Jayson Tatum’s near triple-double sparks Celtics in 118-115 win over Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 33 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-115 on Thursday night.

Derrick White scored 26 points for Boston, while Sam Hauser — filling in for the injured Jaylen Brown — hit five 3-pointers and scored 15 points.

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Naz Reid added 20 points off the bench, while Jaden McDaniels had 19 points and eight boards.

The Timberwolves trailed by eight with two minutes to play but they had a chance to send it into overtime. However, Anthony Edwards’ 3-pointer fell short at the buzzer.

PACERS 128, HEAT 115

MIAMI (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 33 points and handed out 15 assists, Myles Turner added 21 points and Indiana rolled past Miami.

Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 53% and led by as many as 28.

Kel’el Ware led the Heat with 25 points. Bam Adebayo scored 20, Tyler Herro added 17 and Terry Rozier had 16 for Miami.

Jimmy Butler scored nine points, and didn’t play in the fourth quarter for a second consecutive night. He also had nine points in Wednesday’s win over New Orleans.

THUNDER 116, CLIPPERS 98

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and Oklahoma City won their franchise-record 13th consecutive regular-season game by beating Los Angeles.

The Thunder trailed by 16 in the first half before pulling within 52-48 at halftime. Shaking off a cold shooting first half, the Thunder exploded for 42 third-quarter points and an 18-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander also had a game high eight assists for the Thunder, who are 28-5 and have won 17 of their last 18 regular-season games. He did not play in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Williams scored 18 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 11 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Amir Coffey led the Clippers with 26 points.

After shooting just 31% in the first half, the Thunder wound up at an even 50% for the game and added to their league-leading steal total with 11 takeaways.

NETS 113, BUCKS 110

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 26 points, Cam Thomas had 24 and Brooklyn withstood a frantic Milwaukee comeback attempt down the stretch to win.

Brooklyn led by as many as 24 and still owned a 111-90 advantage with less than seven minutes left before the Bucks scored 20 straight points. The Bucks had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t finish on his drive to the basket.

Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams got the rebound and hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left.

Damian Lillard missed two potential tying 3-point attempts in the last 4.1 seconds.

Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 12 of 24 from the floor.

Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr. was ejected from the game with 9.9 seconds left in the first half for making unnecessary and excessive contact with Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton.

WARRIORS 139, 76ERS 105

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry had 30 points and made all eight of his 3-point attempts, and Golden State beat Philadelphia.

Golden State led 35-19 after the first quarter and extended a 16-point halftime lead to 25 at the end of the third quarter.

Curry had 24 points by the end of the third quarter after going 6 of 6 from 3-point range. He made consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth to put the Warriors up by 30 and left the game as both coaches emptied their benches minutes later.

Jonathan Kuminga added 20 points off the bench.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Curry played through a right thumb sprain with tape on his right hand, and Embiid played through a left foot sprain after missing Wednesday’s loss to the Kings.

LAKERS 114, BLAZERS 106

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 38 points, Max Christie had a career-high 28 and Los Angeles overcame Anthony Davis’ absence for a 114-106 victory over Portland Trail.

James hit a season-high seven 3-pointers and Christie added five for the Lakers, who have won six of eight. Austin Reaves contributed 15 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as Los Angeles hung on to beat Portland for the fifth straight time.

Davis sat out for only the second time this season to rest his sprained left ankle, which the star big man hurt on Christmas. Point guard Gabe Vincent also sat with a hip injury.

Anfernee Simons scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Blazers, who have lost four of six. Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija added 19 points apiece.

The Associated Press