Irving scores 47, Celtics beat Mavs for 16th straight win
DALLAS (AP) Kyrie Irving scored 10 of his season-high 47 points in overtime as the Boston Celtics rallied once again from a double-digit deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-102 on Monday night and extend their winning streak to 16 games.
The Mavericks led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but as they have several times during their winning streak, the Celtics stormed back.
The winning streak ties the fourth-longest in Celtics history.
Boston tied the game at 96 when Irving stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki and fed Jayson Tatum for an alley-oop layup that hung on the rim for a full second before dropping through.
Irving scored his team's first six points of overtime. Then after Jaylen Brown gave Boston a 104-102 lead with a jumper with 1:39 to play, Irving went to work on Yogi Ferrell, backing him down and drawing contact on a lay-up with 48.5 seconds to play. Though Irving missed the free throw to keep the score 106-102, Dallas never got closer.
CAVALIERS 116, PISTONS 88
DETROIT (AP) - LeBron James scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter, and Cleveland made 11 3-pointers in the first half in its rout of Detroit.
Cleveland led 73-46 at halftime thanks to an overwhelming shooting performance, an indication that Detroit's stay atop the Central Division might not last much longer. The Pistons still lead the Cavs by a game, but Cleveland has won five straight and scored at least 110 points in eight of its last nine.
The Cavaliers led 27-22 when James went to the bench late in the first quarter. By the time he came back in, it was 50-30. Cleveland's reserves ended up outscoring Detroit's 26-8 in the first half.
The Cavs shot 62 percent from the field in the first two quarters and 11 of 17 from 3-point range. They finished the game 16 of 33 from beyond the arc. Cleveland led 101-62 after three, and the top players for both teams had plenty of time to rest in the final period.
PELICANS 114, THUNDER 107
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Anthony Davis had 36 points and 15 rebounds, and New Orleans rallied after DeMarcus Cousins' ejection to beat Oklahoma City.
Cousins had 18 points and nine rebounds before he was called for a flagrant foul on Russell Westbrook with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Cousins raised his elbows near Westbrook's face after grabbing a rebound, and the Thunder guard dropped to the floor holding his head. Westbrook remained in the game and finished with 22 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals. However, Westbrook also missed 13 of 19 shots.
New Orleans trailed 76-72 when Cousins was ejected but surged ahead soon after with an 11-3 run during which Jameer Nelson, E'Twaun Moore and Darius Miller each hit 3s, with Nelson's banking in from near half-court as the shot clock expired.
Jrue Holiday scored 18 points for New Orleans, which snapped a two-game skid.
SPURS 96, HAWKS 85
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and San Antonio held off Atlanta.
Atlanta lost its 20th straight game in San Antonio, a skid spanning 20 years.
Manu Ginobili had 16 points and Danny Green had 14 for the Spurs, who have won four of five. Kyle Anderson added 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in his 17th start in place of injured All-Star Kawhi Leonard.
Aldridge powered the Spurs past the pesky Hawks, scoring 12 points with six rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Aldridge saved the ball from going out of bounds after blocking Kent Bazemore's shot and then raced downcourt for a driving, one-handed dunk that gave San Antonio a 78-71 lead with nine minutes remaining.
Green hit consecutive 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 90-79 with 3 minutes remaining.
76ERS 107, JAZZ 86
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ben Simmons scored 27 points, a fired-up Joel Embiid added 15 points and 10 rebounds despite a sore knee, and Philadelphia beat cold-shooting Utah.
Embiid skipped the morning shootaround because of pain his surgically-repaired left knee. But he posted his seventh double-double and got under Utah's skin in the fourth quarter.
After swatting away rookie Donovan Mitchell's layup, Embiid turned and said something to the fallen Mitchell, who got up and shoved Embiid to the floor. Mitchell drew a technical foul.
Embiid got up and motioned to the fans, who started to chant ''MVP'' and ''Trust the Process,'' the team's mantra during a lengthy rebuild. Embiid got a standing ovation as he exited with 1:50 left in Philadelphia's second win in five games.
Mitchell scored 17 points on 6 of 19 shooting, Rodney Hood added 13 while making 5 of 17 shots, and the Jazz shot 35.3 percent from the field in losing for the eighth time in 10 games.
