Edwards caps 39-point performance with unlikely 3 as Timberwolves hold off Celtics

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 39 points, including an unlikely 3-pointer that sealed the game, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Boston Celtics 119-115 on Saturday.

Julius Randle had 16 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 15 for the Timberwolves, who put six players in double figures and beat a team with a .500 or better record for the first time in eight tries this season.

Jaylen Brown tied a season high with 41 points for Boston, which lost for just the second time in seven games. Neemias Queta tied a career best with 19 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds. Derrick White scored 16.

HORNETS 118, RAPTORS 111

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 10 of his 35 points in overtime and Charlotte overcame a 17-point first half deficit to beat Toronto, ending the Raptors’ nine-game winning streak.

Rookie Kon Knueppel had 20 points, including a leaning 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game with 10 seconds left in regulation and a key pass to set up a Bridges dunk in OT to ice the victory for Charlotte, which won on consecutive nights for its first winning streak of the season.

Collin Sexton came off the bench to score 18 points and handled most of the point guard duties after LaMelo Ball went to the bench early in the fourth quarter for what coach Charles Lee said was a “minutes restriction” while playing on back-to-back nights.

Scottie Barnes had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Raptors, whose last loss came on Nov. 8 against Philadelphia. Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley each scored 22 points for Toronto.

PACERS 103, BULLS 101

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam sank a 14-foot jumper with a second left to give the Indiana a victory over Chicago.

Siakam led the Pacers with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Bennedict Mathurin scored 19. Isaiah Jackson had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Josh Giddey finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Tre Jones also scored 17, and Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and eight boards.

PISTONS 138, HEAT 135

MIAMI (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 29 points, Duncan Robinson had 18 in his return to Miami and the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit held off Miami to snap a two-game skid.

Miami was down by 22 with 8:09 left, then got within 133-131 when Bam Adebayo scored on a putback with 34 seconds remaining. But Cunningham scored on the next Detroit possession and the Pistons escaped.

Tobias Harris was 10 for 12 from the field and scored 26 for the Pistons, who are 16-4 — their best 20-game start since opening 17-3 in 2005-06. Detroit shot 59% and had 76 points in the paint.

Andrew Wiggins scored 31 for Miami, which got 28 from Norman Powell and 24 from Tyler Herro. Adebayo had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

BUCKS 116, NETS 99

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and topped the 21,000-point mark for his career on Saturday night as Milwaukee snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over short-handed Brooklyn.

Antetokounmpo, in his second game back after missing four due to a groin strain, became the 42nd player, and sixth-youngest, in NBA history to reach 21,000 career points when he hit a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter.

Antetokounmpo shot 12 for 15 in 19 minutes and had eight rebounds.

Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. scored 13 points in his first game back since spraining an ankle in the season opener. Porter then injured his right meniscus working his way back and underwent surgery in early November. A.J. Green added 15 points and Bobby Portis Jr. 13 for Milwaukee.

Rookie Danny Wolf, playing in his fifth game, had a career-high 22 points for the Nets. Wolf shot 8 for 16, including 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. Jalen Wilson added 13 points.

WARRIORS 104, PELICANS 96

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler had 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Golden State beat New Orleans Pelicans playing without Stephen Curry after he bruised his left quadriceps muscle Wednesday night in a home loss to Houston.

Zion Williamson scored 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds and Saddiq Bey added 21 points to lead New Orleans. Jeremiah Fears had 16 points and six rebounds before being ejected with 44.6 seconds left with his second technical foul.

Jonathan Kuminga hit back-to-back 3s midway through the fourth and finished with 10 points after returning from a seven-game absence with tendinitis in both knees. He received a warm ovation when checking into the game for the first time at the 7:40 mark of the opening quarter and scored moments later.

Brandin Podziemski had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds while Gary Payton II scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half and contributed 11 rebounds in just the second win by Golden State over its last six, a stretch that included a 124-106 defeat at New Orleans on Nov. 16.

NUGGETS 130, SUNS 112

PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 26 points, Jamal Murray added 24 and Denver pulled away late to beat Phoenix.

The hot-shooting Nuggets made 22 of 38 3-pointers (57.9%) — hitting 10 in the first half and 12 in the second for a steady stream of offense. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and was 7 of 11 from behind the arc.

Jokic — who barely played in the fourth quarter — was 7 of 7 from the field and added 10 assists and nine rebounds to finish just shy of his 11th triple-double this season.

Denver pushed its lead to 96-85 entering the fourth quarter after hitting eight 3-pointers in the third. The Suns cut the deficit to nine early in the fourth but the Nuggets responded with the next 12 points to build a comfortable 110-89 advantage.

The Nuggets bounced back from Friday night’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns have lost three of four.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Devin Booker scored 24, making 14 of 15 free throws.

MAVERICKS 114, CLIPPERS 110

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cooper Flagg had a season-high 35 points and Klay Thompson scored 17 of his 23 in the fourth quarter to rally Dallas to a victory over the Los Angeles.

Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the final period, his final one putting Dallas ahead for good with 1:51 left. He shot 6 of 10 from long distance overall as the Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak.

Playing his 20th career game, Flagg went 13 for 22 from the field. The top pick in this year’s NBA draft also grabbed eight rebounds. Naji Marshall added 18 points and eight boards for Dallas, and Brandon Williams had 14 points and seven assists.

The Mavericks (6-15) scored 20 points off 18 Clippers turnovers.

Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 30 points and eight rebounds. James Harden added 29 points, 11 assists and eight boards for the Clippers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game. John Collins scored 21 and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 11 boards.