Jaylen Brown scored 37 points and pulled down nine rebounds to help the Boston Celtics avoid a season-worst losing streak of four games by beating the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 in overtime on Saturday.
The Lakers led 105-102 late in the fourth quarter, but Brown scored inside and was fouled with 4.1 seconds to play. Brown made the free throw to tie the score at 105-105, and the game went to overtime after LeBron James missed a layup just before the buzzer, although replays showed that James was fouled by Jayson Tatum on the play.
Brown scored 11 points in overtime, including a jump shot that gave the Celtics a 119-114 lead with 50.8 seconds remaining. He also made two free throws that put the Celtics in front 121-116 with 33.1 seconds left. Anthony Davis made a 3-pointer that sliced Boston’s lead to 123-121 with 2.1 seconds to play, but Tatum capped the scoring with two free throws.
James had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who received 16 points and 10 rebounds from Davis. Tatum contributed 30 points and 11 rebounds for Boston. Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to score 26 points for the Celtics, who made 34 of 39 free throws.
76ers 126, Nuggets 119
Joel Embiid had 47 points and 18 rebounds, including a clutch 3-pointer with 29.2 seconds remaining, to lift host Philadelphia past Denver.
It was Embiid’s ninth game this season with at least 40 points. James Harden added 17 points and 13 assists with no turnovers for the Sixers, who won their seventh in a row. Georges Niang and Tobias Harris contributed 14 points apiece, while Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton had 13 each.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Jamal Murray had 22, Michael Porter Jr. contributed 20 and Aaron Gordon added 18.
Nets 122, Knicks 115
Kyrie Irving scored 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter as short-handed host Brooklyn defeated New York for the ninth straight time.
Irving helped Brooklyn improve to 3-6 since losing star Kevin Durant to a sprained right knee, and his big fourth quarter allowed the Nets to fend off the Knicks’ comeback bid. Irving made eight of 15 shots in the fourth and scored nine of Brooklyn’s last 11 points.
Playing without Ben Simmons (sore left knee) and T.J. Warren (left shin contusion), the Nets placed all five starters in double figures. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 24. They were coming off consecutive wins over Cleveland and Boston. Julius Randle was held to 19 points.
Clippers 120, Hawks 113
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined to score 55 points while leading Los Angeles to a win at Atlanta to extend its season-best winning streak to five games.
Leonard put up 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-10 success from 3-point range, and he added eight rebounds and four assists. George scored 23 with seven rebounds and six assists.
Atlanta was led by Trae Young with 31 points and 10 assists, John Collins with 16 points and Dejounte Murray with 15 points and eight assists. Clint Capela contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Rockets 117, Pistons 114
Eric Gordon scored 24 points to lead Houston to a win at Detroit.
Tari Eason had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Kenyon Martin Jr. had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets.
Alec Burks scored 21 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 in defeat for the Pistons, who gave up 16 offensive rebounds.
Bulls 128, Magic 109
DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine scored 32 points apiece and Nikola Vucevic added 26 points and 13 rebounds as Chicago put away Orlando.
Patrick Williams scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help Chicago snap a two-game losing skid. The Bulls led by as many as 25 in the third quarter before Orlando mounted a late charge.
Moritz Wagner led Orlando with a season-high 27 points, while Cole Anthony had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. Wendell Carter Jr. and Jalen Suggs scored 11 points apiece.
Wizards 113, Pelicans 103
Daniel Gafford scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as visiting Washington won its fifth straight game, defeating sliding New Orleans.
Bradley Beal added 16 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, Deni Avdija scored 15, Corey Kispert and Kendrick Nunn had 12 each and Kyle Kuzma and Monte Morris had 10 apiece as part of the Wizards’ balanced scoring.
CJ McCollum scored 24 points, Brandon Ingram scored 22 and Trey Murphy III added 10 to lead the Pelicans, who lost their seventh consecutive game. The season series finished at one victory each as the Wizards clamped down on defense just 19 days after the Pelicans produced a season-high point total in a 132-112 victory at Washington.
Timberwolves 117, Kings 110
Anthony Edwards scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, D’Angelo Russell added 25 points and Minnesota picked up its third straight win with a defeat of Sacramento in Minneapolis.
Minnesota, playing its second game in as many nights, jumped ahead early and led most of the way — but never by more than 12 points. However, the Timberwolves answered every Sacramento rally in the fourth quarter, with the punctuation mark coming on Edwards’ 3-pointer with 16.2 seconds remaining.
Jaden McDaniels scored 15 points, Rudy Gobert added 13 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and Naz Reid came off the bench to score 14 points for the Timberwolves. Domantas Sabonis posted a double-double for Sacramento, which opened a seven-game road swing. Sabonis finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Jazz 108, Mavericks 100
Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points and rookie Walker Kessler amassed his 10th double-double to help Utah overcome short-handed Dallas in Salt Lake City.
Kessler finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Malik Beasley added 19 points as the Jazz opened a five-game homestand. The Mavericks were without Luka Doncic, who sprained his ankle Thursday against Phoenix. Dallas dropped to 0-6 on the season without their Slovenian superstar.
Spencer Dinwiddie led all scorers with 35 points and six 3-pointers while dishing out eight assists to keep the game competitive for the Mavericks. The Jazz led 101-89 midway through the fourth after a pair of Markkanen free throws, but Dallas made things interesting with a 9-2 spurt to pull within five. Markkanen ended the Mavs’ surge with a key 3-pointer to up the Jazz’s edge to 106-98 with 2:14 remaining.
Suns 128, Spurs 118 (OT)
Chris Paul racked up 31 points and 11 assists and Mikal Bridges added 25 points, eight of them in overtime, as Phoenix outlasted host San Antonio for its fifth win in six games.
DeAndre Ayton and Paul hit shots to give the Suns a four-point lead early in overtime. Keldon Johnson answered with a floater before Bridges hit back-to-back jumpers to expand the advantage to 118-112. After Johnson hit another basket, Bridges had a three-point play to make it a three-possession game, and Phoenix was able to hold on.
DeAndre Ayton added 23 points for the Suns, Cameron Johnson had 15 and Dario Saric took 13 rebounds. Keldon Johnson poured in 34 points for San Antonio and Jeremy Sochan scored a career-high 30. The Spurs have dropped five straight games and 10 of their past 11.
Raptors 123, Trail Blazers 105
Precious Achiuwa scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting and collected 13 rebounds to lead Toronto past host Portland.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 19 points against his former team. Scottie Barnes contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Toronto improved to 2-1 on a season-high, seven-game road trip. Fred VanVleet added 11 points, nine assists and four steals.
Damian Lillard scored 30 points and Jerami Grant added 26 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Anfernee Simons put up 14 points for Portland.
-Field Level Media
