Ball fractures right ankle in Hornets' win
LaMelo Ball made six 3-pointers before breaking his right ankle in the third quarter, and the host Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points, Gordon Hayward had 19 points and rookie Mark Williams added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte.
Ball finished with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. He was hurt on a non-contact play and the Hornets announced after the game that he had fractured his right ankle.
Hamidou Diallo and James Wiseman each scored 23 points for Detroit. KNICKS 109, CELTICS 94 >> Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley each scored 23 points and host New York knocked Boston out of the top spot in the NBA with its sixth straight victory. Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum shot just 6 of 18 and was ejected in the fourth quarter after getting his second technical foul. He finished with 14 point and nine assists. Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 for the Celtics (44-18). They slipped percentage points behind Milwaukee (43-17).
HEAT 101, 76ERS 99 >> Jimmy Butler hit an acrobatic reverse layup in the final minutes and finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for visiting Miami. Gabe Vincent scored 14 points and Bam Adebayo added 13 for the Heat. Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds and James Harden finished with 20 points and 12 assists for Philadelphia.
MAGIC 101, PELICANS 93 >> Paolo Banchero scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds for visiting Orlando. Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner each added 14 points for the Magic. Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 25 points, CJ McCollum added 18.
NOTE >> Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have agreed to purchase Marc Lasry's 25% stake of the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal that puts the value of the NBA franchise at $3.5 billion, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said Monday. The agreement has not been finalized, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the Bucks nor the Haslams publicly disclosed any element of the agreement.