Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and Dario Saric had 14 with 13 rebounds Friday night to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 106-94 victory over Boston and send the NBA-leading Celtics to their fourth loss in six games.
Chris Paul added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Phoenix, which had a 20-point, second-quarter lead trimmed to one by the end of the third. The Suns opened the fourth with eight straight points to turn back Boston´s rally.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 for the Celtics, who beat the Brooklyn Nets by 43 points on Wednesday and beat the Suns by 27 in December. But the two Boston All-Stars shot a combined 12 for 36 from the floor and 6 for 22 from 3-point range.
The Suns led 74-73 to start the fourth quarter before running off the next eight points, prompting Boston coach Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout. Derrick White drove for a layup to snap the slump, but Damion Lee and Saric hit back-to-back 3s, and the Celtics never got closer than six from there.
The Celtics scored the first seven points of the game, but quickly gave it all back. Phoenix scored the next 12, with Ayton putting in three straight baskets to start the run.
The Suns’ Mikal Bridges (25) led the team in scoring as they earned an impressive road win
SIXERS 137, SPURS 125
Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
‘Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,’ Harden said. ‘But you´ve got to still be professional. You´ve got to be an elite team. That´s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren´t consistent enough tonight.
‘We got a win, but we´ve got to try to be better overall.’
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio´s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Joel Embiid continued his strong play as the Sixers won their ninth game in the last 10
HAWKS 115, JAZZ 108
Trae Young had 27 points and six assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 115-108 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
De’Andre Hunter scored 26 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray added 13 points and eight assists.
Atlanta won for the third time in the team’s last four road games. The Hawks had 28 assists on 44 baskets and scored 56 points in the paint.
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 10 rebounds to pace Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 24, and Mike Conley finished with 20 points and eight assists.
Utah struggled from the outside, going 13 of 44 from 3-point range. The Jazz had a three-game home winning streak snapped.
Atlanta dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Hawks built a 60-38 lead late in the second quarter after Young bookended an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Utah chipped away at the deficit in the second half and rallied late in the fourth quarter.
Clarkson buried consecutive 3-pointers to punctuate a 10-0 run and cut Atlanta’s lead to 106-101 with 3:17 left. Young countered with a 3 to keep the Hawks in control.
Trae Young scored 27 points as the Hawks beat the Jazz by seven points away from home
TRAIL BLAZERS 124, WIZARDS 116
Anfernee Simons scored 20 of his 33 points in the third quarter and the Portland Trail Blazers erased a 20-point deficit, snapping Washington’s six-game winning streak Friday night with a 124-116 victory over the Wizards.
Simons made six of Portland’s nine 3-pointers in the third, and the Trail Blazers finally caught and passed the Wizards in the fourth. Simons finished 9 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Damian Lillard added 29 points for Portland, which has won five of six.
‘Our team is just so much better when our backs are against the wall,’ Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. ‘I’ve been on teams like that before, so I understand it, but it’s a dangerous place to live.’
Bradley Beal scored 34 points for the Wizards, and Kristaps Porzingis had 32.
Washington led 69-51 at halftime, but an advantage like that isn’t totally safe against a backcourt that can shoot threes like Portland’s. After a layup by Josh Hart to start the third quarter, the Trail Blazers’ next nine field goals came from long distance. The first five were by Simons, then Lillard made a couple and Jerami Grant hit one.
Portland played without center Jusuf Nurkic, sidelined because of a left calf strain. He’s expected back after the All-Star break.
The Wizards jumped out to an early 15-2 lead, and they led 34-14 after a 3-pointer by Porzingis. He scored 16 points in the opening quarter.
Anfernee Simons caught fire in the third quarter to help Portland beat a hot Washington squad
PACERS 107, KINGS 104
Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 107-104 on Friday night to stop a four-game losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 boards.
‘Especially against your old team, it´s always good to get the win,’ Hield said.
Hield and Tyrese Haliburton were traded to the Pacers a year ago in a six-player deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings, and Haliburton ended the night with 10 points and nine assists against his former team.
