DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Zach LaVine added 22 as the host Chicago Bulls beat the Celtics 121-107 on Monday to snap Boston’s nine-game winning streak.
Chicago ended a four-game slide while improving to 2-1 against the Celtics this season. Patrick Williams chipped in a season-high 17 points for the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic notched 12 points and 13 rebounds and Andre Drummond grabbed 12 boards.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum amassed 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Malcolm Brogdon had 23 on 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range and Grant Williams scored 13 points.
After leading by as many as 21 points in the second half, the Bulls saw their advantage whittled to eight on a Brogdon trey with 6:38 to play. Chicago recovered, pushing the lead back to 15 before closing out the game.
Pelicans 128, Warriors 83
Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 34 points and host New Orleans clobbered depleted Golden State.
Devonte’ Graham added a season-high 19 points off the bench for the Pelicans, who completed a 4-2 homestand. Zion Williamson returned from a three-game absence caused by a bruised foot to get nine points and four assists in 23 minutes.
The Warriors, who won on the road for the first time this season one night earlier in Houston, did not play Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins because of health maintenance. Jordan Poole led Golden State with 26 points.
Cavaliers 114, Hawks 102
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland combined for 55 points to lead Cleveland past visiting Atlanta for its third consecutive win.
Mitchell contributed 29 points, nine assists and three steals. Garland scored 26 points and had nine assists for the Cavaliers, who trailed by five in the third quarter before catching up and later pulling away in the fourth.
The Hawks were led by Trae Young, who had 25 points and 10 assists, but he was 1-for-8 on 3-point attempts. Onyeka Okongwu came off the bench to get 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Timberwolves 105, Heat 101
Karl-Anthony Towns produced 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as Minnesota rallied against Miami in Minneapolis.
Towns fouled out with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter as Kyle Lowry drew a charge. However, Rudy Gobert went 4-for-4 on free throws after Towns exited. Those were Gobert’s only points of the game, but they helped the Timberwolves win their fourth straight game.
Minnesota rallied from a 14-point, third-quarter deficit. The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards had 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals. Lowry led Miami with 21 points and nine assists. Max Strus had 19 points, and Bam Adebayo added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Bucks 119, Blazers 111
Giannis Antetokounmpo went for a game-high 37 points despite continued problems at the free-throw line, and Milwaukee used a big push late in the third quarter to beat visiting Portland.
Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen chipped in 17 points apiece for the Bucks, who won for just the third time in their past seven games. Portland led by as many as five points in the first half and hung within 77-73 past the midpoint of the third period before Antetokounmpo buried consecutive jumpers to ignite a 16-6 quarter-ending run that broke the game open.
Playing without injured Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers got 29 points from Anfernee Simons en route to a third straight defeat. Jerami Grant had 18 points.
Pacers 123, Magic 102
With Bennedict Mathurin’s game-high 22 points leading the way, Indiana scored 71 bench points and dominated the middle quarters en route to knocking off Orlando in Indianapolis.
The Pacers’ reserves helped Indiana take control with a 27-17 second quarter, then a 32-22 third quarter. Indiana wound up with its fifth consecutive win and seventh in the past eight games.
Oshae Brissett finished with 18 points for the Pacers, and T.J. McConnell posted season-highs of 19 points and 10 assists while Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points and dished 14 assists. Franz Wagner led the Magic in scoring with 20 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Knicks 129, Thunder 119
Jalen Brunson shot 14 of 20 from the floor and scored a season-high 34 points to lead New York past host Oklahoma City. His point total tied his regular-season career high, and he also contributed a game-high nine assists.
RJ Barrett and Julius Randle scored 25 points each for the Knicks, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Randle added 11 rebounds and Barrett had eight boards.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points and added seven assists, while Luguentz Dort matched his season high with 24 points. Josh Giddey added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
–Field Level Media
