Irving rescues Boston in the end
With Boston in danger of blowing a big fourth-quarter lead, Kyrie Irving stepped up again for the Celtics.
Irving had a key three-pointer and a driving basket in the closing two minutes, helping host Boston hold off the Phoenix Suns for a 116111 victory on Saturday.
“Kyrie’s ability to make those shots with very little space is pretty impressive,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We put ourselves in a bad spot after that fourth-quarter run.”
Irving finished with 19 points, leading a balanced attack for NBAleading Boston (20-4). Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris each scored 17 points, Jayson Tatum had 15 and Al Horford added 14 points and 11 assists.
Devin Booker scored 38 points for Phoenix in his first game at TD Garden since he put up 70 against the Celtics on March 24.
Phoenix cut a 17-point deficit to 105-103 on Tyson Chandler’s dunk late in the game. But Irving, who returned to the game with 4½ minutes left with the lead down to eight, responded with a three from the right wing on the next possession, and his spinning shot off the backboard made it 112-106 with 29 seconds left.
Nuggets 115, Lakers 100: Jamal Murray had 28 points, Will Barton scored 13 of his 16 points in the final 7:44, and Denver scored the game’s final 15 points to beat visiting Los Angeles. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 20 points and Brook Lopez had 15 points. Lonzo Ball had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Pelicans 123, Trail Blazers
116: DeMarcus Cousins had 38 points and New Orleans overcame the absence of All-Star forward Anthony Davis for a victory over host Portland. E’Twaun Moore added 19 points for the Pelicans, and Damian Lillard had 29 points and eight assists for Portland.
Cavaliers 116, Grizzlies 111: LeBron James scored 34 points, including seven in the final 1:22, and host Cleveland
won its 11th in a row by dealing Memphis its 11th consecutive loss. The Grizzlies trailed 91-72 late in the third quarter, but rallied all the way to a tie at 109 on Dillon Brooks’ three-pointer with 2:10 remaining. Tyreke Evans had 31 points and 12 assists for Memphis.
76ers 108, Pistons 103: Joel Embiid had 25 points and 10 rebounds and got the better of Andre Drummond down the stretch in a matchup of trash-talking big men to help Philadelphia to a victory over visiting Detroit. Robert Covington added 25 points, and Dario Saric had 17 points.
Bucks 109, Kings 104: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points as host Milwaukee held off Sacramento. Antetokounmpo made 17 free throws and had 13 rebounds, Khris Middleton added 25 points and Eric Bledsoe had 18. Zach Randolph led the Kings with 22 points.
Mavericks 108, Clippers 82: J.J. Barea had 21 points and 10 assists to help host Dallas get coach Rick Carlisle his 700th career win. Carlisle became the 18th coach in NBA history with at least 700 wins.
Hawks 114, Nets 102: Dennis
Schroder scored 24 points, reserve Luke Babbitt had 20 and short-handed Atlanta won at Brooklyn. The Hawks played without starting center Dewayne Dedmon (leg injury) and rookie John Collins (shoulder). Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points for Brooklyn, which has lost five of seven.