BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, including 13 during a 20-3 run to end the first half that helped the Boston Celtics pull away from Cleveland to win 125-105 on Wednesday night and snap the Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak.
Sam Hauser scored 21 points off the bench for Boston, which has won two straight since opening the season with three losses in a row. Josh Minott had 14 rebounds, Neemias Queta had 13 and Payton Pritchard had 10 assists for the Celtics.
Evan Mobley scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and Jaylon Tyson also scored 19 for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell made all four 3-point attempts for 12 points in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers led 42-40, but made just one of his last eight shots and finished with 15 points.
Boston led by 19 points midway through the third quarter and had a 98-80 advantage in the final two minutes of the third before Cleveland scored the next eight points. The Cavs never got closer than nine points from there, shooting 33 per cent (8 for 24) in the fourth quarter as they failed to chip into Boston’s lead.
TORONTO — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added a season-high 25 and Houston thumped struggling Toronto.
Alperen Sengun had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Rockets won their second straight after starting the season with back-to-back losses.
Amen Thompson scored 18 points and Tari Eason added 14 points for the Rockets. Steven Adams scored 12 points and led Houston with 12 rebounds.
Houston outrebounded Toronto 53-22. Seven Rockets players had five or more rebounds.
Durant finished 11 of 19 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
Scottie Barnes scored 31 points and Brandon Ingram matched his season high with 29 for Toronto, which lost its fourth straight after winning its season opener at Atlanta. All four defeats have been by 10 points or more.
DETROIT — Cade Cunningham had 30 points and 10 assists as Detroit overcame a slow start to beat Orlando.
Cunningham added six rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
The Pistons trailed for most of the first half, but outscored Orlando 70-52 in the final two quarters. The Magic have lost four straight after winning their opener.
Tobias Harris added 23 points for Detroit, which improved to 3-2, and Jalen Duren had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Paolo Banchero (24) and Franz Wagner (22) combined for 46 points, but missed 17 of 30 field-goal attempts and 11 of 28 free-throw attempts.
The Pistons used a 14-1 run to take a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter, and led by as many as 16 late in the period. The Magic attempted a rally, but missed 10 of 33 free throws in the first 36 minutes.
NEW YORK — Jalen Johnson scored 23 points, and Atlanta held off winless Brooklyn after losing star guard Trae Young to a sprained right knee in the first quarter.
Young was hurt when teammate Mouhamed Gueye fell and collided with his knee. The four-time All-Star grabbed his knee in pain after the collision and was soon ruled out for the rest of the game. He had six points in seven minutes.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points, Luke Kennard added 17 and Onyeka Okongwu had 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for the Hawks.
Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 32 points for the Nets, who fell to 0-5 for the first time since the 2015-16 season, when they lost their first seven games. Cam Thomas scored 19 points on 6-of-20 shooting, and Nic Claxton had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hawks spotted the Nets a 12-0 lead but pulled ahead 20-19 with 5:17 left in the first quarter and never trailed again, although Brooklyn made it close at the end. Two free throws by Porter got the Nets within 115-112 with 1:28 left, and Brooklyn had a chance to draw closer but missed its final five shots.
CHICAGO — Matas Buzelis scored 27 points, and Chicago defeated Sacramento to remain unbeaten.
Chicago improved to 4-0, its best start since 2021-22.
Josh Giddey had 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Chicago. Kevin Huerter added 18 points for the Bulls, who shot 53.8 per cent from the field.
Sacramento’s Zach LaVine scored 30 points in his return to Chicago. He played for the Bulls from 2018 until he was traded to the Kings before the All-Star break last season. The Bulls played a video tribute to him during the first quarter.
DeMar DeRozan, another former Bull, scored 19 points for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Kings, who lost their third straight. The Kings shot 53.1 per cent from the field but made just 7 of 28 3-pointers.
DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, matching an NBA record with his fourth straight triple-double to start the season, and Denver routed winless New Orleans.
Jokic joined Oscar Robertson (1961-62) and Russell Westbrook (2020-21) as the only players to begin a season with four consecutive triple-doubles. Those are the only players Jokic trails on the career triple-double list; the three-time MVP now has 168.
