Celtics start fast, beat Bulls by 56

The Boston Celtics turned in a record-setting performance as they continued their climb in the Eastern Conference.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points off the bench, Daniel Theis added 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the visiting Celtics used a 17-0 start to rout the Chicago Bulls 133-77 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.

The 56-point margin of victory was the largest in franchise history, surpassing a 51-point win (153-102) over the Philadelphia Warriors in 1962. The winning differential also tied the mark by an NBA road team, set by Seattle in a 136-80 win at Houston on Dec. 6, 1986.

The loss was the worst in Bulls’ history.

The Celtics sped past the Bulls from the opening tip and never let up.

“I thought our guys were really locked in,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “They played hard all the way through.”

And ran up some impressive numbers.

“The offense has gotten better over the last couple of weeks,” Stevens said. “We just have to keep building on it.”

Shaquille Harrison came off the bench to score 20 points for Chicago, which has lost eight of nine. Lakers 111, Grizzlies 88: LeBron James had 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Kyle Kuzma added 20 points and nine rebounds, and visiting Los Angeles routed Memphis.

Trail Blazers 113, Timberwolves 105: Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each hit three-pointers in the final minute to lead host Portland. Lillard finished with 28 points and eight assists and McCollum added 19 points.

Heat 121, Clippers 98: Dwyane Wade scored 25 points in his 1,000th career game, leading visiting Miami.

Mavericks 107, Rockets 104: Luka Doncic shrugged off a rough shooting night with 11 straight points to erase an eight-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and host Dallas went on to its ninth consecutive home victory.

Pacers 107, Kings 97: Thaddeus Young had 20 points and nine rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points to help host Indiana beat Sacramento.

Hawks 106, Nuggets 98: John Collins scored 30 points and reserves Vince Carter and DeAndre’ Bembry fueled a third-quarter rally that helped propel host Atlanta.

Cavaliers 116, Wizards 101: Rookie Collin Sexton scored 29 points, Tristan Thompson had 23 points and 19 rebounds and host Cleveland dominated.

Nets 112, Knicks 104: Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 20 to lead visiting Brooklyn.

Briefly: Denver forward Paul Millsap fractured his right big toe Friday during a loss to Charlotte, the Nuggets announced, and could be out sidelined indefinitely. ESPN also reported that Nuggets guard Gary Harris, who suffered a hip injury Monday, is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks.