Tatum excels late, lifts Celtics to OT win over Timberwolves
Jayson Tatum scored 45 points — 14 of them in the fourth quarter and another 12 in overtime — as host Boston beat Minnesota 127-120 in a matchup of the two conference leaders Wednesday to stay unbeaten at home.
Jaylen Brown had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics (29-8), who are 18-0 at home for the first time. Anthony Edwards had 29 points and Karl-anthony Towns 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves (26-11).
Jrue Holiday scored 12 points, including a 3-pointer to cap a 14-3 run that put Boston up 111-109 with 26 seconds left in regulation.
With Minnesota co-owner — and Boston nemesis — Alex Rodriguez sitting courtside, Edwards hit two free throws to tie it. Tatum missed an off-balance shot at the fourth-quarter buzzer.
Towns scored on the first second-half possession to give the Timberwolves their first lead. Minnesota led 106-97 with 3:35 left in the fourth before the Celtics scored 14 of the last 19 points in regulation.
■ Hawks 139, 76ers 132, OT: At Atlanta, Jalen Johnson hit two tying free throws in overtime and a go-ahead 3-pointer with 39 seconds left for Atlanta, which handed Philadelphia its third straight loss. Johnson totaled 25 points and 16 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey had 35 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four steals for the Sixers.
■ Kings 123, Hornets 98: At Charlotte, N.C., Keegan Murray scored 25 points and Domantas Sabonis 24 for Sacramento, which hit seven 3-pointers without a miss in a 30-10 secondquarter burst and didn’t trail again in its fourth win in five games. Charlotte lost its third straight and 14th in 15 games.
■ Pacers 112, Wizards 104: At Indianapolis, Myles Turner had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which was without NBA assists leader Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain) but won for the eighth time in nine games. Jordan Poole scored 28 points for Washington in its sixth straight loss.
■ Pelicans 141, Warriors 105: At San Francisco, Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans, which led 58-33 midway through the second quarter in its sixth win in seven games. Golden State yielded a season-high 46 first-quarter points in its third loss in four games.
■ Spurs 130, Pistons 108: At Detroit, Victor Wembanyama had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 21 minutes for his first triple-double with San Antonio (6-30), which halted a five-game skid with its second win in 12 games. Detroit (335) lost its sixth in a row and 34th in 35 games.
■ Jazz 124, Nuggets 111: At Salt Lake City, Jordan Clarkson had 27 points to lead Utah’s three 20-point scorers and added nine assists as the Jazz shot 55.4 percent to win for the sixth time in seven games. Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, which had won three of four.
■ Clippers 126, Raptors 120: At Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each scored 29 points for Los Angeles, which shot 52.7 percent while hitting 15 of 34 3-point tries in its sixth win in seven games. Immanuel Quickley had 25 points to lead three 20-point scorers for Toronto.
■ Thunder 128, Heat 120: At Miami, Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 28 points and Chet Holmgren 23 for Oklahoma City, which rode 13-0 and 17-0 runs in the second half to its seventh win in nine games. The Thunder shot 69.2 percent in the first half but trailed 69-65 at intermission.
■ Bulls 124, Rockets 119, OT: At Chicago, Coby White had 30 points and Zach Lavine 25 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which rallied after blowing a 16-point fourth-quarter lead in its third straight win. Alperen Sengun scored all of his 25 points after halftime for Houston.
G League
■ Wolves 117, Ignite 103: At Dollar Loan Center, Tyrese Martin had 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Iowa (7-14), which halted a five-game slide and handed the Ignite (4-20) their 11th loss in a row. Ron Holland scored 30 points for the Ignite.
From staff and wire reports