Celtics beat Raptors 115-101 behind Tatum, Brown

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday.

Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight to move closer to clinching second place in the Eastern Conference.

Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each had 15.

Celtics center Nikola Vucevic returned after missing a month following surgery for a broken right ring finger. He looked a bit rusty, scoring just four points in 13 minutes with four rebounds.

Coming off consecutive games of putting up at least 43 points in the opening quarter, the Celtics looked a bit sluggish and were cold from long range early, missing 13 of their initial 16 shots from 3-point range. The teams were tied at 26 after one.

Fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference to avoid the play-in tournament, the Raptors were outscored 35-24 in the final quarter that was filled with their turnovers and breakdowns defensively. Walter even missed all three free throw attempts on one trip to the line.

BUCKS 131, GRIZZLIES 115

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Rollins scored 24 points and Milwaukee withstood a triple-double from Memphis’ Rayan Rupert to outlast the Grizzlies in an afternoon matchup of short-handed, lottery-bound teams.

Rupert established new career highs with 33 points and 10 assists, and he matched a career best with 10 rebounds. The 21-year-old Rupert entered Sunday averaging 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

Milwaukee snapped an eight-game skid in this series and beat the Grizzlies for the first time since a 126-114 decision on Jan. 19, 2022. The Bucks committed 20 turnovers but shot 60.2% overall and went 16 of 32 on 3-pointers.

The Grizzlies have lost four straight and 17 of their last 19.

Memphis had so many injury-related absences that it dressed four players on 10-day contracts (Dariq Whitehead, Toby Okani, Lucas Williamson, Adama Bal).

NETS 121, WIZARDS 115

NEW YORK (AP) — Nolan Traore hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points and seven assists, Jalen Wilson added 19 points and Brooklyn beat Washington.

The Wizards (17-61) have a two-game on the Nets (19-59) for the best lottery odds. Indiana is 18-58 entering Sunday’s game at Cleveland.

Washington has lost six in a row and 22 of its past 23. The Wizards had given up 305 combined points in back-to-back losses to Philadelphia ( 153-131 ) and Miami ( 152-136 ).

Brooklyn won for just the second time in its past 14 games.

Will Riley, who had a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Heat, scored 30, Jamir Watkins added 20 points, and Julian Reese had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Anthony Gill also scored 17 points and Bub Carrington had 13 points.

E.J. Liddell and Josh Minott each scored 15 for Brooklyn. Drake Powell added 13 points and Ochai Agbaji scored 12.

SUNS 120, BULLS 110

CHICAGO (AP) — Devin Booker scored 30 points, Jalen Green added 25 and Phoenix ended the game on an 11-2 run to top Chicago.

Dillon Brooks scored 15, and the Suns shook off back-to-back losses at Orlando and Charlotte.

The Suns led by 13 late in the third quarter before the Bulls went on an 11-0 run. They were clinging to a 109-108 advantage with about three minutes remaining when Brooks hit a turnaround jumper to start the decisive run and added a 3-pointer.

The Bulls missed four shots on their next possession, including three straight at point-blank range by Leonard Miller, before Booker made a 3 to make 117-108 with 1:33 remaining.

Chicago’s Josh Giddey (strained left hamstring) and Matas Buzelis (illness) missed the game. And with their two best players out, the Bulls lost their seventh in a row.

Tre Jones scored 29 for Chicago. Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Miller scored 17.

CAVALIERS 117, PACERS 108

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 23 of his 38 points in the second half, James Harden had 28 points and seven assists and Cleveland beat the injury-plagued Indiana.

Thomas Bryant added 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season for Cleveland, which didn’t take its initial lead until the third quarter. It went ahead for good early in the fourth at 99-96 on Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s 3-pointer, eventually going up by 15.

The playoff-bound Cavaliers (49-29) reduced their magic number for home-court advantage in the first round to one, despite resting their starting frontcourt of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Sam Merrill. Mitchell made 16 of 27 shots and had six rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes.

Fourth-place Cleveland is four games ahead of Atlanta in the Eastern Conference with four to play. It hosts the Hawks on Wednesday night, then plays at Atlanta on Friday night.

Obi Toppin scored a season-high 21 points with eight rebounds, and Micah Potter had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (18-60). Two-way forward Jalen Slawson scored a career-best 19 points.

THUNDER 146, JAZZ 111

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored 21 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 and Oklahoma City had a season-high point total to rout Utah.

Gilgeous-Alexander sat out the fourth quarter with the Thunder in firm control. He extended his record streak of games with at least 20 points to 138.

Cason Wallace scored 16 points and Jalen Williams added 15 for the Thunder, who increased their lead over the San Antonio Spurs to three games with four remaining in the race for the top seed in the playoffs. Oklahoma City has won five straight and 17 of 18.

The Thunder shot 58.1% from the field overall and made 24 of 45 3-pointers. This shooting spree came three nights after Oklahoma City blew out the Los Angeles Lakers 139-96.

Oklahoma City has dominated while holding off the Spurs in the standings. The Thunder’s last home loss was Feb. 12 against Milwaukee. Their last home loss with Gilgeous-Alexander in the lineup was Jan. 25 against Toronto.

Brice Sensabaugh scored 34 points and Kyle Filipowski added 20 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, which lost its ninth straight.

