Brown scores 32 as Celtics rout Wizards
Celtics 144, Wizards 102: Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Jayson Tatum had 22 and the host Boston Celtics cruised to a victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday in their regularseason home finale.
Jockeying for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, Boston posted its 13th win in 16 games with three games left in the regular season. Derrick White added 17 points, Grant Williams 16 and Payton Pritchard 14 for the Celtics, who finished 28-13 at TD Garden. Tatum had seven assists and six rebounds, while Brown added seven boards with five assists.
Mavericks 118, Bucks 112: Luka Doncic scored 32 points and matched a season high with 15 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks defeat the host Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points and 10 assists.
Milwaukee was essentially at full strength Sunday after resting all of its usual starters in a 153-119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. Doncic flirted with a triple-double before finishing with eight rebounds.
Nuggets 129, Lakers 118: Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, and the Denver Nuggets moved into fifth place in the Western Conference with a victory over the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Will Barton scored 25 points and Aaron Gordon added 24 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who capitalized on LeBron James’ absence with a fourthquarter surge to grab their fourth win in five games. g forced into the play-in tournament.
Pistons 121, Pacers 117: Saddiq Bey scored 31 points and Fred Jackson had 19 to lead the sharpshooting Detroit Pistons past the Indiana Pacers 121-117 on Sunday. Bey hit 11 of 18 shots, including shooting 7 of 9 on 3-pointers, in 23 minutes. The Pistons, who have won three games in a row, sank 21 of 41 3pointers and set a team record for 3s in a half with 13 in the opening two quarters. Oshae Brissett scored 20 points and had nine rebounds to lead the Pacers, who have lost seven straight games.
Knicks 118, Magic 88: RJ Barrett scored 27 points, Obi Toppin matched his career high with 20 and the New York Knicks routed the Orlando Magic 118-88 on Sunday night. Toppin and Alec Burks scored 12 points each in a 37-point third quarter for the Knicks, who made 12 of their first 13 shots in the period. Burks finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley had his first triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in 34 minutes off the bench.
76ers 112, Cavaliers 108: Joel Embiid had 44 points and 17 rebounds, James Harden recorded his second tripledouble with Philadelphia and the 76ers locked up a playoff spot with a 112-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Embiid was questionable coming into the game with a sore ankle.