NBA Roundup: Celtics beat Heat to clinch playoff spot

MIAMI — Jayson Tatum scored 28 points, Jrue Holiday added 25 and Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat freefalling Miami.

Derrick White added 18 for Boston, which made 19 3-pointers. The Celtics outscored Miami 25-14 in the fourth quarter and their victory, combined with Atlanta’s loss to the Clippers, clinched a playoff spot for the defending NBA champions.

The Heat, who dropped their sixth straight and fell a season-low eight games below .500, got 23 points from Andrew Wiggins, 19 from Tyler Herro and 13 from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Miami has scored 89, 85 and now 91 points in its three games against Boston this season — all double-figure losses — and just finished off a winless homestand of five games or more for the first time in team history.

It was the fourth time this season Miami managed 14 points or less in a fourth quarter. The Heat are 0-4 in those games.

CAVALIERS 133, GRIZZLIES 124

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers recorded a franchise-record 16th straight victory with a 133-124 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

De’Andre Hunter scored 18 points, while Jarrett Allen had 16. The win eclipsed Cleveland’s previous standard for consecutive wins with 15 to open this season.

Ja Morant led Memphis with a season-high 44 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke finished with 13 points each.

Jackson returned to the lineup against Cleveland after missing the previous five games with a left ankle sprain. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers played their second game without Donovan Mitchell due to left groin soreness.

PACERS 112, 76ERS 100

PHILADELPHIA — Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, and Indiana beat Philadelphia.

Myles Turner added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 10 assists as the Pacers ended a four-game road losing streak.

Jeff Dowtin scored a career-high 24 points for the 76ers, who lost their third straight. Jared Butler added 17 points and Adem Bona had 16 points and nine rebounds.

The 76ers led 26-18 after one and still led 51-47 at the half, before Siakam scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the third to send Indiana into the lead for good.

The Pacers outscored the 76ers by 16 points in the second half.

CLIPPERS 121, HAWKS 97

ATLANTA — James Harden and Kawhi Leonard each scored 25 points, with Harden scoring 13 in a dominant third quarter for Los Angeles, and they beat Atlanta.

Leonard set a season high with five steals. Harden had eight rebounds and seven assists.

After trailing 61-53 at halftime, the Clippers outscored the Hawks 35-8 in a lopsided third quarter.

Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, making his return to Atlanta, scored 12 points and received an ovation and video tribute during a first-quarter timeout.

The Clippers acquired Bogdanovic and three second-round draft picks from the Hawks in exchange for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland on Feb. 6. The Hawks waived Hyland.

Onyeka Okongwu led Atlanta with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

ROCKETS 133, MAVERICKS 96

HOUSTON — Tari Eason scored a career-high 30 points to lead Houston to an easy win over Dallas.

Jalen Green added 23 points with nine rebounds, despite sitting the entire fourth quarter to help the Rockets to their fifth straight win, tying their longest such streak of the season.

Houston led by double digits most of the night and was up by 16 in the third quarter before scoring the next seven points, with a 3 from Eason, to make it 80-57 midway through the quarter.

The Rockets were up by 21 later in the third before using a 10-0 run to push the lead to 96-65 near the end of the period, and most of their starters didn’t play in the fourth.

Brandon Williams scored 25 points off the bench for the Mavericks as they lost for the seventh time in eight games. Klay Thompson was 2 of 16 for five points with nine rebounds.

TIMBERWOLVES 118, MAGIC 111

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Minnesota rallied to beat Orlando for their seventh straight victory.

Down 90-82 with 10:23 left, Minnesota had a 13-0 run to take a 95-90 advantage. Donte DiVincenzo opened the run with reverse layup and capped it with another reverse layup and a driving floater.

After Orlando tied it at 98 with 3:32 to play, the Timberwolves — fighting Golden State for the sixth spot in the Western Conference — scored nine straight points.

Paolo Banchero had 43 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Eighth in the Eastern Conference, the Magic were coming off a 113-93 victory in New Orleans on Thursday night.

Julius Randle added 22 points for Minnesota. DiVincenzo finished with 14 points and five assists, and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

HORNETS 145, SPURS 134

SAN ANTONIO — LaMelo Ball had 27 points and 14 assists, and Charlotte made a franchise-record 26 3-pointers to roll past San Antonio.

Nick Smith Jr. scored a career-high 26 points for the Hornets. Miles Green added 21 and Josh Green had 20.

Ball was 7 for 11 on 3-pointers and Charlotte led by as many as 31 points and won for the third time in four games.

San Antonio allowed the second-most points to an opponent this season a day after announcing De’Aaron Fox will undergo season-ending surgery to repair tendon damage in his left pinkie.

Stephon Castle had 26 points for the Spurs and Devin Vassell added 22.

Charlotte led 81-55 after the first half, the most points it has scored in any half this season.

San Antonio has trailed by double digits in 42 games this season, losing all but 10.

The Hornets, who were shooting 33 per cent on 3-pointers, was 26 for 46 on 3s against the Spurs.

NUGGETS 131, LAKERS 126

DENVER — Jamal Murray sank a 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds left, and Russell Westbrook stole the inbounds pass for an exclamation-point dunk as Denver rebuffed scrappy, short-handed Los Angeles.

Murray finished with 26 points and while the win was something to celebrate, there were enough red flags for coach Michael Malone to crumple up the stat sheet as he sat down for his postgame news conference.

Austin Reaves scored 37 points and Dalton Knecht added 32 for the Lakers, whose lengthy list of injured players included LeBron James and Luka Doncic, who was ruled out on the second night of back-to-back games because of left calf injury management and a right ankle sprain.

James missed his third straight game with a left groin strain and returned to Los Angeles along with Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) and Jaxson Hayes (bruised right knee) ahead of the Lakers’ game in Denver. Also, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent sat out to rest left ankle injuries.

James’ son, Bronny, scored five points after being recalled from the G League and scored points.

The Lakers lost their fourth straight despite a furious second-half rally that saw them take a 126-121 lead with 52 seconds remaining.

RAPTORS 126, JAZZ 118

SALT LAKE CITY — Scottie Barnes had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Immanuel Quickley also scored 20 points and Toronto beat Utah.

A.J. Lawson added 18 points, RJ Barrett had 17 and Orlando Robinson finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Quickley hit a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left that gave Toronto the lead for good at 90-88 and sparked a 16-2 run to make it a 15-point lead — the biggest by either team — with about 8 1/2 minutes to play.

Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz, who have lost eight games in a row, with 19 points. Kyle Filipowski had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Utah’s KJ Martin started the second half in place of Lauri Markkanen, who did return and finished with 16 points.

SUNS 122, KINGS 106

PHOENIX — Devin Booker had 22 points and 13 assists, Kevin Durant also scored 22 points and Phoenix beat Sacramento.

Tyus Jones made six 3-pointers to finish with 20 points as the Suns made 24 3-pointers in the game, one short of the franchise record. They shot 55.8% (24 of 43) from behind the arc.

Ryan Dunn scored 16 points, Bradley Beal had 15 and Oso Ighodaro finished with 11 as the Suns, who are 11th in the Western Conference, gained a game on ninth-place Sacramento.

Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in his return after missing six games with a hamstring injury. DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Zach LaVine added 21 and Malik Monk 18 for the Kings.

Phoenix’s Mason Plumlee was ejected for the second consecutive game, this time for a flagrant foul against Sabonis in the third quarter. He was tossed along with Houston’s Steven Adams for a fight in Wednesday’s game. Plumlee started as Nick Richards missed the game with a sprained right ankle.