Celts top Warriors; Pitt crushes Titans
Kyrie Irving had 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws that put Boston ahead in the closing seconds, and the Celtics beat the visiting Golden State Warriors 92-88 on Thursday night for their 14th straight victory.
Jaylen Brown had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Al Horford added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 24 points for Golden State. The defending champion Warriors had won seven in a row.
Playing his second game since suffering a facial fracture, Irving shed his protective mask in the second quarter. Then, with the game tied at 88, he was fouled on his layup attempt and calmly made a pair of free throws. Durant then came up empty on his jumper on the other end.
Golden State led by as many as 17, but had to lean heavily on its reserves as its trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Durant struggled offensively.
Curry, who returned to action after missing a game with a bruised right thigh, was the most ineffective. He was 3 of 14 from the field — 2 of 9 from the 3-point line — and had nine points.
4 TDS FOR BEN
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns, three to Antonio Brown, and the host Pittsburgh Steelers pulled away from the Tennessee Titans in a 40-17 victory.
Running the no-huddle offense extensively for the first time all season, Roethlisberger completed 30 of 45 passes to help the Steelers (8-2) win their fifth straight. Brown caught 10 passes for 144 yards and the three scores, including an acrobatic grab in the back of the end zone in which he pinned the ball to his helmet before bringing it in to put Pittsburgh up 20 in the fourth quarter.
Marcus Mariota ran for a touchdown and threw for another but also was picked off four times as the Titans (6-4) saw their fourgame winning streak come to a crashing halt.
JOHNNIES WIN
Shamorie Ponds scored 22 points, Justin Simon had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and St. John’s pulled away early from Nebraska for a 79-56 victory on Thursday night.
Bashir Ahmed scored 15 points and Marcus LoVett added 13 with three assists for St. John’s (3-0), which outrebounded Nebraska 50-39 and outscored them 44-16 in the paint. Ponds had seven rebounds and five assists, and scored 20-plus for the second straight game. Simon added four steals in recording his second straight double-double.
Marvin Clark II put the Red Storm up for good at 6-5 and it was 37-24 at halftime behind Ponds’ 14 points. Nebraska closed to 4032 on Glynn Watson Jr.’s 3 pointer early in the second half, but St. John’s steadily pulled away to a 13-point lead on 3-pointers by LoVett, Ahmed and Clark.
James Palmer Jr. scored 13 points and Isaac Copeland grabbed seven rebounds for the Cornhuskers (2-1).
VENUS HOME ROBBED
Burglars hit tennis star Venus Williams’ Florida home, stealing $400,000 worth of goods while she was at the U.S. Open.
Palm Beach Gardens police released a report Thursday about the burglary, which happened between Sept. 1 and 5. Police redacted details of what was stolen.