Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Payton Pritchard finished with 24 as the Boston Celtics overcame a 22-point deficit to stun the visiting Miami Heat 98-96 on Friday night.
Miami had possession with a chance to tie or win the game, but Davion Mitchell missed a 3-point attempt from the corner with 2.7 seconds left. Miami knocked the ball out of bounds on the rebound attempt, allowing the Celtics to run out the clock.
Nikola Vucevic had 11 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with Boston after being acquired in a trade with Chicago earlier in the week. Derrick White added 21 points for the Celtics, including a 3-pointer that put Boston in front 98-96 with 1:31 to play. The victory extended Boston’s winning streak to five games.
The Heat scored the game’s first nine points and led by as many as 19 points in the opening quarter. The Celtics were 6 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 10 from 3-point territory, in the quarter and trailed 29-15 after 12 minutes.
Pistons 118, Knicks 80
Daniss Jenkins scored 18 points, helping host Detroit snap New York’s eight-game winning streak with an emphatic win.
Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris scored 15 points apiece as the Pistons overwhelmed New York in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, winning their fifth straight game over the Knicks while bouncing back from a stunning loss to Washington the night before.
Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 19 points. All-Star Jalen Brunson was held to 12 points, made just 4 of 20 shots and missed on all eight of his 3-point attempts. Jordan Clarkson added 11 points.
Pelicans 119, Timberwolves 115
Saddiq Bey scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds as New Orleans rallied for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Pelicans outscored the Timberwolves 30-21 in the fourth quarter.
Zion Williamson added 29 points on 11-for-13 shooting for New Orleans, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Trey Murphy III added 26 points and made a half-dozen shots from beyond the arc.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points on 11-for-22 shooting to lead Minnesota, which lost for only the second time in the past seven games. Julius Randle scored 24 points, Bones Hyland chipped in 20, and Rudy Gobert registered 12 points and 16 boards.
Bucks 105, Pacers 99
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 23 points and dished eight assists to lead Milwaukee to a victory over visiting Indiana, giving the Bucks their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Ryan Rollins added 22 points while Bobby Portis scored 21 and Jericho Sims grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for Milwaukee.
Indiana fell for the third game in a row despite Andrew Nembhard putting up 22 points, all but four coming in the fourth quarter, and eight assists. Pascal Siakam contributed 19 points.
Trail Blazers 135, Grizzlies 115
Jerami Grant scored 23 points and Jrue Holiday added 20 points and seven assists to help Portland roll to a victory over visiting Memphis in the first of back-to-back games between the teams.
Toumani Camara had 15 points and Donovan Clingan recorded 13 points and 17 rebounds as the Trail Blazers halted a six-game slide. Portland scored 81 points during the middle two quarters.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench and GG Jackson added 15 points for the Grizzlies, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Clippers 114, Kings 111
Kawhi Leonard produced a game-high 31 points, Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. contributed and-ones to a fourth-quarter pull-away and Los Angeles handed host Sacramento its 11th straight defeat.
Playing short-handed in the aftermath of trades this week that saw them export James Harden and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers trailed 84-81 early in the fourth quarter before outlasting the Kings for the 11th win in their past 15 games.
Leonard went 12-for-12 at the free-throw line en route to his 13th 30-point performance of the season. He also found time for nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
–Field Level Media
