Tatum's big night keeps Celtics unbeaten at home with win over Cavaliers

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 22 and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-107 on Thursday night to improve to 12-0 at home.

Facing the Cavaliers for the second consecutive game at TD Garden after a victory on Tuesday, Boston won for the sixth time in seven games overall.

Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 and Derrick White 14 for the Celtics, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Tatum added 11 rebounds, and all five starters scored in double figures.

Donovan Mitchell paced Cleveland with 31 points, Caris LeVert finished with 26 and Darius Garland had 19. The Cavaliers have lost three straight.

CLIPPERS 121, WARRIORS 113

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Harden scored his 25,000th career point while racking up 28 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and eight rebounds in Los Angeles’ victory over Golden State.

Norman Powell scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers, who overcame Paul George’s first injury absence of the season for their 11th win in 14 games.

Klay Thompson scored a season-high 30 while hitting eight 3-pointers for Golden State, which has lost 12 of 16 overall.

Stephen Curry scored 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting as the Warriors began another potentially lengthy stint without Draymond Green, who is indefinitely suspended after smacking Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Tuesday.

NUGGETS 124, NETS 101

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic became the first NBA player with at least 10 triple-doubles in seven straight seasons as Denver beat Brooklyn for their third consecutive win.

Jokic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his 115th career triple-double during the regular season. Denver also was bolstered by the return of Jamal Murray, who missed Tuesday’s game at Chicago with ankle soreness. He scored 16 points, and Peyton Watson added 18 for the defending champion Nuggets.

Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 17 points and Cam Thomas had 13.

Up by 13 at halftime, the Nuggets broke loose for 38 points in the third quarter with Jokic putting the finishing touches on the surge by driving for a layup in the waning seconds of the period.

BULLS 124, HEAT 116

MIAMI (AP) — Coby White scored 26 points, Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 off the bench and Chicago ran out to a huge lead before hanging on to beat Miami.

Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, while DeMar DeRozan scored 23 for Chicago.

The Bulls started the game on a 33-8 run and never trailed.

Chicago’s 25-point lead in the opening quarter was the second-largest such edge in the NBA this season — Boston led Washington by 26 — and the Bulls’ biggest edge in the opening period of a game since they led Golden State 35-8 on a jumper by Michael Jordan on Jan. 31, 1997.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 22 for Miami. Jimmy Butler scored 20, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin each had 17, and Kevin Love had 16 for the Heat.

TIMBERWOLVES 119, MAVERICKS 101

DALLAS (AP) — Naz Reid scored 19 of his season-high 27 points in the first half, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and Minnesota shook off an early 15-point deficit to beat Dallas.

The Wolves avoided their first losing streak of the season and matched Boston for the NBA’s best record.

Luka Doncic had 39 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, whose four-game winning streak ended.

Anthony Edwards, the Wolves’ leading scorer, returned to the lineup after missing three of the previous five games with a right hip pointer. Averaging 24.4 points coming in, he scored nine.

JAZZ 122, TRAIL BLAZERS 114

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Collin Sexton scored 27 points, Simone Fonteccio had 24 and Utah beat Portland.

Talen Horton-Tucker added 23 points for the short-handed Jazz, who were without All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, as well as John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George.

Fonteccio shot 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range.

Rookie guard Scoot Henderson had a career-high 23 points and 10 assists to lead the Trail Blazers. Rookie forward Toumani Camara also set a career best with 18 points, and Portland got 14 points and nine rebounds from Deandre Ayton.

KINGS 128, THUNDER 123

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 41 points and Sacramento beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City.

The Thunder wasted a stellar performance by Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 43 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 16 rebounds for Sacramento in the opener of a six-game homestand. Malik Monk also scored 18 points, and Keon Ellis had a career-high 17 points.

The Kings led by 14 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Thunder cut the deficit to two with a 13-2 run.

The Thunder had won four of five entering the game.

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