DETROIT (AP) — Malik Beasley scored 26 points, Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 11 assists and the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 117-97 on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the NBA’s hottest teams.
The Pistons (33-26) won their eighth straight and ended a 12-game losing streak against Boston, two nights after stopping a 10-game skid against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jayson Tatum scored 27 points for Boston, and Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each had 18. Boston (42-17) had won six straight and 10 of 11.
Jalen Duren added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons had a 49-33 rebounding edge.
PACERS 111, RAPTORS 91
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 11 assists to help Indiana beat Toronto.
Haliburton was 12 of 15 from the field, going 7 of 9 from 3-point range. Myles Turner added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Pascal Siakam had 15 points.
Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points for Toronto. RJ Barrett and Jonathan Mogbo each had 16.
Haliburton scored 17 points in the first half to lead Indiana to a 51-41 lead.
Toronto played without Scottie Barnes because if a left hip contusion. He played Tuesday night against Boston.
KNICKS 110, 76ERS 105
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson had 34 points and seven assists, Mikal Bridges scored 28 points and New York held off Philadelphia.
OG Anunoby had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Hart added seven points, 17 rebounds and four assists for the Knicks, who won for the fourth time in six games and 11th in their last 15.
Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for Philadelphia, which lost its ninth straight. Paul George had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Kelly Oubre Jr added 27 points.
TRAILBLAZERS 129, WIZARDS 121
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe threw down a vicious one-handed slam that was immediately hailed as one of the best dunks of the season, part of a career-best 36-point performance that carried Portland to a win over Washington.
Sharpe shot 13 of 26 from the floor and and converted all four of his free throws inside the final minute as the Trail Blazers maintained a lead of at least three throughout the fourth quarter.
Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson each added 16 points for Portland, which began the night 4 1/2 games back of Sacramento for the the Western Conference’s final play-in spot.
Jordan Poole scored 24 points for NBA-worst Washington, which was attempting to win back-to-back games for the first time since winning three in a row to begin the month. Richaun Holmes added a career-high 20 points and Corey Kispeprt also scored 20.
THUNDER 129, NETS 121
NEW YORK (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, Chet Holmgren had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Oklahoma City rebounded from a stunning collapse with a game-changing blitz in the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn.
Aaron Wiggins added 24 points and Jalen Williams had 22 for the Thunder, who were playing for the first time since their 131-128 loss to Minnesota on Monday, when they led by 24 points in the fourth quarter and were still ahead by 16 with under 4 minutes remaining in regulation.
They had some of the same defensive woes in this one, when they allowed a season-high 76 points in the first half and trailed by 18. But then they unleased an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter, turning a 103-99 deficit into a 117-103 lead. Oklahoma City outscored Brooklyn 27-7 to begin the period.
Day’Ron Sharpe scored a career-high 25 points in his first start of the season for the Nets, adding 15 rebounds and five assists. Killian Hayes had a season-best 19 points and Cam Johnson also scored 19.
HEAT 131, HAWKS 109
MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 24 points and added 10 assists, Duncan Robinson scored 24 points off the bench and Miami shot a season-best 59% in a win over Atlanta.
Davion Mitchell made all five of his 3-point tries and scored 20 for the Heat, who got 20 points and nine rebounds from Bam Adebayo.
Miami made 23 3-pointers, one shy of the franchise record. The Heat had 39 assists on 45 field goals.
Dyson Daniels scored 18 points and Trae Young and Caris LeVert each had 17 for the Hawks — who gave up 65 points in the first half, then 66 more in the second half.
CLIPPERS 122, BULLS 117
CHICAGO (AP) — James Harden made seven 3-pointers and scored 30 points, and Los Angeles beat Chicago.
Kawhi Leonard had 17 points and eight rebounds after missing back-to-back games because of a sore left foot. Amir Coffey scored 20, and Los Angeles got back to winning after losing three in a row.
Derrick Jones Jr. added 16 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic made 4 of 5 3s and finished with 14 points, helping the sixth-place Clippers move a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference.
Zach Collins set season highs with 21 points and a career-best 17 rebounds for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 21 points and 12 assists. Coby White scored 19, but the Bulls lost for the seventh time in eight games.
KINGS 118, JAZZ 101
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Keegan Murray scored a season-high 26 points and Zach Levine added 22 to lift hot-shooting Sacramento to a win over Utah.
Murray made five 3-pointers, Levine had four and Keon Ellis returned to the court to make three 3s as the Kings made 15 of 36 from beyond the arc. Sacramento was equally potent inside the paint with 50 points and shot 52.9% overall to start their four-game road swing.
Murray scored on a mix of dunks, drives and his trademark long jumpers while topping 20 points for the first time since he had 21 on Nov. 24 in a loss to Brooklyn.
Walker Kessler had a season-high 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz and KJ Martin had his best game since arriving in Utah at the trade deadline with 16 points. The Jazz have lost four of their last five.
ROCKETS 118, SPURS 106
HOUSTON (AP) — Amen Thompson had 25 points and eight rebounds, Jalen Green added 21 points and seven rebounds and Houston beat San Antonio.
Green scored 16 points in the first half to help Houston take a 64-46 lead. Thompson was ejected Tuesday night against Milwaukee for pulling down Giannis Antetokounmpo by the head and neck.
Dillon Brooks had 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range for Houston. The Rockets have won three of four since the All-Star break.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points, and Stephon Castle added 22 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio. The Spurs have lost four straight.
The Associated Press
