DeRozan scores 41 as Raptors top Celtics
Curry & Co. beat Heat Hayward leads Jazz over LeBron, Cavs Wall, Wizards rally to edge Bulls
DeMar DeRozan led the way with a 41 points as the Toronto Raptors avoided a third straight loss, defeating the Boston Celtics 114-106 on Tuesday.
The Raptors (25-13) closed out the fourth quarter on a 19-4 run to pick up their third consecutive home victory over Boston. The Celtics (23-15) saw their fourgame winning streak end.
Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas added a career-high 23 rebounds and 18 points. Kyle Lowry chipped in with 24 points, nine assists and four rebounds in the win.
DeRozan also stepped up and collected 13 rebounds, including 11 defensive boards.
“He’s a tough kid,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “More than anything else, the 41 points is nice, but 13 rebounds, the 11 defensive rebounds when we needed it.
“DeMar came in and got some big rebounds, tough rebounds, so that was impressive. That was more of a sign of grit and grind as much as the 41 points.”
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 27 points and seven assists. Guard Marcus Smart contributed 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Gerald Green and Al Horford added 14 points apiece for Boston, and Kelly Olynyk chipped in with 13 points.
Warriors 107, Heat 95
Steph Curry compiled 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in Golden State’s hard-fought victory over road-weary and injury-plagued Miami.
Kevin Durant chipped in with 28 points as the Warriors were able to overcome Heat center Hassan Whiteside’s 28 points and 20 rebounds.
Playing for the fifth time on a six-game trip, the Heat led by as many as 10 points in the first half and were up 54-53 at halftime on the strength of a 16-point, 10-rebound haul by Whiteside.
However, Durant opened the third period with a three-pointer, and Golden State never trailed again.
Jazz 100, Cavaliers 92
Gordon Hayward scored 28 points and collected nine rebounds, and Rodney Hood added 18 points to lead Utah over Cleveland.
Six players scored in double figures for the Jazz, including Rudy Gobert, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds for his 27th double-double of the season.
LeBron James scored 29 points and Kyrie Irving added 20 points to lead Cleveland. Tristan Thompson chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Wizards 101, Bulls 99
John Wall hit the game-winning jump shot with five seconds remaining as Washington rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Chicago.
Wall led the way with 26 points and 14 assists. Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris each had 19 points for the Wizards.
Denzel Valentine scored a career-high 19 points on five three-pointers for Chicago. Carter-Williams and Robin Lopez each scored 14 points, and Rajon Rondo had 12 points in 27 minutes after not playing the previous five games.
Bucks 109, Spurs 107
Malcolm Brogdon hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:08 to play and added a free throw in the final seconds as Milwaukee stunned San Antonio.
Reserve forward Michael Beasley, who scored a season-high 28 points, tied the game 101-101 at the 3:22 mark on a driving layup and after a poor shot by the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard, Jabari Parker’s layup gave the Bucks a 103-101 lead with 2:56 to play.