Cody Williams, Jalen Williams’ brother, started for the Jazz and finished with eight points and five rebounds.

MAVERICKS 134, LAKERS 128

DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 45 points and Dallas ended their longest home losing streak in 32 years at 14 games with a victory over the depleted Los Angeles.

LeBron James had 30 points and 15 assists for the playoff-bound Lakers, who led for just 13 seconds in the opening minutes of their first game since injuries sidelined Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the rest of the regular season.

Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, has a left hamstring strain, and Reaves, LA’s No. 2 scorer, is out with a left oblique strain. Both were injured in a blowout loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Flagg, who had nine assists and eight rebounds, recorded consecutive 40-point games for the first time two nights after the 19-year-old rookie No. 1 pick scored 51 to become the first NBA teenager with a 50-point outing. Flagg is the first rookie with back-to-back games scoring at least 40 points since Allen Iverson (1996-97 season).

Luke Kennard had his first career triple-double with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers, who dropped into a tie for third in the Western Conference with Denver, although LA holds the tiebreaker on the Nuggets. Houston has a chance to get into the third-place mix in the final week of the regular season.

P.J. Washington Jr. scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime for the Mavericks, whose home skid was their longest at 25-year-old American Airlines Center. They lost the first 19 games of the 1993-94 season at since-demolished Reunion Arena.

MAGIC 112, PELICANS 108

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 27 points and Orlando overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half in a victory over New Orleans.

The Magic extended their winning streak against the Pelicans to nine games, and Orlando won in New Orleans for the ninth straight time. The Magic’s last loss to the Pelicans was on Dec. 23, 2021, in Orlando, and they last lost in New Orleans on Jan. 18, 2017.

Trailing 94-84 early in the fourth quarter, Orlando used a 14-2 run to take its first lead since the second quarter. Bane’s 3-pointer put the Magic up 101-99, and they held off the Pelicans down the stretch, clinching the win on Bane’s free throw with 9.5 seconds left.

Paolo Banchero added 23 points for Orlando, which won despite shooting 7 for 33 (21%) from distance.

Saddiq Bey scored 32 points for the Pelicans, who lost their seventh straight after hitting one field goal in the final 4:50. Yves Missi had a season-high 18 points with 13 rebounds. Zion Williamson scored 17 points, but only one in the fourth quarter.

HORNETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 108

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LaMelo Ball scored 35 points and Miles Bridges added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the surging Charlotte in a victory over the Minnesota.

Coby White had 17 points for the Hornets (43-36), who shot 48.9% from the floor (45 for 92) on the way to their fourth straight win. They’re a half-game out of sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Ball was 7 for 14 from deep, his league -leading eighth game this season with at least seven 3-pointers. This was also Ball’s 20th game with five-plus 3s.

Charlotte, which is 9-2 since mid-March and 39-22 since Thanksgiving Day, has not made the playoffs in 10 years. At this rate, the Hornets might even be able to skip the play-in games and secure a first round spot.

The Timberwolves (46-32) have yet to do so, having lost four of five games since ace defender and third-leading scorer Jaden McDaniels was sidelined by a left knee injury. They also played without star Anthony Edwards for the eighth time in their last 10 games due to lingering pain in his right knee.

Coach Chris Finch said before the game he doesn’t believe “there’s any great concern for anything longer-term,” but Edwards’ status remains uncertain.

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 26 points, and Bones Hyland provided their biggest boost off the bench with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.

CLIPPERS 138, KINGS 109

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and Los Angeles snapped a two-game skid by beating the Kings to improve their playoff positioning.

Leonard scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Clippers raced out to a double-digit lead and coasted against a Kings team playing out the string of a lost season.

John Collins added 25 points, and Darius Garland and Kobe Sanders each had 17 for Los Angeles.

The Clippers moved into a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference with Portland with four games to play. The eighth-place team will have two shots to get into the playoffs through the play-in tournament.

Devin Carter scored 21 points and Nique Clifford had 18 to lead Sacramento. Maxime Raynaud had 11 points and 16 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season, the most among all rookies.

The Kings, who had won their previous two games, remained in a tie with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the NBA at 21-58 with three games left. Sacramento is tied for the third-most losses in franchise history, having lost 59 games in 1989-90 and 65 in 2008-09.

ROCKETS 117, WARRIORS 116

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alperen Sengun made the go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left on a pass from Kevin Durant and Houston held off Stephen Curry in his return after being sidelined more than two months for a victory.

Curry missed a long, straightaway 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Gary Payton II scored the go-ahead basket on a goaltend by Amen Thompson with 20 seconds left, but Durant took charge on the other end. He finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against his former team, making a crucial 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining.

But he missed with 38 seconds left, and Draymond Green found a cutting Payton in the key.

Curry dazzled down the stretch to score 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting in 26 minutes after missing 27 straight games because of a right knee injury — his first action since Jan. 30 against Detroit.

Curry’s driving layup made it a one-point game with 1:27 left then Sengun converted a three-point play moments later only for Curry to hit a 3 on the other end.

Curry entered to a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen — he also expressed his gratitude on video — when he entered with 4:54 left in the opening quarter. It marked the first time he has come off the bench in a regular-season game since March 7, 2012, against Memphis. He last was a reserve in Game 4 of the first round of the 2022 playoffs during the Warriors’ last championship run.