Jokic shot 10 of 15 from the field and played 28 minutes. He sat out the fourth quarter after the Nuggets went on a 24-0 run in the third period to open up a 33-point lead.
Jamal Murray and Christian Braun scored 17 points apiece for the Nuggets, who have won three straight since a season-opening loss at Golden State.
MAVERICKS 107, PACERS 105
DALLAS — Brandon Williams scored 20 and Dwight Powell scored 18 points as Dallas beat Indiana in a matchup of injured-depleted teams.
Indiana had a chance to win when Aaron Nesmith grabbed an offensive rebound after RayJ Dennis intentionally missed a second free throw with 3.4 seconds left, but Nesmith’s desperation 3-pointer missed.
Dallas’ bench contributed a season-high 64 points as the Mavericks (2-3) completed a season-opening five-game homestand, the longest since a five-gamer by the 1983-84 Kansas City Kings.
The Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last summer’s NBA draft, had his second double-double with 15 points (most among Dallas starters) and 10 rebounds.
Pascal Siakam had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Jarace Walker scored a career-high 20 points for the Pacers, who are 0-4 for the first time since they opened the 1988-89 season with nine losses.
SALT LAKE CITY — Jrue Holiday had 27 points and eight assists, and he hit four free throws in the final seconds to help Portland hold off a late Utah rally for a win.
Deni Avdija added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, and Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant finished with 18 points apiece. Portland scored 27 points off 21 Utah turnovers on its way to a second straight road victory. The Blazers improved to 3-1 since coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for what federal authorities described as his involvement in illicit gambling activities and was placed on leave.
Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points to lead the Jazz, who lost at home for the first time this season. Keyonte George added 29 points and eight assists. Walker Kessler had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Trailing 122-100 with 10:08 left, Utah used a 16-2 run bookended by 3-pointers from Kessler to cut the deficit to single digits.
Four straight baskets by George and Cody Williams, followed by free throws from Markkanen and George, trimmed Portland’s lead to 134-133 with 7.7 seconds remaining.
Holiday went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds to prevent Utah from completing the comeback.
LAKERS 116, TIMBERWOLVES 115
MINNEAPOLIS — Austin Reaves swished the 12-foot winner in the lane right before the buzzer to finish with 28 points and lift Los Angeles to a victory after Minnesota had taken the lead with a late 14-2 run.
Reaves matched his career high with 16 assists, Jake LaRavia had 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting, and DeAndre Ayton added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who built a 20-point late in the third quarter and were up 112-101 after a 3-pointer by Reaves with 4:01 left.
Julius Randle, who led the Wolves with 33 points, capped the furious rally by dropping in the go-ahead finger roll with 10.2 seconds left. Jaden McDaniels added 30 points and seven rebounds for the Wolves.
The star power of this game was considerably diminished with Luka Doncic and LeBron James sidelined for the Lakers and Anthony Edwards out for the Wolves. Reaves, who had a career-high 51 points in a win over Sacramento on Sunday and 41 points in defeat by Portland on Monday, has had something to say with his play about that.
PHOENIX — Ja Morant scored 28 points — including a go-ahead 11-foot jumper with 7.6 seconds remaining — to push Memphis past Phoenix.
The Suns trailed 99-89 midway through the fourth, but rallied to tie at 108 on Devin Booker’s jumper with 2:23 left. Mark Williams had a dunk with 51.4 seconds to give Phoenix a 113-112 lead.
The teams traded scoreless possessions before Santi Aldama found Morant for the game-deciding bucket. Booker — who scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter — had a potential game-winning 3 bounce off the rim at the buzzer.
The Grizzlies have won six straight over the Suns.
Phoenix forward Royce O’Neale hit a 3-pointer with 9:16 left to tie the score at 87, but the Grizzlies scored the next seven points and kept the lead through much of the fourth.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points for Memphis. Aldama had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists off the bench, turning to stare at the Suns bench after a 3-pointer gave the Grizzlies a 106-97 lead with 5:04 left.
Morant scored 18 points in the second half and shot 10 of 19 from the field. He added eight rebounds and seven assists.
Booker shot just 10 of 26 from the field. Williams got his first start with the Suns and finished with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds.
