DALLAS (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his second career triple-double, and the Boston Celtics beat Dallas 124-95 on Thursday night, ending the Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak.
Jaylen Brown scored 19 points for the NBA-leading Celtics, who bounced back from a 150-117 loss in Oklahoma City when the Thunder were missing 30-point scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Luka Doncic scored 23 points after averaging 44.5 points the previous five games. The Mavs superstar didn’t play in the fourth quarter, which started with Boston leading by 24.
Doncic hit buzzer-beating 3-pointers for the win in Boston’s previous two Dallas visits. There was never a chance for a third, or for the Mavs to extend the longest winning streak since their lone championship season in 2010-11.
JAZZ 131, ROCKETS 114
HOUSTON (AP) — Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points to lead Utah over Houston to snap a five-game skid.
Markkanen got out to a quick start with 18 points in the first quarter to help the Jazz to an early lead. Houston took the lead late in the third quarter, but Utah ended that quarter on a 10-0 run to go on top for good.
Jalen Green had 30 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 23 for the Rockets, who dropped their sixth in a row.
Markkanen’s highest-scoring game entering Thursday was 38, which he had achieved twice, most recently on Dec. 20 against Detroit. He made six 3-pointers and all 13 of his free throws Thursday night to eclipse his previous best games.
NUGGETS 122, CLIPPERS 91
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray sparked Denver early by scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter, and the Nuggets led by as many as 43 in cruising to a win over Los Angeles.
The Nuggets picked the perfect time to turn in one of their best performances of the season. In a nationally televised game, Denver was pushing the pace and showing why the team is tied with Memphis for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets shot 50.6% from the floor and finished with 28 assists.
It wasn’t even Nikola Jokic doing most of the damage, either. The two-time reigning NBA MVP had 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists before taking the fourth quarter off. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope helped fuel a 19-0 run in the second quarter to turn the game into a rout.
Kawhi Leonard finished with six points while Paul George, playing with a sore hamstring, had three. Neither played in the second half and they were a combined 3 of 16 from the field.
GRIZZLIES 123, MAGIC 115
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 32 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 31 points and 10 rebounds and Memphis beat Orlando for its fifth straight win.
Ziaire Williams came off the Memphis bench with 6-of-7 shooting and 16 points.
Paolo Banchero had 30 points and nine rebounds for Orlando. Franz Wagner added 22 points, 19 in a desperate fourth-quarter comeback attempt.