Irving scores 40, leads Nets to win over former team

Kyrie Irving scored 40 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 121-109 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in New York.

James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which improved to 25-13 with its 12th win in 13 games. Landry Shamet added 18 points and fellow reserve Jeff Green finished with 11. Joe Harris added 12 as the Nets won without Kevin Durant and newcomer Blake Griffin.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points but Boston had its four-game winning streak snapped.

BUCKS 134, KNICKS 101>> Giannis Antetokounmpo followed up his MVP performance in the All-Star Game with his fifth tripledouble of the season to lift host Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes as the Bucks handed the Knicks their most one-sided loss of the season. The Bucks shot 57.5% against New York, which entered the night leading the NBA in scoring defense (104.4), fieldgoal percentage defense (.435) and 3-point percentage defense (.330). The Bucks have won seven of their past eight.

HAWKS 121, RAPTORS 120 >> Tony Snell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to help visiting Atlanta overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Hawks inbounded the ball to Trae Young with 7.1 seconds remaining. He drove to the basket and kicked it out to Snell, who buried a 25-footer for the game-winner. The Raptors led 11297 with 6:13 left when the Hawks went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to three. It was the third straight win for the Hawks, who got 37 points from Young, 20 points from reserve Danilo Gallinari and 19 points from Kevin Huerter.

HORNETS 105, PISTONS 102 >> P.J Washington had 20 points and nine rebounds, Terry Rozier hit some big shots down the stretch and the Hornets won in Charlotte, N.C., to get back to .500 (18-18) for the first time since Jan. 13. Rozier and Gordon Hayward each scored 17 points and Cody Zeller chipped in with 15 points and a key rebound for Charlotte. Jerami Grant had 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting for the Pistons. 76ERS 127, BULLS 105 >> Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Philadelphia won in Chicago even though they were missing stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for contact tracing. With Harris leading a balanced attack, the 76ers had more than enough to get by without their two best players. Dwight Howard scored a season-high 18 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz added 16 points, and Tony Bradley scored a season-high 14 on 7-for-7 shooting.

HEAT 111, MAGIC 103 >> Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and added 11 assists, Kelly Olynyk scored 20 and the Heat won in Miami to move over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Tyler Herro scored 17 points, Kendrick Nunn had 13 and Goran Dragic added 11 for the Heat (19-18), who pulled away in the final 6 minutes. All-Star Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped six straight.

TIMBERWOLVES 135, PELICANS 105 >> Jaylen Nowell hit six 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 28 points, top overall draft choice Anthony Edwards scored 27 points, and Minnesota rallied from an early 16-point deficit in New Orleans. Pelicans guard JJ Redick underwent a nonsurgical procedure to relieve inflammation and soreness in his right heel and will be out of the lineup for at least a week.

MEYERS LEONARD FINED, SUSPENDED >> The NBA fined Meyers Leonard $50,000 and suspended him from all Miami Heat facilities and activities for one week, in response to his use of an anti-Semitic term.

Commissioner Adam Silver announced the sanctions two days after the video began circulating on social media.

“Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society,” Silver said.

Leonard apologized for using the term. The Heat learned of the matter Tuesday, and Leonard’s future with the team is now in doubt. He will not play again this season because of a shoulder injury.