WIZARDS 99, BUCKS 88
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Bradley Beal scored 23 points to lead Washington over Milwaukee.
Beal helped the Wizards separate from the Bucks with a personal 7-0 run late in the third quarter. Washington then outscored Milwaukee 13-4 to start the fourth, building an 86-70 advantage.
The win snapped a two-game skid for the Wizards, who were playing on back-to-back days for the first time this season.
Milwaukee has lost two consecutive games to fall back to .500 at 8-8 after rattling off a four-game winning streak following the trade for Eric Bledsoe.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points off the bench for the Wizards, and John Wall scored 15 after missing a game with knee pain. Otto Porter Jr. had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Marcin Gortat finished with 10 points with 15 rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 23 points but was 8 for 21 from the field.
KNICKS 107, CLIPPERS 85
NEW YORK (AP) - Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and New York extended Los Angeles' losing streak to nine games.
Porzingis outplayed a frustrated Blake Griffin and helped the Knicks snap a 10-game skid in the series with their first victory over the Clippers in five years.
Doug McDermott added 16 points for the Knicks, including a 3-pointer that swung the momentum for good midway through the third quarter.
Griffin scored 21 points but shot just 6 for 17, picked up a technical foul and fouled out with 4:46 remaining. The Clippers (5-11) still haven't won since Nov. 1 at Dallas, when they improved to 5-2.
Patrick Beverley returned after missing five games with a sore right knee and had nine points and six rebounds. But the Clippers are still without fellow guard Milos Teodosic and the rest of their backcourt play was mostly dismal.
NUGGETS 114, KINGS 98
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Will Barton and Trey Lyles made two 3-pointers apiece during a big run in the third quarter, and short-handed Denver pulled away to beat Sacramento.
Barton finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in his third start this season for Denver, which played without suspended coach Mike Malone and injured starters Paul Millsap and Wilson Chandler.
Nikola Jokic added 16 points and 14 rebounds and Gary Harris scored 20 for the Nuggets, who bounced back after losing by 21 to the Los Angeles Lakers a night earlier.
Denver couldn't shake Sacramento until a 19-7 run late in the third quarter sparked by the long-distance shooting of Barton and Lyles. The Nuggets shot 15 of 32 beyond the arc and led by as many as 22 in the final period.
Wes Unseld Jr. coached the Nuggets while Malone served a one-game NBA suspension for making contact with a referee in Sunday's loss.
PACERS 105, MAGIC 97
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Victor Oladipo had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven steals to lead Indiana past Orlando, the Pacers' fourth straight win.
Oladipo, who played his first three NBA seasons in Orlando, and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 40 points in the second half, 14 of them during a 16-3 third-quarter run that put the Pacers in command.
Bogdanovic scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half.
Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their fifth straight. Aaron Gordon had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Magic finished with 22 turnovers and shot 33 percent in the second half to fall below .500 for the first time this season.
HORNETS 118, TIMBERWOLVES 102
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Dwight Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds, and Charlotte beat Minnesota.
Howard, acquired in an offseason trade from Atlanta, was 8 for 10 from the field and 9 of 14 at the foul line, where he has struggled all season. He outplayed Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota lost on back-to-back nights.
Howard, the NBA's active leader in 20-20 games with 49, became the first Hornets player to accomplish the feat since Al Jefferson in 2013.
Frank Kaminsky provided a huge spark off the bench, scoring nine of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. He shot 9 of 15 overall, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
In an effort to come back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves repeatedly sent Howard to the foul line. He responded by shooting 6 of 10 to help seal the win.
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, GRIZZLIES 92
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - C. J. McCollum scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 21 points as Portland sent Memphis to its fifth straight loss.
Shabazz Napier added 16 points, while Noah Vonleh finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds for Portland, which won its second straight and fourth in the last five.
Mario Chalmers led Memphis with 21 points, while Tyreke Evans finished with 20. Marc Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but was 7 of 20 from the floor, part of the Grizzlies shooting 38 percent for the game, and 27 percent from outside the arc.
The teams were tied at 80 with 6:47 left after Gasol split a pair of free throws. But Jusuf Nurkic, who had 10 points, converted a 3-point play and put the Trail Blazers ahead for good.
Portland controlled the boards 60-35, including 15 on the offensive glass.
