BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 14 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the San Antonio Spurs 116-103 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory and seventh in eight games.
Kristaps Porzingis added 29 points for Boston and Derrick White had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
The Spurs cut a 19-point halftime deficit to 93-85 early in the fourth quarter. Boston outscored San Antonio 23-18 the rest of the way.
De’Aaron Fox had 23 points in his fifth game with the Spurs since being traded by Sacramento. Victor Wembanyama added 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
MAGIC 102, HORNETS 86
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 24 points and eight rebounds and Orlando shook off a cold-shooting first half to beat Charlotte.
Franz Wagner added 16 points and seven rebounds and Anthony Black came off the bench to score 18 points.
Miles Bridges led the injury-plagued Hornets with 19 points and eight rebounds. Josh Green and Damion Baugh added 16 points each for Charlotte, which shot 39.5% for the game and lost its third game in a row.
The Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Hornets’ Nick Smith Jr. were ejected in the final seconds of the first half after an on-court verbal confrontation.
PACERS 134, WIZARDS 130, OT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Obi Toppin had season highs of 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Indiana rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat NBA-worst Washington in overtime.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 28 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 20 for the Pacers, who enter the All-Star break at 30-23 and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan Poole scored 42 points for the Wizards and missed a step-back 3-point attempt at the regulation buzzer. Corey Kispert added 21 points for Washington, which has lost 11 straight at home and four in a row overall.
NETS 100, 76ERS 92
NEW YORK (AP) — D’Angelo Russell had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Brooklyn beat Philadelphia in the teams’ last game before the All-Star break.
Nic Claxton had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, and Cam Johnson added 16 points and six rebounds. Trendon Watford scored 18 points off the bench for Brooklyn, which won its third straight.
Quentin Grimes had 30 points and eight rebounds, and Kelly Oubre Jr. also scored 30 for Philadelphia, which lost its fifth straight and seventh in its last eight. The 76ers were playing without stars Joel Embiid (left knee) and Tyrese Maxey (right ankle sprain).
CAVALIERS 131, RAPTORS 108
TORONTO (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and East-leading Cleveland beat Toronto for their fourth straight victory and eighth in the last nine games.
Tempers flared at the final buzzer after Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson dunked with four seconds left. Toronto’s Scottie Barnes confronted Thompson near center court for an exchange of words.
De’Andre Hunter scored 18 points, Sam Merrill had 16 and Darius Garland 15 for the Cavaliers in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break. Jarrett Allen added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Evan Mobley had 12 points and 15 rebounds
BUCKS 103, TIMBERWOLVES 101
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Kuzma had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Milwaukee won without All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, beating Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards’ jumper in the final seconds was off for Minnesota and Kuzma — playing his fourth game for Milwaukee after being acquired from Washington — came down with the rebound.
Gary Trent Jr., who went to high school in a Twin Cities suburb, had 21 points off the bench for the Bucks in their final game before the All-Star break. They had lost six of eight.
Edwards scored 28 points for Minnesota, but shot 10 of 33 from the field and 4 of 16 from 3-point territory. At one point, Edwards missed 15 straight shots. Rudy Gobert added 20 points and 14 rebounds, Naz Reid had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
THUNDER 115, HEAT 101
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and nine assists, and Oklahoma City rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat Miami.
Jalen Williams scored 18 points and Lu Dort added 17 for the Thunder, who won their seventh straight and improved to a league-best 44-9.
Oklahoma City never led until a 24-0 run to start the fourth quarter that put the team ahead for good. The Thunder outscored the Heat 32-8 in the final period led by Gilgeous-Alexander who scored 14 points in the fourth.
Bam Adebayo had 27 points and 15 rebounds and Tyler Herro added 14 points for the Heat. Andrew Wiggins added 13 points in his second game with the Heat since being traded from the Golden State Warriors.
The Associated Press
