Mirotic, Portis lead way as Bulls top Celtics
Rocket rally to overcome Pelicans • Casspi, Warriors down Blazers • Clippers snap Raptor's streak
Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points in his first start of the season, and Bobby Portis scored 23 as Chicago won its third consecutive game.
David Nwaba finished with 13 points for the Bulls, who have not lost since snapping a 10-game losing streak on Friday with an overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Kris Dunn added 12 points for Chicago.
“We need to give the credit to (coach Fred Hoiberg),” Mirotic said. “Fred is the one who is making us play. He’s the guy who is calling the plays for us and putting us in the right spots to play.”
As for the fight between Mirotic and Portis at the start of the season?
“Man, that situation’s over,” Portis said. “Everybody’s talking about that. But that doesn’t matter anymore. We’re just trying to win games.”
The Celtics played without Kyrie Irving, who sat out due to a left quadriceps contusion.
Al Horford scored 15 for Boston. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier added 13 points apiece in the Celtics’ most lopsided loss of the season.
“Sometimes you get your butt kicked. It was simple as that,” coach Brad Stevens said. “Chicago dictated the whole game. They played harder than we did. You’re not going to win many games when you play like that.”
Rockets 130, Pelicans 123
Chris Paul and James Harden came alive late, and Houston erased a 13-point, third-quarter deficit and extended their winning streak to 10 games with a home victory over the New Orleans.
Harden scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high of 17 assists. Paul scored 16 points over the final 13-plus minutes while adding nine rebounds and six assists. The Rockets remained undefeated with Paul in the lineup at 11-0.
Houston also got a career-high 28 points from Clint Capela and 27 points from Eric Gordon.
Jrue Holiday poured in a season-high 37 points for the Pelicans, and E’Twaun Moore scored a career-high 36 points. DeMarcus Cousins posted 24 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, and Rajon Rondo had a triple-double (13 points, 12 boards, 12 assists).
Warriors 111, Trail Blazers 104
Despite missing Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle) and Draymond Green (sore right shoulder), Golden State earned its seventh consecutive win.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Klay Thompson had 24 points, and four other Warriors, including replacement starting forwards Omri Casspi and Jordan Bell, also scored in double figures.
Israeli Casspi had 11 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes
Oakland native Damian Lillard poured in 39 points for the Trail Blazers, who were short-handed as well without Jusuf Nurkic (sprained right ankle) and Mo Harkless (bruised left quad). Portland dropped its fifth game in a row.
Clippers 96, Raptors 91
Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams each scored 17 points as Los Angeles held on for a victory over Toronto.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Raptors saw their six-game winning streak end.
In his first game back after missing 22 contests with a strained left foot, guard Milos Teodosic made a key three-pointer with 40.5 seconds remaining, giving the Clippers a late 91-87 lead. Teodosic was just 2-of-9 from three-point range for the game but finished with 12 points.
Hornets 116, Thunder 103
Dwight Howard scored 23 points and Kemba Walker added 19 as Charlotte used a big third quarter to beat Oklahoma City.
Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak by earning just its second win in nine games. The Thunder failed at yet another attempt to crawl back to .500. Oklahoma City has lost three games with a chance to even its record since November 15, when it was 7-7.
Russell Westbrook scored 30 points for the Thunder. Paul George added 20 in his first game back after missing two consecutive games with a calf injury. Steven Adams had 11 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.
Heat 107, Grizzlies 82
Goran Dragic scored 19 points as Miami defeated Memphis.
The Grizzlies have lost four straight and 15 of their past 16 games, and their home record fell to 5-11. The Heat shot 56.1 percent from the floor and went 14-of-27 from three-point range (52 percent.
Miami got 17 points from guard Josh Richardson and 14 points each off the bench from center Bam Adebayo and guard Tyler Johnson. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 19 points.