Celtics roll to their 8th consecutive victory
Jaylen Brown poured in 33 points and the visiting Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to eight games with a 129-102 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and nine assists for the Celtics (56-14), who are closing in on clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Derrick White had 19 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis also tossed in 19 points.
Sam Hauser added 14 points. Boston’s leading scorer and rebounder, Jayson Tatum, sat out due to a right ankle injury.
This was the Celtics’ second romp over the Pistons in five nights. They also recorded a 119-94 home win on Monday, another game that Tatum missed.
James Wiseman led the Pistons (1258), who have lost five straight, with 24 points and nine rebounds. Jaden Ivey had 16 points and Cade Cunningham contributed 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Thunder 123, Raptors 103
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points in his homecoming and visiting Oklahoma City overcame a slow start to defeat short-handed Toronto.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a Toronto native who grew up in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.
Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder (49-20), who have won four in a row. Jalen Williams scored 20 points, Cason Wallace and Kenrich Williams contributed 12 points apiece, and Josh Giddey and Luguentz Dort each had 10 points.
Gradey Dick scored 21 points for the Raptors (23-47), who have lost nine straight. Kelly Olynyk added 16 points, and Ochai Agbaji and Jordan Nwora both put up 12. Rookie Javon FreemanLiberty scored 10 points in his first NBA start, and Bruce Brown also had 10.
Gary Trent Jr. (back) was among the missing for Toronto, a list that included Scottie Barnes (hand), Jakob Poeltl (finger), RJ Barrett (personal) and Immanuel Quickley (personal).
Pelicans 111, Heat 88
CJ McCollum scored a game-high 30 points as New Orleans routed host Miami.
New Orleans (43-27) improved to 2314 on the road. Miami (38-32) dropped to 17-16 at home.
The Pelicans won for the eighth time in 10 games, and they did it despite a quiet game from Zion Williamson and the injury absence of Brandon Ingram (left knee). They are the Pelicans’ top two scorers.
Williamson was held to four points on 2-for-7 shooting. That snapped his streak of seven straight games scoring at least 20 points. He averaged 27.3 points during that stretch.
It was New Orleans’ first win in Miami since December 2017. The Heat had beaten the Pelicans seven straight times overall.
Timberwolves 104, Cavaliers 91
Mike Conley scored 21 points on 8for-15 shooting, and Minnesota rallied for a win over visiting Cleveland.
Anthony Edwards recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for Minnesota (48-22). Naz Reid scored 18 points, and Rudy Gobert finished with a gamehigh 14 rebounds to go along with nine points and two blocked shots. The Timberwolves have won four of their last five games.
Darius Garland scored 19 points to lead Cleveland (43-27). Jarrett Allen notched 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavaliers dropped their second game in a row and fell to 2-5 in their past seven.
The Timberwolves outscored the Cavaliers 58-42 in the second half to secure the win.
With Minnesota leading by seven points, Kyle Anderson made a jump shot and Conley followed with a 3-pointer in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. That gave the Timberwolves a double-digit lead at 80-68, and they held firm the rest of the way.
Grizzlies 99, Spurs 97
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including the game-winning jumper with 1.2 seconds left as visiting Memphis came from behind to beat San Antonio.
In the matchup of teams already eliminated from postseason consideration, the Spurs led by 17 points midway through the second quarter but by just one at halftime.
After a back-and-forth third quarter, Memphis carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies slowly wore down San Antonio, taking an 85-78 lead when Jordan Goodwin hit a jumper with 4:43 to play.
The Spurs (15-55) tied the game at 97 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Devin Vassell and Tre Jones, the latter with 19 seconds to play, before Jackson leaned in for a floater with 1.2 seconds left.
Pacers 123, Warriors 111
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and dished six assists as Indiana knocked off host Golden State.
The Pacers dominated in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 36-21 and extending their lead of as many as 16 points.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, after dishing eight of his 11 assists before intermission. Four more scorers hit double figures for the Pacers, including Andrew Nembhard, who tallied 17 on 7-of-11 shooting.
Myles Turner added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and his five blocked shots gave him the Indiana franchise record. He surpassed Jermaine O’Neal with his 1,246th in the third quarter.
Jalen Smith and T.J. McConnell each scored 11 off the bench for the Pacers. McConnell added six assists, contributing to Indiana’s 32 on its 48 field goals.