The NBA-best Boston Celtics will look to close a seven-game homestand with their fourth consecutive win when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.

Boston’s offense has come to life in the last two games, with a season-high 139 points in a Christmas victory over the Milwaukee Bucks before shooting past the Houston Rockets 126-102 on Tuesday.

“It’s always a little easier when you’ve got (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown),” Celtics assistant coach Damon Stoudamire said. “That’s not a bad start. But this group has been together a while. So you can organize them and then they know how to play. That’s the biggest thing.”

Brown (39 points) and Tatum (38) combined for at least 70 points for a second straight game and the ninth time in their careers, leading the Celtics’ charge to victory in the second half. Boston had a 92-81 lead after three quarters before outscoring Houston 34-21 in the fourth.

Life is easier for everyone with Tatum and Brown, who are the only Celtics teammates ever to score 70 combined points in back-to-back games.

“You’ve just got to sit back and enjoy the show, and whenever they need you to step in you fill that role,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “But they didn’t need it tonight.”

The Celtics won behind Stoudamire, who acted as Boston’s head coach against Houston since interim head coach Joe Mazzulla missed the game due to eye irritation.

Robert Williams III had a strong game off the bench, posting a season-high 11 points and 15 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

Williams has not been in the starting lineup in the five games he has played since returning from offseason knee surgery. Mazzulla recently said the big man could remain in a bench role.

“We’ve fluctuated the starting lineup a little bit throughout the year, which I think has given us some flexibility,” Mazzulla said. “But we’ve found some consistency in what we have now, and I think it’s just a matter of if it makes sense, we’ll do it, and if it doesn’t, we won’t.”

The Clippers had Wednesday off after sweeping a back-to-back at Detroit and Toronto. They overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Pistons in overtime 142-131 before completing the set with a 124-113 win at Toronto on Tuesday.

Thursday will mark the fourth of five straight games on the road for Los Angeles.

Paul George and Ivica Zubac each had 23 points to lead the Clippers in Toronto. Zubac also pulled in 16 rebounds, 10 on the offensive boards. Zubac has nine games of at least 15 rebounds this season.

“He’s been amazing for us all year,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Zubac. “He was a monster on the glass.”

All five Clippers starters finished in double-digits, including Kawhi Leonard who had 15 points, a season-high eight assists and seven rebounds against his former team after missing Monday’s game for maintenance.

“This was one of our most complete wins of the season,” Lue said.

Entering Wednesday, the Clippers ranked third in the NBA in opponents’ field goal percentage (45.4) and points per game (108.6). Something will have to give, as Boston’s offense still ranks at the top in scoring average (118.9).

Boston will be looking to even the two-game season series after losing to the Clippers 113-93 Dec. 12 in L.A. George had a game-high 26 points in the Clippers’ third straight win in the series.

The Celtics have been held under 100 points in only one other game this season.

–Field Level Media

The visiting Memphis Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors will begin the search for some consistency Thursday night after coming off losses at home.

The Grizzlies have dropped four of their past five games after losing 125-108 at home to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

The Raptors have lost seven of their past nine games after they were defeated 124-113 at home by the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Both teams had their stars deliver despite the defeats. Ja Morant scored 34 points for Memphis and Pascal Siakam scored 36 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Toronto.

“All of us have just got to play better offensively,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Myself, players. We’ve just got to be better.”

The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 125-100 in Phoenix on Friday for their only win of a four-game road trip.

“We’re just having a rough patch of four or five games,” Jenkins said. “We haven’t lived up to our standard and played like we’re capable of.”

The only player to score in double figures for the Grizzlies on Tuesday — other than Morant — was Desmond Bane with 14 points, including 12 in the first half. It was the second consecutive game in which the Grizzlies did not provide much offensive support for Morant.

The Raptors got only four points in 23 minutes from Fred VanVleet on Tuesday. VanVleet, who also had seven assists, was dealing with back spasms and did not practice on Wednesday. Christian Koloko had four points in nine minutes on Tuesday before leaving with a sore knee that was to be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

Malachi Flynn scored 10 points against the Clippers and could see more playing time depending on VanVleet’s status.

The Raptors shot 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from 3-point range Tuesday. Their inability to shoot 3-pointers has been a recurring problem.

“(The Clippers are) as deep a team as you are going to see in this league,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “And if you are going to trade punches with them, we are going to have to make some of those 3s that again were open that we didn’t.”

The Clippers hit 39.5 percent (15 of 38) of their 3-point attempts against the Raptors.

“We just couldn’t keep pace with the 3-ball and couldn’t keep them off the glass enough to really trade punches with them,” Nurse said. “They just really outclassed us from both behind the line and on the backboards tonight.”

The Raptors did shoot 51.2 percent (43 for 84) from the field on Tuesday.

Scottie Barnes recorded 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in 37 minutes for his ninth double-double of the season. Barnes ranks second on the Raptors in double-doubles this season, behind Siakam’s 10.

The game against the Clippers was the first of a stretch of nine of 10 games at home for the Raptors. They have lost four straight in their own building, however.

It was a good night for two members of Toronto’s 2019 NBA championship team now with the Clippers: Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell.
Leonard, playing his second game in Toronto as a member of the Clippers, was quietly effective with 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Powell, playing his first game in Toronto since being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in March 2021, scored 22 points.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Cavaliers are out to apply the brakes on their modest two-game skid Thursday when they visit the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Darius Garland’s sizzling 46-point performance ultimately went for naught in the Cavaliers’ 125-117 home setback to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Garland recorded his fourth career 40-point game and third this season after making 14 of 20 shots from the floor.

