After a lackluster first half, the Boston Celtics used a strong performance on both ends of the floor in the third quarter to pick up a 116-110 road victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Boston erased a six-point halftime deficit by outscoring Toronto 35-18 in the third. The Celtics shot 12 of 21 from the floor in the period and led 91-80 entering the final 12 minutes.

Boston led by as many as 13 points in the third. The lead never fell below five points in the fourth.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum led all players with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Jaylen Brown finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics earned their second win in a row.

Pascal Siakam scored a team-high 29 points for Toronto, which saw its home record fall to 9-3. Scottie Barnes added 21 points for the Raptors, who received 20 points off the bench from Gary Trent Jr.

Celtics point guard Marcus Smart, who did not play in Boston’s Sunday victory over the Brooklyn Nets due to a hip contusion, returned to contribute 18 points and seven assists against Toronto. He made back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, the second of which handed the Celtics an 82-76 lead with 4:06 left in the period.

It was the second game of a three-game homestand for Toronto. Boston, which was without Malcolm Brogdon (illness) and Al Horford (back), was on the second stop of a six-game road trip. The Raptors were missing Juancho Hernangomez (ankle).

Boston led 27-25 after one quarter, but Toronto opened up a 10-point lead — its largest lead of the game — on a Christian Koloko free throw that made it 49-39 with 5:35 remaining in the half. Toronto scored 37 points in the second quarter and held a 62-56 lead at halftime.

The Raptors were 14 of 20 from the free-throw line in the half while the Celtics were 6 of 9. Boston missed 14 of its 20 3-point attempts in the first half but finished 13 of 36 (36.1 percent) from behind the arc. Toronto wound up 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from long range.

Boston has won 16 of its past 18 games.

–Field Level Media

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, his seventh straight game of 30-plus points, to lead the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-114 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The win was the third straight for the Thunder and ended a three-game losing streak to the Hawks. It also snapped Atlanta’s two-game winning streak.

The Thunder trailed by as many as 14 in the second half but outscored the Hawks 25-18 over the final 5:37 after the game was tied 96-96.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. He was 10-for-22 from the field and 15-for-15 from the foul line with six rebounds and five assists for the game.

Oklahoma City had five others score in double figures, including Josh Giddey, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, and Ousmane Dieng, who came off the bench to score 15.

Atlanta was led by Dejounte Murray’s 24 points and Trae Young, who returned after missing Friday’s game with a sore shoulder to post 23 points and 10 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and Clint Capela added 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Atlanta used a 12-2 run early in the second quarter to take a 10-point lead at 7:41 on a dunk by Onyeka Okongwu. The Hawks got 12 points in the half from Bogdanovic on four 3-pointers and had a 59-54 lead at the break.

Atlanta stretched the lead to 13 on a trey from Bogdanovic at 4:41 of the third, but the Thunder got as close as two points and cut the Hawks’ lead to 88-84 entering the fourth quarter.

Prior to the game, Atlanta television broadcaster Bob Rathbun suffered a medical issue on the air. He was treated for dehydration and taken to the hospital for further examination, where he was stable and responsive, according to a statement issued by the Hawks.

Atlanta plays again Wednesday in New York. Oklahoma City plays at Memphis on Wednesday, the third leg of a five-game road trip.

–Field Level Media

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks continued their dominance over the Orlando Magic with a 109-102 victory on Monday.

Bobby Portis added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has won 12 straight against the Magic. Jrue Holiday had 17 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, while rookie AJ Green scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.

Franz Wagner scored 25 points to lead Orlando, while Paolo Banchero had 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Markelle Fultz scored 20 points, and Moritz Wagner tallied 19 points and 12 rebounds.

The Magic have lost nine straight and own the league’s worst record at 5-20.

Antetokounmpo has scored at least 30 points in a career-high seven consecutive games for the Bucks, who have won five of their last six.

Milwaukee led by as many as 19 in the third quarter before Orlando rallied late in the game and pulled within 101-97 on Terrence Ross’ 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining.

The Magic trailed by five with 24.7 seconds left before Holiday converted two foul shots to seal Milwaukee’s victory.

Orlando was held to 36.6 percent shooting from the field and 8 of 32 (25 percent) from 3-point range.

Milwaukee led 30-21 at the end of the first quarter after closing on a 14-0 run. Antetokounmpo had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.

The Bucks carried the momentum into the second quarter and took a 51-36 lead on Portis’ trey with three minutes left.

Fultz and Moritz Wagner combined for 22 points in the first half for Orlando, which trailed 56-45 at the break.

Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton had five points on 1-of-11 shooting with five assists in 26 minutes in his second game since missing nearly eight months due to injury.

