AROUND THE NBA Monday’s games

Celtics 108, Spurs 94

BOSTON

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Jaylen Brown added 18 and Al Horford had 13 rebounds to help the Celtics beat the San Antonio Spurs and lead Boston to its fifth straight victory. Irving scored 24 for the third straight game, rookie Jayson Tatum had 11 rebounds and Terry Rozier had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. Reserves Brandon Paul had 18 points and Rudy Gay scored 14 for San Antonio, which remains without Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. It was the first game this season that LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t lead San Antonio in scoring. He had 11 points. Rozier scored 10 of the Celtics’ first 13 points in the fourth quarter, eight of them in a 52-second span when Boston turned an 11-point lead into a 93-74 rout. Rozier made just one of his first nine shots before making four in a row in the fourth.

Knicks 116, Nuggets 110

NEW YORK

Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 38 points and Kyle O’Quinn added 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter after the Knicks had blown all of their 23-point third-quarter lead. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 28 points and Jamal Murray scored 20. Jarrett Jack hit a long jumper and Lee added two free throws and the Knicks were able to hold on down the stretch. Jack finished with 10 assists. Gary Harris scored 18 points, Emmanuel Mudlay had 15 and Barton added 13 for the Nuggets.

Timberwolves 125, Heat 122, OT

MIAMI

Jeff Teague scored 23 points, Andrew Wiggins scored 22 and the Minnesota Timberwolves scored the first six points of overtime before holding on to beat the Miami Heat. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who got 16 from Jimmy Butler and 13 from Jamal Crawford. Dion Waiters tied a career-high by scoring 33 for Miami, 14 of those coming in the fourth quarter including a layup that sent the game to overtime. Kelly Olynyk scored 23 points and Goran Dragic added 18 for Miami — which was again without center Hassan Whiteside, out for a fifth consecutive game with a bruised left knee. Bam Adebayo started again in his place and had the best game of his rookie season, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

76ers 115, Rockets 107

HOUSTON

Ben Simmons had 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Joel Embiid added 22 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a win over the Houston Rockets. After losing 105-104 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Eric Gordon in Philadelphia on Oct. 18, the 76ers snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Rockets, winning in Houston for the first time since Feb. 16, 2011. James Harden scored 29 points and Gordon had 25. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell frequently pressured Harden defensively for Philadelphia, adding 11 points and five assists off the bench. The Rockets were able to overcome an off shooting night by overwhelming Philadelphia at the free-throw line where they made 28 of 38 attempts, compared to just 17 of 24 for the 76ers. Former Rockets forward Robert Covington had four steals for the 76ers, adding five points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

Magic 115, Pelicans 99

NEW ORLEANS

Marreese Speights highlighted an 18-point performance by hitting five of his career-high six 3-pointers during a decisive 22-6 run, and the Orlando Magic soundly defeated the New Orleans Pelicans. Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons each scored 20 points for Orlando, which shot 50.6 percent (43 of 85) from the field and 47.1 percent (16 of 34) from 3-point range. Aaron Gordon added 17 points, helping the Magic bounce back from a loss at Charlotte a night earlier. Anthony Davis had 39 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, but the Pelicans made only seven of their 28 3-point attempts, hitting only 3 of 18 from deep in the second half. DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points and 12 assists for the Pelicans, while Jrue Holiday scored 11 points. Speights, a 6-foot-10 power forward, hasn’t been shy about shooting from distance, but had made only 3 of 9 attempts from deep in the Magic’s first six games.

Hornets 104, Grizzlies 99

MEMPHIS, TENN.

Kemba Walker scored 27 points and keyed a fourth-quarter rally to erase a double-digit deficit as the Charlotte Hornets handed Memphis its first home loss of the season with a win over the Grizzlies. Jeremy Lamb added 17 points and rookie Malik Monk finished with 13 points. That rally put the Hornets ahead for good, although Memphis pulled within 102-99 in the closing seconds. Memphis couldn’t catch Charlotte primarily because they made only 6 of 27 shots in the fourth, many of them coming in the closing minutes as the Grizzlies tried to stop the Hornets rally. Tyreke Evans led Memphis with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Conley finished with 16. James Ennis III and Dylan Brooks scored 11 points apiece.

Associated Press