Turner said the Pacers had extra motivation to get the victory for Hield and Haliburton.
‘[Hield] made some big shots down the stretch,’ Turner said.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. Kevin Huerter scored 16, while Sabonis and Terence Davis each had 15.
Sacramento was without leading scorer De´Aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.
Tyrese Haliburton reacts after a dunk as the Pacers beat the Kings in Indiana on Friday night
MAGIC 127, TIMBERWOLVES 120
Cole Anthony had 20 points and fellow reserve Moritz Wagner scored 19 as Orlando’s bench propelled the Magic to a 127-120 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves that included a fight between the teams and five player ejections Friday night.
The brawl broke out in front of the Orlando bench late in the third quarter, when Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Magic center Mo Bamba got into an altercation. Bamba came off the bench and Rivers threw punches at him in a tussle that spilled over to include several others on the court.
As play initially continued at the far end, Jalen Suggs pulled Rivers away from Bamba and to the ground while other players joined in.
‘You obviously want to have your teammate’s back and at the same time, you´ve got to be a professional,’ said Wagner, who was ejected after a fight with the Detroit Pistons in December. ‘So, that´s a challenge for a young team like us. I think this time around we did a good job compared to last time. So, yeah, I don´t really know. It´s a weird dynamic. You don´t really want to be in those situations and it´s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.’
Rivers, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince were ejected for the Timberwolves, who had lost forward Kyle Anderson earlier in the game due to injury. Bamba and Suggs were tossed for Orlando.
Reserve big man Bol Bol had 14 points for the Magic, who got 72 points from their bench. Orlando had lost three of four, but got a rare strong defensive performance that was aided by Suggs´ on-ball defense before he was ejected.
D’Angelo Russell had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which had won six of eight. Anthony Edwards added 19 points and Rudy Gobert scored 15.
Magic guard Cole Anthony led the Magic with 20 points against the Timberwolves
RAPTORS 117, ROCKETS 111
Fred VanVleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game skid with a 117-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
The Raptors took a commanding lead in the third quarter and were up by double-digits for most of the fourth. But five straight free throws by the Rockets cut the lead to 110-104 with about 30 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam, who had 23 points, made two free throws after that to pad the lead.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix made a basket to slice Houston’s deficit to six again. VanVleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Houston got a season-high 28 points from Eric Gordon and Alperen Sengun added 21 on night when Jalen Green missed a third straight game with a bruised right calf.
‘There wasn’t a lot of energy in the building or from us at the start,’ Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. ‘But give our guys off the bench some credit to come in and get some energy going. They kind of righted the ship and got into some good, nice stretches there of playing at both ends.’
Fred VanVleet scored 32 points as the Raptors notched their 24th win of the year
PISTONS 118, HORNETS 112
Saddiq Bey scored 22 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 32.1 seconds left, and the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Charlotte Hornets 118-112 on Friday night.
The Pistons were playing for the first time since a 111-105 loss in Dallas on Monday. The team was stuck in Texas until Thursday by a combination of airplane problems and weather, forcing the postponement of Wednesday´s home game against the Washington Wizards.
‘Winning this game is a testament to everyone involved in this team – the players, the coaches and the staff,’ Bey said. ‘We were pretty much stuck on a plane for three days, but we found a way to stay ready and come back here to get the win.’
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Mason Plumlee missed five free throws in the last 6:04 as Detroit outscored Charlotte 26-18 in the fourth quarter.
‘The fourth quarter really killed us after we had done a good job for the first three,’ Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. ‘We had five turnovers in the quarter, we went 1 for 7 on 3 – and six of those were good shots – and we missed five free throws. That’s the game right there.’
Jaden Ivey had 24 points for the Pistons, Jalen Duren had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Isaiah Stewart had eight points and 16 rebounds as Detroit outrebounded Charlotte 51-37.
LeMelo Ball had 23 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets before fouling out. Terry Rozier added 23 points.
The Pistons’ Saddiq Bey (41) hit a massive three with 32.1 seconds left to help secure the win
