NBA ROUNDUP

NBA ROUNDUP

Monday’s games

Celtics 112, Pacers 111

INDIANAPOLIS

Terry Rozier’s steal and dunk with 1.5 seconds left capped a frantic comeback in the final half-minute that gave the Celtics a victory over the Pacers. Kyrie Irving scored 30 points for Boston, which trailed 107-102 after Victor Oladipo’s basket with 31 seconds remaining. But Irving made a pair of 3-pointers, and following an inbound pass with nine seconds left, Boston was attempting to trap Indiana’s Bojan Bogdanovic along the sideline. Bogdanovic threw a high pass intended for Oladipo near midcourt but Rozier intercepted it and had an open court to his slam.

Bulls 117, 76ers 115

CHICAGO

Nikola Mirotic and Kris Dunn each scored 22 points, and the Bulls topped the 76ers for their sixth consecutive victory. Mirotic and Dunn each hit huge shots down the stretch as Chicago rallied past Philadelphia with a big finish in the fourth quarter. Mirotic also grabbed 13 rebounds, helping the Bulls remain unbeaten since he returned Dec. 8 after missing the start of the season with facial fractures after he got into a fight with teammate Bobby Portis during practice. Chicago had seven players score in double figures. Justin Holiday scored all 20 of his points in the first half, and Portis finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Simmons had 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Sixers.

Hornets 109, Knicks 91

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Frank Kaminsky scored 15 of his season high-tying 24 points in the first half to give the Hornets a jolt off the bench in a victory over the Knicks. Kaminsky didn’t miss a shot until the fourth quarter, finishing 10 of 13 overall and 4 of 6 on 3-pointers to provide a boost for a Hornets bench that has struggled so much lately that interim head coach Stephen Silas has shortened the playing rotation.

Hawks 110, Heat 104

ATLANTA

Taurean Prince scored 24 points, Dennis Schroder added 23 and the NBA-worst Hawks beat the injury-riddled Heat. The Heat, down to just nine healthy players, were without leading scorer Goran Dragic, forward James Johnson and key reserve Justise Winslow. Miami center Hassan Whiteside missed his 10th straight game with a bruised left knee and 15th overall. Miami had won four of five and was trying to move two games over .500 for the first time this season.

Timberwolves 108, Trail Blazers 107

MINNEAPOLIS

Jimmy Butler powered through a recent bout of back spasms to score 37 points, sinking two free throws that gave the Timberwolves the lead with 2.5 seconds left in a victory over the Trail Blazers. Jamal Crawford pitched in a season-high 23 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter to spur a rally from 10 points down with 71/2 minutes remaining. The Wolves completed their third comeback win this season from a double-digit deficit.

Thunder 95, Nuggets 94

OKLAHOMA CITY

Russell Westbrook scored 16 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking free throw with 2.3 seconds left, to lift the Thunder. Westbrook made the first of two free throws to put the Thunder ahead. He missed the second, and the Nuggets called timeout with 1.7 seconds left. Denver’s Gary Harris missed short on an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired.

Rockets 120, Jazz 99

HOUSTON

Eric Gordon scored 17 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to power a huge run that put the Rockets on top, and they cruised to their 14th straight win. Houston used a 15-0 run early in the fourth to take the lead and was up by four midway through the quarter after a layup by Joe Ingles.

Spurs 109, Clippers 91

SAN ANTONIO

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and the Spurs beat the undermanned Clippers in Kawhi Leonard’s home debut this season. Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists in 23 minutes, his second-longest stint after missing the first 19 games while recovering from left quadriceps tendon surgery. San Antonio is taking a similar incremental approach with Leonard, limiting his minutes after he missed the first 27 games of the season due to right quadriceps tendinopathy.

Suns 97, Mavericks 91

DALLAS

Alex Len had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help the Suns rally past the Mavericks for their second consecutive comeback victory. TJ Warren scored 19 points and Isaiah Canaan added 17 as Phoenix (11-21) improved to 2-0 on a three-game road trip despite playing without injured guard Devin Booker. Dallas (8-23) lost its third straight game and has one win in its last seven. Harrison Barnes had 26 points and Devin Harris added 14 for Dallas. Yogi Ferrell and Wesley Matthews each scored 13.

Associated Press