Pistons top Celtics to end skid
Williamson to make NBA debut on Jan. 22
BOSTON — Sekou Doumbouya scored a season-high 24 points and the Detroit Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak with a 116-103 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Markieff Morris matched his season best with 23 points. Derrick Rose added 22 points and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had a season-high 21. The Pistons shot a season-best 60.3% from the field.
Andre Drummond added 13 points and 13 rebounds to post his 34th double-double of the season.
The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with a 17-5 run, capped by a dunk by Drummond, to take a 108-87 lead with 7:05 to play.
Boston never got closer than 12 after that. Shortly after coach Brad Stevens pulled his starters, Marcus Smart was called for a foul and ejected after arguing with an official.
76ERS 117, NETS 106: In Philadelphia, Tobias Harris scored 34 points, including two big baskets in the final two minutes that proved to be the difference, as Philadelphia beat Brooklyn.
Ben Simmons had 20 points and 11 assists for the 76ers, who improved to 19-2 at home. On the road, the 76ers are 7-14 and have lost six straight games — a slide that has caused them to fall to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets were led by Spencer Dinwiddie’s 26 points and eight assists. Jarret Allen had 17 points.
HEAT 106, SPURS 100: In Miami, Kendrick Nunn scored 33 points, Goran Dragic added 17 and Miami held on to beat San Antonio.
Bam Adebayo — cut from USA Basketball’s national team by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich over the summer — had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat. Miami improved to 18-1 at home, one win shy of matching last season’s home win total. MAVERICKS 127, KINGS 123: In Sacramento, Calif., Luka Doncic had 25 points, 15 rebounds and a careerhigh 17 assists for his NBA-leading 12th triple-double, and Dallas held off a late run to beat Sacramento.
Seth Curry scored 21 points off the bench as Dallas won its third straight despite the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, who missed his ninth consecutive game. BULLS 115, WIZARDS 106: In Chicago, Zach LaVine had 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and banged-up Chicago beat Bradley Beal and Washington.
Chicago placed seven players in double figures in its second win in its last nine games. Thaddeus Young had 18 points and eight boards, and Tomas Satoransky scored 18 points against his former team. TRAIL BLAZERS 117, ROCKETS 107: In Houston, Damian Lillard scored 25 points and CJ McCollum added 24 as Portland withstood a late surge from Houston.
The Trail Blazers led by double figures for most of the game, but the Rockets began cutting into the lead in the fourth. A 3 by Ben McLemore got them within five with about five minutes to go.
But McCollum and Carmelo Anthony then made consecutive 3-pointers for Portland to make it 111-100 with four minutes left, and Houston didn’t threaten again.
MAGIC 119, LAKERS 118: In Los Angeles, Markelle Fultz scored a 21 points and had a triple-double in Orlando’s win over Los Angeles.
LeBron James had 19 points for the Lakers. RAPTORS 130, THUNDER 121:
In Oklahoma City, Norman Powell scored 23 points, and Toronto held off a furious rally and beat Oklahoma City.
Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby each added 21 points for the Raptors, who shot a season-high 61.2% from the field. PACERS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 99: In Minneapolis, Domantas Sabonis matched a season high with 29 points and added 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Indiana over Minnesota.
NUGGETS 100, HORNETS 86: In Denver, rookie reserve Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points as the Nuggets beat Charlotte.
PELICANS: Zion Williamson, the top choice in last summer’s NBA draft, is scheduled to make his regular season debut for the Pelicans on Jan. 22 when New Orleans hosts the San Antonio Spurs, Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said Wednesday.