Jaylen Brown beats the Jazz with late 3
Blazers lose, Warriors clinch at worst 2-seed
Jaylen Brown made a threepointer with one-tenth of a second left to lift the Celtics to a 97-94 victory over Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
Brown scored 21 points and Jayson Tatum added 16 for the Celtics, who won their fifth straight despite a shorthanded roster. Terry Rozier chipped in 13 points.
With Kyrie Irving out after knee surgery and Marcus Morris and Al Horford both sidelined with ankle injuries, the Celtics finished a 4-0 trip to the West in what would have been Gordon Hayward’s return to Utah had he not been injured in the season opener.
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points for Utah. Ricky Rubio had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. The Jazz lost for the third time in five games.
Grizzlies 108, Trail Blazers 103: Playing in his first NBA game since April 16, 2014, MarShon Brooks, who signed a 10-day contract Tuesday, scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead host Memphis. Portland’s loss means the Warriors can do no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Cavaliers 118, Hornets 105: LeBron James matched Michael Jordan’s streak of 866 double-digit scoring games with 41 points, leading visiting Cleveland over the team Jordan owns. He wasn’t the only one making history: Kemba Walker scored 21 points to pass Dell Curry as the Hornets’ career scoring leader.
76ers 117, Knicks 101: Dario Saric had 26 points and 14 rebounds as host Philadelphis won its eighth straight despite losing All-Star Joel Embiid to a facial injury. Embiid was taken to a hospital for precautionary testing after a nasty collision with teammate Markelle Fultz early in the second quarter. The team said Embiid had a facial contusion, but not a concussion.
Timberwolves 126, Hawks 114: Karl-Anthony Towns scored a franchise-record 56 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for his 63rd doubledouble, leading host Minnesota.
Clippers 111, Suns 99: Tobias Harris scored 27 points and visiting Los Angeles gained a little ground in the Western Conference playoff race. The Clippers moved a game back of the Jazz for the eighth playoff spot after Utah’s loss to Boston.
Lakers 103, Mavericks 93: Brook Lopez scored 22 points and Julius Randle added 20 points and 10 rebounds for host Los Angeles. Brandon Ingram had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes in his return after missing 12 games with a groin strain. Lonzo Ball left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury.
Nets 111, Magic 104: D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert each scored 16 points as visiting Brooklyn stopped a three-game losing streak. The Magic have lost nine of their past 11.
Briefly: Cleveland forward Kevin Love has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol after being elbowed in the face. Love was struck by the Heat’s Jordan Mickey during a game Tuesday . ... Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will have arthroscopic surgery on his right hip Thursday, ending his season. Thomas averaged 15.6 points and 5.0 assists in 17 games with Los Angeles.