ALDRIDGE SCORES SEASON-HIGH 33 TO HOLD OFF BULLS

san antonio» LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 33 points and the Spurs held on to beat the Bulls 119-100 on Sunday after nearly blowing a hot start.

“When a player goes off like LaMarcus did today, it opens things up,” Spurs center Pau Gasol said.

Kawhi Leonard added 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Tony Parker had 13 points and eight assists.

Chicago rallied from a 20-point deficit to lead by three points midway through the third quarter but could not sustain the push, taking its third straight loss.

Parker had nine points in the final quarter, while San Antonio improved to 9-4 at home after losing three of its first four at the AT&T Center.

Dwyane Wade led the Bulls with 24 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Jimmy Butler added 19 points, and every Chicago starter except Rajon Rondo scored in double figures. Rondo was held to six points and two assists in 30 minutes.

SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Marcus Smart made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 47 seconds left after Boston blew a late lead, and the Celtics beat the Knicks 119-114. The Knicks wiped out a late nine-point deficit with an out-of-nowhere 11-2 run in a little more than a minute, but Smart answered with his shot and Avery Bradley and Al Horford made big defensive plays afterward. Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk each had 16 points for the Celtics, who won for the fifth time in six games. Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Derrick Rose had 25 for the Knicks, who fell to 22-29 in their NBArecord 51 Christmas appearances. … Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 15 assists to help the Thunder beat the Timberwolves 112-100. Westbrook had 10 assists in the second half to help Oklahoma City take control, although he fell short of becoming the first Thunder player to score at least 40 points in four straight games. Steven Adams scored 22 points and Enes Kanter added 20 points for the Thunder, which shot 51.2 percent while winning its third straight. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points and Andrew Wiggins had 23 points for the Timberwolves. Minnesota had won three of five, including wins at Chicago and Atlanta.