Center Brook Lopez scored nine of his season-high 30 points during a decisive fourth quarter, while Joe Johnson added 20 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 100-97 road win over the Boston Celtics.
Thaddeus Young scored 16 with 10 rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic had 13 points for the Nets (10-23), who won for the second time in the past five games and third time in 11.
Isaiah Thomas had 24 points and Jae Crowder scored 16 for Boston. The Celtics (18-15) dropped their second straight after a season-high four-game winning streak.
Photo: AP
Nets guard Jarrett Jack left the game after crumbling to the court and grabbing his right knee late in the third quarter. The team said it was a sprain.
Boston tied it with a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter, but Lopez had a three-point play and a pair of baskets, putting the Nets ahead 92-85 with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left.
KINGS 142, SUNS 119
Center DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 points and the Sacramento Kings blitzed the Phoenix Suns in the second half for a 142-119 victory.
Guard Darren Collison added 21 points, and the Kings (13-20) posted their highest scoring game of the season.
It was the eighth straight loss for the Suns (12-24), their longest losing streak since the 2010-2011 season.
CAVALIERS 104, MAGIC 79
LeBron James scored 29 points and Kevin Love had 10 points and 13 rebounds in Cleveland’s victory over Orlando, their 13th consecutive win in the series.
Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs, who have won their last three games.
The Magic have dropped consecutive games by double figures for the first time this season.
THUNDER 109, HORNETS 90
Kevin Durant had his ninth double-double of the season with 29 points and 11 rebounds as Oklahoma beat Charlotte in a matchup of teams headed in opposite directions.
The Thunder won their fourth straight, their seventh in the last eight games, and their 13th in the last 15. The Hornets suffered their third straight loss and have now lost six of their last eight.
PACERS 94, PISTONS 82
Paul George poured in a game-high 32 points and scored his team’s last 21 points as Indiana pulled away for the win.
The power forward, who struggled with his shot for three-and-a-half quarters and committed seven turnovers, also grabbed 14 rebounds. George Hill supplied 18 points and backcourt partner Monta Ellis added 14 for the Pacers.
George and Pistons small forward Marcus Morris got into a shoving match as the game ended and had to be separated.
BUCKS 95, TIMBERWOLVES 85
Milwaukee overcame a 17-point first-quarter deficit to beat Minnesota.
Milwaukee started the game 0-of-11 from the field and did not score their first field goal until a lay-in by John Henson with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
It was the longest field goal drought by an NBA team since New Orleans went without a basket until 2:42 remained in the first quarter against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 20, 2006.
SPURS 121, ROCKETS 103
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Danny Green broke out of a shooting slump with six three-pointers as San Antonio rolled past Houston to stay unbeaten at home.
The Spurs avenged one of their rare losses with a dominating win over their Texas rival, turning a close game in the third quarter into a rout with a 26-5 run.
Kawhi Leonard added 23 points and played lockdown defense on Houston guard James Harden, holding one of the NBA’s top scorers to one point in the second half.
PELICANS 105, MAVERICKS 98
Anthony Davis poured in a game-high 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the struggling New Orleans Pelicans to a road victory, knocking off the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 at the American Airlines Center.
Most impressive for the Pelicans, who were just 3-15 on the road entering this game, was their poise at each end of the floor down the stretch after Dallas quickly rallied from a 12-point deficit to tie the game at 85-85 in the fourth quarter.
JAZZ 92, GRIZZLIES 87, OT
Rodney Hood scored a career-high 32 points — including a pair of go-ahead free throws with 29.1 seconds left — to lead Utah to an overtime victory.
Gordon Hayward added 14 points and Jeff Withey earned his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Utah. The Jazz won their third straight game despite giving up 23 points on 17 turnovers.
Clippers 130, 76ers 99
Center DeAndre Jordan had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers crushed the Philadelphia 76ers 130-99 at the Staples Center.
Austin Rivers came off the bench to score a season-high 26 points, J.J. Redick added 16 points and Chris Paul contributed 15 points and 14 assists for the Clippers (22-13), who coasted to their season-high sixth consecutive victory.
WARRIORS 111, NUGGETS 108, OT
Klay Thompson split the defense with a driving hoop with 15.6 seconds remaining in overtime to break a tie and propel Golden State over Denver.
Draymond Green recorded a 29-point, 17-rebound, 14-assist triple-double for the Warriors, who improved to 16-0 at home this season while recording their third win over Denver this season.
The win was Golden State’s 34th in a row at home bridging this and last season, matching the fifth-best streak of all-time.
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GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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