BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 37 points and 13 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 31 points to help the NBA-best Boston Celtics bounce back from a rare loss and beat the Dallas Mavericks 125-112 on Wednesday night.
The Celtics, who have an NBA-leading 14 wins, had won nine straight before losing to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Luka Doncic scored 42 points for the Mavericks, who had beaten Boston four straight times. Three of the wins came on a 3-pointer in the final seconds, and two of those were with no time at all on the clock.
But Doncic wasn’t able to keep this one close.
The Celtics led by as many as 27 points in the third quarter before Dallas scored 13 of the next 15 points. The Mavericks got within nine points, 104-95 with about 3:30 remaining, and it was 117-107 when it became a game of one-on-one.
NETS 112, RAPTORS 98
TORONTO (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 29 points in the third quarter, Nic Claxton had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Brooklyn beat short-handed Toronto.
Toronto held Kevin Durant to 12 points but still lost to the Nets for the fifth time in seven meetings after winning 21 of the previous 25. Durant scored his 26,074th career point in the third quarter, passing Kevin Garnett (26,071) for 18th place on the NBA’s list.
Royce O’Neale made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 15 points, and Ben Simmons had 14 for the Nets, who bounced back after losing at Philadelphia on Tuesday. Brooklyn has won three of four.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points for Toronto.
Toronto had 10 healthy players, with regulars Scottie Barnes (left knee) and Fred VanVleet (non-COVID illness) joining All-Star Pascal Siakam (strained right adductor) on the sidelines.
BULLS 118, BUCKS 113
MILWAUKEE (AP) — DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and eight assists and Chicago beat Milwaukee.
Chicago began the week with a 6-10 record but has now beaten the top two teams in the standings. The Bulls ended Boston’s nine-game winning streak Monday night.
Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points apiece for Chicago, and Coby White had 14.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, who lost for just the second time in 11 home games this season.
HORNETS 107, 76ERS 101
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Terry Rozier scored nine of his 22 points in the final five minutes and Charlotte rallied to beat Philadelphia in a matchup of injury-riddled teams.
Charlotte, which trailed by 13 points in the first half, won for only the second time in 13…
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