T-Wolves get third straight win
Celtics top Hawks in Horford’s return to Atlanta
MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and 17 rebounds and Ricky Rubio added 14 points and 14 assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to their third straight victory, 96-86 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points and Brandon Rush had 11 for the Timberwolves, They have won three in a row for the first time all season. The improving Timberwolves defense held the Thunder to 38.8 percent shooting and scored 33 points off of 19 Oklahoma City turnovers.
Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 19th tripledouble of the season. But he also had 10 turnovers in Oklahoma City’s first loss in four games. Enes Kanter had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
GRIZZLIES 110, ROCKETS 105: In Houston, Tony Allen scored a season-high 22 points, Mike Conley added 17 and Memphis overcame a 15-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Houston.
Memphis led by two late in the fourth quarter before scoring the next five points, capped by a 3-pointer by Troy Daniels, to make it 110-103 with 26 seconds left. A dunk by James Harden came next, but Houston missed two shots after that to allow the Grizzlies to hold on for their fourth straight victory.
Harden had 27 points and nine assists for the Rockets. They lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
76ERS 102, HORNETS 93: In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid scored 24 points, blocked three shots and led Philadelphia past Charlotte for its third straight victory.
The Sixers have their first three-game
winning streak since winning four straight in 2013-14. Led by Embiid, the 76ers have won five of six games overall to improve to 12-25.
CELTICS 103, HAWKS 101: In Atlanta, Isaiah Thomas scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Al Horford made a triumphant return and Boston snapped Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak.
The Celtics hit 17 3-pointers and got a season-high 26 points from reserve forward Kelly Olynyk.
Horford, a fan favorite during his nine seasons in Atlanta, was booed many times throughout the night after leaving the team as a free agent last summer. He had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.
RAPTORS 132, NETS 113: In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, Kyle Lowry added 20 and Toronto had its highest-scoring game of the season and handed Brooklyn its ninth straight loss.
DeMarre Carroll had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Raptors beat the Nets for the sixth consecutive time.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 points for the Nets, last in the NBA at 8-31. They have lost 16 straight on the road and are 1-18 overall away from home.
MAGIC 115, TRAIL BLAZERS 109: In Portland, Ore., Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 30 points and Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak.
Vucevic went 13 of 18 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds.
BUCKS 116, HEAT 108: In Milwaukee, Jabari Parker had 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 19 to help Milwaukee beat Miami.
Antetokounmpo also had eight rebounds and six assists after being limited by illness throughout the week. Greg Monroe added 16 points and 11 rebounds.