Jayson Tatum scored 26 of his game-high 38 points in the second half to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Detroit Pistons 127-109 Wednesday night.
An illness prevented Tatum from playing in Tuesday night’s 131-125 overtime loss at Milwaukee. He was 15 of 24 from the field against Detroit, including 6 of 10 from behind the arc. Tatum had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, in the third quarter — the most points he’s scored in one quarter during his NBA career.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 28 points. Jaden Ivey added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Detroit was within six points early in the fourth quarter, but it was all Boston after that. The Pistons never had a lead in the game.
Nuggets 118, Mavericks 109
Nikola Jokic had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his NBA-leading 21st triple-double, Jeff Green scored a season-high 24 points, and host Denver beat Dallas.
Michael Porter Jr. finished with 22 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14, Vlatko Cancar added 12 and Bruce Brown 10 for the Nuggets.
Luka Doncic scored 37 points, Christian Wood netted 17, McKinley Wright IV finished with 11 and A.J. Lawson had 10 for Dallas, which played without Kyrie Irving, who was out with lower back tightness. Tim Hardaway Jr. missed his second straight game with right hamstring tightness.
Knicks 122, Hawks 101
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle combined for 53 points to help visiting New York overpower Atlanta and take a three-game winning streak into the All-Star break.
Brunson scored 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting with nine rebounds and five assists. Randle had 25 points, 12 in the first quarter, with 11 rebounds for his 29th double-double, the most by a player in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta was paced by De’Andre Hunter with 20 points, Trae Young with 19 points and 11 assists, and 12 points from reserve A.J. Griffin.
Lakers 120, Pelicans 102
Anthony Davis scored 28 points with 10 rebounds and LeBron James added 21 points in his return to the court as host Los Angeles went into the All-Star break with a victory over New Orleans.
D’Angelo Russell scored 21 points and Malik Beasley added eight for the Lakers, who won for just the second time in their past six games. Jarred Vanderbilt added six points as all three players were in their third game for Los Angeles after being acquired in a trade last week.
The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram scored 25 points against his former team, while CJ McCollum added 22 after missing a game Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder with an ankle injury. Jonas Valanciunas scored 12 points with 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which headed into the break with two defeats over the last six games following a 10-game losing streak.
Pacers 117, Bulls 113
Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Aaron Nesmith added 21 to lead six players in double figures and help Indiana defeat visiting Chicago.
Indiana, which trailed by 24 points after one quarter, stopped a five-game losing streak while sending Chicago to its fifth loss in a row.
Zach LaVine had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, and Coby White scored a season-high 25 points.
Hornets 120, Spurs 110
LaMelo Ball scored 28 points and ended up with a triple-double as Charlotte defeated visiting San Antonio.
The Hornets go into the All-Star break with back-to-back victories after a seven-game losing streak. The Spurs have lost 14 in a row.
Malaki Branham poured in 23 points for San Antonio, which was held to eight points in the final six minutes.
76ers 118, Cavaliers 112
Joel Embiid had 29 points and 14 rebounds, James Harden added 19 points and 12 assists and host Philadelphia held off Cleveland in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break on Wednesday.
Embiid eclipsed 10,000 points in his career, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach the milestone, getting there in 373 games, five fewer than Allen Iverson. De’Anthony Melton contributed 17 points, Tyrese Maxey scored 16 and Tobias Harris had 13 for the Sixers, who had a 28-point lead just before halftime whittled to four in the final minute of the game. Philadelphia won its fourth game in a row.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 33 points and Darius Garland added 27. Mobley had 23 points and nine rebounds, but the Cavaliers had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Jarrett Allen chipped in 12 points and seven boards.
Thunder 133, Rockets 96
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to pace five Oklahoma City players in double figures during a home victory over reeling Houston.
The Thunder led by as many as 42 points late in the fourth quarter while coasting to their fourth victory in six games. Luguentz Dort scored 15 points, and Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey added 13 apiece.
Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. put up a team-high 15 points for the Rockets, who took their seventh consecutive loss. Jalen Green scored 14 points before exiting in the second quarter due to a groin strain.
Grizzlies 117, Jazz 111
In the final game before the All-Star break, Memphis emerged with a hard-fought home win over Utah behind Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.
Jackson finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and a career-high five steals as the Grizzlies won for the third time in four games. Bane added 24 points and six rebounds, while Ja Morant tallied 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Utah’s Kelly Olynyk had a double-double in the first half, and he wound up with 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Jordan Clarkson added 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Walker Kessler logged 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Nets 116, Heat 105
Mikal Bridges scored 17 of his career-high 45 points in the fourth quarter as Brooklyn pulled away down the stretch for a victory over visiting Miami.
Bridges surpassed his previous career best of 34 points with a spectacular stretch during a span of 3:05 in the fourth that extended Brooklyn’s 90-89 lead to 105-96 advantage on his 15-footer with 4:16 left. Bridges made 17 of 24 shots and was 7 of 10 in the fourth quarter when the Nets made 13 of 19 shots and outscored Miami 33-25.
Bam Adebayo reached double figures for the 70th straight game by totaling 24 points and 13 rebounds for his 28th double-double, but the Heat dropped 2 1/2 games behind the fifth-place Nets. Gabe Vincent added 21 and Max Strus contributed 18 for the Heat, who shot 45.8 percent but missed 20 of 28 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