The injury-plagued Magic were without Wendell Carter Jr. (right foot), Jalen Suggs (right ankle), Gary Harris (right hamstring), Mo Bamba (back spasms) and Chuma Okeke (left knee).

–Field Level Media

Kawhi Leonard’s jumper from about 18 feet away broke a tie with 1.4 seconds left and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out a 119-117 victory against the host Charlotte Hornets in a back-and-forth game Monday night.

Paul George poured in 19 points and Leonard, who scored the tying basket on the Clippers’ previous possession, finished with 16 points. It was both players’ first game back in the lineup after missing time with injuries.

Charlotte’s P.J. Washington missed a potential tying jumper at the buzzer.

Nic Batum, a former Charlotte player, and Reggie Jackson both scored 13 points, and Marcus Morris Sr. and John Wall had 12 points apiece as the Clippers began a four-game road stretch against Eastern Conference teams.

Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Hornets with 28 points, Washington posted 26 and Terry Rozier had 22 points. Nick Richards supplied 11 points and 10 rebounds and Mason Plumlee added eight points and 12 rebounds, but the Hornets were outscored in three of the four quarters.

The Clippers, who dropped four of their previous six games, made 15 shots from 3-point range to help overcome 14-for-21 shooting on free throws.

The Hornets burst into the lead in the third quarter on the strength of a 36-21 advantage. Rozier, who was 1-for-9 from the field in the first half, made five of his nine shots in the third quarter.

Yet the Clippers wrested back control in the fourth quarter. They were up 104-96 on Batum’s 3 with less than eight minutes to play.

The Hornets came back to tie the game at 115. Rozier’s shot put them ahead with 1:34 to go before Leonard’s heroics.

Los Angeles stretched a two-point lead from the end of the first quarter to 63-54 at halftime, boosted by 9-for-20 shooting on 3s. The Hornets made 6 of 15 3-point attempts in the first half and received 16 points from Oubre and 14 from Washington.

Washington’s scoring was a positive development, considering he was shut out on 0-for-13 shooting Saturday night versus Milwaukee. He finished Monday’s game 11-for-21 from the field, making four of his 10 launches from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Hornets wrapped up a homestand with a 1-2 record.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Cavaliers aim to continue their sterling play at home on Tuesday against former face of the franchise LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the streaking Los Angeles Lakers.

The Cavaliers are returning home after dropping a 92-81 decision to the New York Knicks on Sunday. Cleveland fell to 5-8 on the road this season and looks vastly different than the team that has compiled a 10-1 record at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“On the road, I feel like we have been playing a little slower than at home. We’re energetic at home. We get that energy from the crowd, and it fuels us,” Evan Mobley said, per Cleveland.com. “We just have to transfer that pace and style of play over. We have to bring that energy ourselves. Players. Coaches. Everybody. On the court. On the bench. Just create our own energy because the crowd is definitely not going to do that for us.”

Donovan Mitchell made himself at home on Sunday because, well, he was home. The New York native scored a team-high 23 points in a losing effort against the Knicks.

“We just didn’t make shots. It’s just one of those nights,” Mitchell said. “… It can’t always be sunshine and rainbows. This isn’t who we are. We know we can play better and we will.”

The Cavaliers play decidedly better at home. They are averaging 115.6 points on 49.3 percent shooting from the floor and 39.9 percent from 3-point range, as opposed to 107.7, 46.0, 35.8, respectively, on the road.

Now, James used to call Cleveland his home for many years. Well, he is from Akron, but you get the point.

Anyway, James and a red-hot Davis have lit a fire under the Lakers. Los Angeles has made significant progress in turning around a dismal start to the season by winning eight of its last 10.

Davis followed up a 44-point, 10-rebound performance in the Lakers’ 133-129 victory in Milwaukee on Friday with a 55-point, 17-board effort two nights later in a 130-119 triumph against Washington.

“Our team is locked in right now. Very focused on both sides of the ball,” said Davis, who is averaging a robust 35.3 points in his last nine games. “Overall, we’re just trying to make up ground.”

Los Angeles is doing that on the road, too. The Lakers have won four in a row away from home, include the first two to start this six-game trek.

“We never tipped over the glass when things weren’t going well,” James said. “We just continued to work. Continued to get better. Understood that we’re a new team being put together. New coaching staff, new system. We had to figure out some things. We haven’t done anything. We want to continue to work.”

James scored 27 points in the Lakers’ 114-110 setback to the Cavaliers on Nov. 6. The loss was his second in 19 all-time meetings against Cleveland, with the other coming while he played with the Miami Heat on March 29, 2011.

–Field Level Media