 (OT);Nuggets 99, Jazz 91; Raptors 129, Bucks 110; Bulls 127, Mavericks 124; Trail Blazers 110, Hawks 89; Hornets 108, Lakers 94.