Irving nets 21, Celtics hold off Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 102-91 on Wednesday night.
Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his 18 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, helping Boston break open a tight game. The Celtics had dropped three of four, including a 111-103 loss to visiting Washington on Christmas Day.
Horford gave the Hornets fits all night, hitting 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Kemba Walker scored 24 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Hornets, who are in the midst of a freefall down the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte has lost 13 of 17 ahead of a four-game West Coast trip beginning Friday night at Golden State.
The Hornets trailed by as many as 20 in the first half, but cut the lead to one entering the fourth quarter after holding the Celtics to 7-of-23 shooting in the third. MAVERICKS 98, PACERS 94 » Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, Harrison Barnes made the tiebreaking free throw with 37.7 seconds left and Dallas snapped an eightgame road losing streak with a victory over Indiana.
Nowitzki, the franchise’s career leading scorer in his 20th season, scored six points in the final quarter to help the Mavericks rally for their third win in 17 road games.
Barnes and Yogi Ferrell each scored 13 points. Ferrell, an Indianapolis native, hit a key 3-pointer to take a four-point lead with 2:09 remaining.
Lance Stephenson, Myles Turner and Darren Collison had 16 points apiece for the Pacers, who played without injured leading scorer Victor Oladipo for the first time and struggled down the stretch.
Pistons’ Jackson out 6-8 weeks
AUBURN HILLS, MICH. » Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson is out for at least six to eight weeks with a sprained right ankle.
Jackson was injured after making a jump pass and landing awkwardly Tuesday night in a win over the Indiana Packers. He is averaging 14.6 points, ranking third on the team, and leads the Pistons with 5.5 assists per game. Jackson was limited to 52 games last season, largely due to a knee injury.