Celtics surge past Denver, notch seventh straight win
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, and Marcus Smart added 22 points, five steals and two crucial free throws as Boston rallied to beat Denver 108-102 on Friday for its seventh straight victory.
Robert Williams had 15 points and 16 rebounds and Derrick White 15 points and six rebounds for the Celtics. White made his Boston debut after being acquired from San Antonio.
Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who led by 11 in the first quarter and by nine at halftime. The Celtics held a 57-42 scoring edge the rest of the way.
Denver led 79-76 entering the fourth quarter.
■ Spurs 136, Hawks 121: At Atlanta, Dejounte Murray tied his career highs with 32 points and 15 assists to go with 10 rebounds for his 11th triple-double this season for San Antonio, which tied a season best with 18 3-pointers. Atlanta had won eight of its previous nine home games.
■ Bulls 134, Timberwolves 122: At Chicago, Demar Derozan scored 35 points and Nikola Vucevic 26 for Chicago, which took control with a 15-2 run early in the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Karl-anthony Towns 27 for Minnesota.
■ Jazz 114, Magic 99: At Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell had 24 points and Hassan Whiteside 15 points and 18 rebounds for Utah, which notched a fifth straight home win for the first time this season. Wendell Carter Jr. scored 22 points to pace Orlando.
■ Cavaliers 120, Pacers 113: At Indianapolis, Caris Levert and Jarrett Allen each scored 22 points for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight. Tyrese Haliburton had 23 points and six assists in his debut for Indiana, which lost its fifth in a row.
■ 76ers 100, Thunder 87: At Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks for Philadelphia, which shot only 39 percent but held Oklahoma City to 39 percent. The Thunder missed 29 of 35 3-point tries.
■ Hornets 141, Pistons 119: At Detroit, Lamelo Ball had 31 points and 12 assists and Terry Rozier 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which halted a six-game skid and dealt Detroit its seventh loss in a row.