Celtics top Bulls for 9th consecutive win
Sam Hauser made seven of his eight 3-point attempts and scored 23 points to help the visiting Boston Celtics stretch their winning streak to nine games with a 124-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Jayson Tatum added 26 points and six assists for the Celtics, who have used eight different starting lineups during their nine-game winning streak. Al Horford finished the game with 23 points and eight rebounds for Boston (57-14), which has won six in a row on the road.
Chicago trailed by six, 113-107, with 4:35 to play, but Boston extended its lead to 10 points on a Tatum basket with 3:04 left. The Bulls never got within striking distance after that.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the loss. Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic each added 14 points for Chicago (34-37).
Coby White had 11 points and 10 assists.
The Bulls shot 57.3 percent from the field (47 of 82).
Knicks 105, Nets 93
Donte DiVincenzo scored a gamehigh 31 points to help New York over visiting Brooklyn.
Miles McBride added 26 points for the Knicks (42-28), while Isaiah Hartenstein collected 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Jalen Brunson also scored 17 points and added eight assists for New York, which has won five of its last six games. Josh Hart grabbed 13 rebounds.
Cam Thomas led the Nets (26-45) with 19 points, followed by Mikal Bridges with 18 and Cameron Johnson with 13. The Nets’ losing streak reached six games.
Brooklyn led by one point at halftime, but Hartenstein’s layup gave the Knicks a 58-57 lead on the first possession of the third quarter.
Kings 109, Magic 107
De’Aaron Fox scored 12 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Keegan Murray added 22, and visiting Sacramento beat Orlando.
Domantas Sabonis recorded his 53rd consecutive double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Keon Ellis finished with a career-high 19 points. Ellis’ 3-pointer put the Kings (41-29) ahead 106-101 with 1:59 remaining.
Orlando (42-29) answered with six straight points to move ahead 107-106 with 26 seconds left before Fox made two free throws to put the Kings back on top with 21.2 seconds to play.
After the Magic missed three straight field goals, Ellis grabbed a rebound with two seconds left and made one of two free throws. Banchero’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed the mark and ended a game that included 13 ties and 19 lead changes.
Jonathan Isaac matched a careerhigh with 25 points off the bench for Orlando, which had its five-game winning streak come to an end. Banchero scored 22 points, Franz Wagner added 18, Cole Anthony had 16, and Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 11 rebounds.
Wizards 112, Raptors 109
Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija and Richaun Holmes all recorded double-doubles, and Washington used a late 8-0 run to send visiting Toronto to a 10th consecutive loss.
A back-and-forth affair with 15 ties and 26 lead changes, Toronto pulled ahead on a Gary Trent Jr. 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining. Bruce Brown followed it up with a lay-in on the next possession, putting the Raptors up by three points.
But a bucket from Poole then a block of Trent by Holmes led to a Kyle Kuzma dunk. The swing was part of Washington’s decisive push, giving it a lead it held the rest of the way.
The initial 8-0 burst was part of an overall 11-2 run, capped when Poole dished his 12th assist to Corey Kispert for a 3-pointer. Kispert finished with 18 points, making him one of six Wizards to score in double figures.
Poole had 18 points, Holmes finished with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Marvin Bagley III came off the bench for 10 points and eight rebounds.
Suns 131, Spurs 106
Devin Booker poured in 32 points and Kevin Durant added 25 in just three quarters played as visiting Phoenix dismantled San Antonio.
It was the first of a two-game set between the teams over three nights in Texas as well as the first of a five-game road trip for the Suns.
Phoenix shot 61.6 percent from the floor through the first three quarters, eclipsing the 100-point mark in the final seconds of the third period, sending Booker and Durant to the bench for the final 12 minutes.
The Suns have won three straight games.
The Suns (42-29) are in a virtual deadlock with Dallas for sixth place in the Western Conference with 11 games to play but would lose the tiebreaker to the Mavericks if the teams are tied. Phoenix has the toughest remaining schedule in the West, facing 10 consecutive playoffbound teams after Monday’s game against the hapless Spurs.
Rockets 147, Jazz 119
Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet combined for 75 points as host Houston turned a sharpshooting exhibition into a runaway victory over Utah.
Green poured in 41 points – one shy of his career high matched Tuesday against Washington – while VanVleet tallied a season-high 34 to pace the Rockets (35-35) to their eighth consecutive victory and 10th win in 11 games. Green and VanVleet combined to finish 26 of 38 from the floor and 17 of 26 from behind the arc as Houston drilled a season-high 27 3-pointers.
VanVleet nailed 10 treys, matching a single-game franchise record.
Jeff Green added a season-high 21 points off the bench for the Rockets while making 4 of 8 threes. Houston led by as many as 35 points prior to the fourth quarter courtesy of 59.5 percent shooting from the floor through the first 36 minutes of action.
Hawks 132, Hornets 91
Dejounte Murray had 28 points and 12 assists and Bruno Fernando came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points to lead Atlanta over visiting Charlotte.
Nuggets 114, Trail Blazers 111
Reggie Jackson scored 23 points and Aaron Gordon registered 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots to help short-handed Denver post a victory over host Portland.