Celtics extend winning streak to six games, beat Raptors

By Canadian Press on February 25, 2025.

TORONTO (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 24 points, Derrick White had 22 and the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to six games by beating the Toronto Raptors 111-101 on Tuesday night.

Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 11 assists as the Celtics improved to 24-6 on the road.

RJ Barrett scored 22 points and Scottie Barnes had 21 but the Raptors lost for the seventh time in their past nine. Gradey Dick scored 12 points and Immanuel Quickley added 10.

White shot 6 for 11 from 3-point range, singlehandedly making more shots from distance than the entire Raptors team. Toronto finished 5 for 32 from 3-point range, its fewest made 3s of the season. The Raptors made six 3-pointers against Philadelphia on Oct. 25.

CAVALIERS 122, MAGIC 82

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Ty Jerome scored 20 points in 21 minutes, and Cleveland routed Orlando for their eighth consecutive win.

Max Strus, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter each scored 17 points. Strus made five 3-pointers, helping the Cavaliers go 19 for 32 from beyond the arc.

Cleveland shot 56.3% overall while improving to an NBA-best 48-10.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 26 points. Franz Wagner added 19 points for the Magic, who shot 5 for 28 on 3-pointers.

ROCKETS 100, BUCKS 97

HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green had 25 points and Alperen Sengun added 23 to lead Houston to a 1win over Milwaukee in a game where Amen Thompson was ejected for a hard foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The game was tied at 95-all when Sengun made 1 of 2 free throws to put Houston on top. He made two more free thors with 30 seconds left to make it 98-95.

Brook Lopez missed a 3-pointer, but a turnover by Sengun gave the Bucks the ball back and a dunk by Antetokounmpo cut the lead to one with 8.1 seconds to go.

Green added two free throws to make it 100-97 and Damian Lillard was fouled and missed the first free throw before a double lane violation on the second one triggered a jump ball.

The Bucks were down by 2 with about 4 1/2 minutes left when Thompson pulled Antetokounmpo down from behind by the head and neck as he went up for a shot in the lane. The play was reviewed and determined to be a flagrant foul 2 and Thompson was ejected.

Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bucks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

GRIZZLIES 151, SUNS 148, OT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 29 points and eight assists, his final one a feed to Jaylen Wells for a dunk with 9.1 seconds left in overtime, and Memphis closed the extra period with a 7-0 run to beat Phoenix.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Desmond Bane had 25 points and nine assists as Memphis moved into a tie for second place in the Western Conference with idle Denver.

Phoenix had five players score at least 20 points for the first time since Nov. 10, 1990. Devin Booker had 28 points and 10 assists, Kevin Durant scored 26, Bradley Beal had 24 points and a season-high 11 assists, Bol Bol had a season-high 23 points and Grayson Allen scored 21. The Suns have lost six of seven.

PELICANS 109, SPURS 103

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 24 points, Zion Williamson added 18 and New Orleans completed a two-game home game sweep of San Antonio.

The Pelicans overcame a 19-point hole in the first half despite shooting 7 of 31 from 3-point range for the game.

Yves Missi had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and newly acquired Kelly Olynyk had 12 rebounds, after pulling down 15 rebounds in a 114-96 victory over the Spurs on Sunday night.

Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 20 points, and De’Aaron Fox had 15 points and nine assists. Fox struggled, however, with 6-of-21 shooting and six turnovers, including an up-and-down call with the Spurs trailing 107-103 with 23.4 seconds left.

The Associated Press

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