Home cooking suits Celtics

BOSTON — Kyrie Irving had 17 points and seven assists as the Boston Celtics, back home from a dreadful road trip, routed the Chicago Bulls 111-82 on Wednesday night.

Jaylen Brown scored 18 points and Jayson Tatum added 14 for the Celtics, who lost the final two games on a 1-4 swing that ended out West. Gordon Hayward scored 11 and Al Horford had 10 points and eight rebounds as all five Boston starters reached double figures.

The Celtics capitalized on 22 turnovers by the Bulls, who dropped their second straight and third in four games.

Shaquille Harrison led Chicago with 16 points. Jabari Parker scored 14, all in the first quarter. Zach LaVine finished with 10 points and nine assists, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 11 points and seven rebounds.

After a sluggish first period, the Celtics dominated the second quarter, holding Chicago to 11 points on five field goals. Boston continued to pull away in the second half.

The Celtics held a 22point lead entering the fourth quarter and emptied their bench. The reserves stretched the advantage to 33 before it was over.

Terry Rozier had 12 points for Boston, and Aaron Baynes finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

After going 9 for 23 in the first quarter, the Celtics outscored Chicago 32-11 in the second and forced the Bulls into seven turnovers.

THUNDER 128, KNICKS 103: Paul George scored a season-high 35 points to help Oklahoma City rout New York.

Steven Adams had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Dennis Schroder added 15 points and 12 assists for the Thunder. They have won nine of 10 since an 0-4 start, and improved to 4-1 since point guard Russell Westbrook was sidelined with a sprained left ankle.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. scored 20 points, and Enes Kanter added 19 for the Knicks.

George scored 18 points in the first half and Adams added 15 to help the Thunder take a 65-49 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56.5 percent from the field before the break.

The Thunder put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Adams threaded the needle to find a cutting Patrick Patterson for a dunk, then Patterson lobbed to George for a jam that put Oklahoma City ahead 85-61. George scored 17 points in the third quarter, and the Thunder led 100-80 at the end of the period.

HEAT 120, NETS 107: Tyler Johnson scored a season-high 24 points, Goran Dragic had 21 and Miami Heat beat short-handed Brooklyn to snap a threegame losing streak.

Josh Richardson added 15 points and Hassan Whiteside had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat. They never trailed and led by as much as 23, rediscovering their defense after some poor outings during their skid.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 points for the Nets in their first game since losing leading scorer Caris LeVert to a dislocated right foot. He could return this season from what appeared to be a severe injury when he was hurt Monday, but it could be a rough road without him for the Nets if Wednesday’s game was any indication.

Brooklyn also was without starting center Jarrett Allen again because of an illness.

Miami had yielded 116.7 points in its last three games but coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game the Heat weren’t as far away defensively as they looked during the skid, noting they had the NBA’s sixth-ranked defense after beating San Antonio before it started.