AROUND THE NBA | Wednesday’s games

Celtics 102, Hornets 91

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Boston beat Charlotte. Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his 18 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, helping Boston break open a tight game. Horford gave the Hornets fits all night, hitting 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Kemba Walker scored 24 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Hornets.

Mavericks 98, Pacers 94

INDIANAPOLIS

Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, Harrison Barnes made the tiebreaking free throw with 37.7 seconds left and Dallas snapped an eight-game road losing streak with a victory over Indiana. Nowitzki, the franchise’s career leading scorer in his 20th season, scored six points in the final quarter to help the Mavericks rally for their third win in 17 road games. Barnes and Yogi Ferrell each scored 13 points. Lance Stephenson, Myles Turner and Darren Collison had 16 points apiece for the Pacers.

Hawks 113, Wizards 99

ATLANTA

Dennis Schroder scored 21 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 and Atlanta won consecutive games for the first time this season with a victory over mercurial Washington. Marco Belinelli scored 19 points in 20 minutes for Atlanta, the NBA’s worst team at 9-25. Bradley Beal had 20 points for Washington (19-16), which was trying for its first three-game win streak since mid-November. Markieff Morris had 18 points and eight rebounds, and John Wall finished with 10 points and 11 assists.

Pelicans 128, Nets 113

NEW ORLEANS

Rajon Rondo set a franchise record with a career-high 25 assists in just 30 minutes on the court, Anthony Davis had 33 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and New Orleans beat Brooklyn. DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who’ve won three straight. The only drama in the latter stages of the fourth quarter was whether Rondo would eclipse franchise and career marks for assists. He broke Chris Paul’s mark with his 22nd assist and set a new personal best with his 25th, then came to the bench to a standing ovation and a congratulatory handshake from Gentry.

Bulls 92, Knicks 87

CHICAGO

Kris Dunn scored 17 points, including two clutch free throws in the final seconds, and surging Chicago rallied to beat the New York Knicks. Lauri Markkanen scored 12 points for the Bulls, and Justin Holiday and Robin Lopez had 11 points apiece. Holiday also made three of Chicago’s 10 3-pointers in 28 attempts, compared to a 4-for-23 performance from beyond the arc for New York. Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 23 points, and Courtney Lee had 17.

Thunder 124, Raptors 107

OKLAHOMA CITY

Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds and Oklahoma City held off Toronto. Paul George scored 33 points — going 7 of 10 from 3-point range — and Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams had 18 points each for Oklahoma City, which has won six straight and is 12-3 in December. C.J. Miles led the Raptors with 20 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 16 and DeMar DeRozan had 15.

Associated Press