Celtics top East-leading Raptors behind Morris’ 25 points

BOSTON — Marcus Morris had 25 points and nine rebounds before getting ejected in the closing seconds, and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors 110-99 on Saturday night.

Jayson Tatum added 24 points, six rebounds and four assists as Boston posted its sixth straight win and moved within two games of Toronto for the top seed in the East.

Both teams have six games remaining. They meet for the final time on Wednesday in Toronto.

Things got heated in the final seconds when four technical fouls were assessed between the teams. Morris was hit with two and was tossed. Toronto's C.J. Miles and Serge Ibaka received one each.

For Morris, it was his fourth straight game with at least 20 points.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Ibaka added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

After giving up 24 points in the paint in the first half, the Celtics mixed in some zone defensively in the second half to try to limit the Raptors' opportunities.

It was effective late, and helped ignite a 10-0 Celtics run that gave them a 104-94 lead with 3:27 left on a layup by Tatum.

There were 15 ties and 20 lead changes.

WIZARDS 107, HORNETS 93

All-star John Wall had 15 points and 14 assists in his first game in two months, Otto Porter Jr. had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and the Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets to clinch their fourth playoff berth in five seasons. Wall, who last played on Jan. 25 and had left knee surgery six days later, made his first shot of the game — a 3-pointer from the top of the key — and played 33 minutes. Bradley Beal scored 22 points and hit 6 of 8 3-pointers as the Wizards tied a franchise high with 18 made shots from deep. Washington beat Charlotte for the first time in four tries this season. The Wizards went 15-12 without Wall, but had lost four of five to slip into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game ahead of both Miami and Milwaukee entering Saturday.

PISTONS 115, KNICKS 109

Andre Drummond narrowly missed a second straight 20-20 game with 22 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks for their fourth straight victory. Reggie Jackson and Anthony Tolliver each scored 17 points for the Pistons, who won for the sixth time in seven games despite playing without the injured Blake Griffin. Reggie Bullock added 16. Drummond was 8 for 13 from the floor and the formerly woeful free throw shooter was 6 of 8 from the line. The All-Star center had 24 points and 23 rebounds in a victory over Washington on Thursday and leads the NBA with seven 20-point, 20-rebound games this season. Griffin had an MRI Thursday on his right ankle that revealed a bone bruise. The Pistons said he will be re-evaluated in one week and a timetable for his return to action will be provided as appropriate.