“That’s Darius Garland,” Donovan Mitchell said of his backcourt mate, per Cleveland.com. “I mean, that’s the Darius we all know. He’s shown on multiple nights he’s capable of having nights like this. … A lot of respect for Darius and that’s the player he is. That’s the player who is one of the leaders of this team.”

Mitchell also is a team leader, however he has struggled to find his shot over the last two games. He is mired in a 9-of-32 stretch (28.2 percent) from the field after making at least eight shots in each of his previous nine games.

“Credit to (the Nets). They pretty much, every time I gave the ball up, kind of face guarded me,” Mitchell said. “That’s kind of been the case the past two games. Now, granted, I haven’t played to my capabilities and that’s on me. I let the team down in that way. But, for me, I haven’t seen that all season, so being able to adjust, watch the film and get better.”

Mitchell certainly was better in his last encounter with the Pacers, pouring in 41 points in the Cavaliers’ 118-112 victory on Dec. 16. He averages a team-best 28.5 points per game.

Indiana enters Thursday’s clash having won three of its last four games. The Pacers posted a 129-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday in the opener of their four-game homestand.

Buddy Hield drained six 3-pointers to highlight his 28-point performance. He has made at least four 3-pointers in five of his last six games, shooting a robust 63.6 percent from distance in that span (28 of 44).

“He just works really hard. That’s just who he is,” the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton said of Hield. “He’s got a beautiful shot (and) he plays a beautiful brand of basketball. He makes open ones, he makes tough ones when we need him to. He ain’t new to this. He’s one of the best shooters in the league.

“When he’s done, he’ll be one of the best shooters that’s ever played this game. That’s just what he does.”

Haliburton scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.

“He really craves the responsibility, being the franchise point guard,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton, who boasts team-leading averages in points (20.5), assists (10.2) and steals (1.7).

“What he’s learning is that sometimes it means we need points, other times it means we need to get other guys involved. But always, he’s aware of both of those things.”

Haliburton collected 17 points and 14 assists in the previous meeting with the Cavaliers. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin had a team-high 22 points in that contest, while Hield chipped in 14.

–Field Level Media

Close games have been a regular theme with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The need to pull out more of those is bound to be the key to how the team fares.

Another chance to show if recent successes can be sustained comes against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C.

Oklahoma City won four of the final five games of a seven-game homestand, including avoiding a close game by pulling away to beat the San Antonio Spurs 130-114 on Tuesday night.

“We did a really good job in the fourth quarter really defending,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

The Hornets have been in the opposite situation, coming off a six-game road trip on the West Coast. They went 2-4, capped by Tuesday night’s 110-105 loss at Golden State.

The game was tied at 101-101, but Charlotte coach Steve Clifford didn’t point to the finishing stretch as being as costly as how the team started in such a rut.

“The fourth quarter is never the most important quarter,” Clifford said. “A lot of ways, you can say it’s the first quarter, especially on the road. If you play from ahead, it’s a big advantage.”

“Just trying to be the aggressors,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Play with pace and play together and try to make the right decision from the get as soon as the ball tipped.”

Gilgeous-Alexander has led the Thunder in scoring in 11 of the last 12 games.

Gilgeous-Alexander also had four blocked shots in the San Antonio game.

“He has a care factor at that end of the floor,” Daigneault said. “We’ve had a good defense for a good 10-, 12-game stretch and he’s a big part of that. He plays a lot of minutes and he carries his weight at that end of the floor. That’s an area that we can continue to improve.”

The Thunder received 68 points from reserves in Tuesday night’s game.

“Great job, all those guys,” Daigneault said. “Good job of picking each other up. I thought top to bottom we were pretty good.”

Charlotte hasn’t contained many of the league’s second-tier teams. The Hornets allowed 65 first-half points to Golden State in a game in which Warriors standouts Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins didn’t play.

A 2-4 road trip for the Hornets means they should be desperate to make amends at home.

“I thought 3-3 would have been great,” Clifford said. “We still have two more good players to get back (from injuries in Cody Martin and Dennis Smith Jr.). It’s going to take us a little bit more time to get organized.”

The Hornets are trying to get all the parts aligned, something that has been troublesome with a rash of injuries. The encouraging part is that Gordon Hayward logged 37 minutes and LaMelo Ball played 35 minutes in Tuesday’s game.

“We’re playing every other day, so there’s not a lot of practice time,” Clifford said. “I think you can see the beginnings of what can be a good team. The reality is we’ve really had this group now for this trip and I think they understand that. The whole thing is we have to make progress.”

Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort wasn’t feeling at full strength Tuesday night so he played limited minutes. The Thunder used some different player combinations and Daigneault said he was happy with the adjustments.

Thursday night’s game marks just a one-game trip for the Thunder, who will be back home for their next two games. Oklahoma City lost its past three road matchups.

This is the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Hornets, who’ve lost their last five home games. This is their first home game since Dec. 16.

–Field Level Media

New York Knicks wing RJ Barrett will miss Thursday’s game at San Antonio with a finger laceration, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

The cut to his right index finger occurred early in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s overtime loss at Dallas when Mavericks guard Luka Doncic attempted to swipe the ball out of his hands.

Barrett will be sidelined for “a week or so,” per the report.

Barrett left the game after just two minutes with no points and one assist.

He is averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 35 starts this season.

Barrett, 22, has career averages of 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 233 games (232 starts) since being selected with the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2019.

Miles McBride played a career-high 46 minutes off the bench with Barrett out of the game on Wednesday and finished with 14 points in the 126-121 setback to the Mavericks.

–Field Level Media