Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and had 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics won their fourth straight game, holding off the New Orleans Pelicans 125-114 in the NBA on Wednesday night.
Jayson Tatum added 31 points and 10 rebounds, Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 points, and Al Horford had 14, making four 3-pointers. The Celtics have won their last five home games.
CJ McCollum had 38 points for New Orleans, his fifth consecutive game with at least 25 points.
Naji Marshall added 18 points and Trey Murphy III had 15 for New Orleans, The Pelicans have lost three of four.
NUGGETS 126, SUNS 97
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the fourth quarter and Denver Nuggets won their 12th straight home game, routing weary and short-handed Phoenix Suns.
Bones Hyland added 21 points and Jamal Murray had 16 to help the Nuggets win for the 14th time in 17 games. They reached the season’s halfway point tied with Memphis for the Western Conference lead.
A night after winning at Golden State despite missing four starters and six rotation players, the Suns ran out of gas playing a back-to-back at altitude while dressing 10 players. Torrey Craig scored 16 points and Josh Okogie added 14 and nine rebounds for the Suns. They’ve lost 10 of 12.
GRIZZLIES 135, SPURS 129
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 38 points, Jaren Jackson added 21 points and 12 rebounds and Memphis Grizzlies beat San Antonio Spurs for their season-high eighth straight victory.
Morant, who missed the previous two games with right thigh soreness, was 14 of 25 from the field, including 3 for 5 from outside the arc. Desmond Bane finished with 18 points and Tyus Jones added 16.
Keldon Johnson, who missed the past two games with left hamstring tightness, led the Spurs with 24 points. Tre Jones had 22 points and six assists.
BUCKS 114, HAWKS 105
ATLANTA (AP) — Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, Brook Lopez had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Milwaukee Bucks held off Atlanta Hawks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added seven points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, and Bobby Portis II had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee have won four of five.
Atlanta played without Trae Young (illness) and Clint Capela (strained right calf). Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 22 points.
WIZARDS 10, BULLS 97
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Kuzma broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left and Washington Wizards beat Chicago Bulls.
Zach LaVine missed a 16-footer for Chicago with 2.3 seconds left, with Deni Avdija grabbing the last of his career-high 20 rebounds for Washington. Earlier, LaVine beat the shot clock to tie it at 97.
Kuzma finished with 21 points.
LaVine had 38 points for Chicago. Bulls scoring leader DeMar DeRozan missed his first game of the season because of quadriceps strain.
KNICKS 119, PACERS 113
NEW YORK (AP) — Jaylen Brunson scored 34 points to help New York Knicks beat Indiana Pacers.
RJ Barrett added 27 points in his return from a finger injury that sidelined him six games, and Julius Randle had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Buddy Hield led Indiana with 31 points.
KINGS 135, ROCKETS 115
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists and Sacramento Kings beat skidding Houston Rockets.
De’Aaron Fox added 24 points and nine assists for Sacramento.
Houston’s Alperen Sengun became the youngest center in NBA history with a triple-double, with the 20-year-old finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 26 points. They have lost eight in a row and 13 of 14.
PISTONS 135, TIMBERWOLVES 118
DETROIT (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 31 points and Detroit Pistons rallied to beat Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 27 points for the short-handed Pistons.
Anthony Edwards scored 20 points for Minnesota. D’Angelo Russell added 19 and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 14 rebounds.