AROUND THE NBA | Monday’s games

Celtics 116, Nets 95

BOSTON

Kyrie Irving returned after missing two games with an eye injury and scored 17 points to lead eight players in double figures as the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets. Jayson Tatum added 16 points, and Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart each scored 12 for the Celtics, who won their third straight game. Rodions Kurucs led Brooklyn with 24 points. Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 and Kenneth Faried scored 13 with 12 rebounds. The Nets lost for just the fourth time in their last 16 games.

Spurs 119, Pistons 107

DETROIT

DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, and Gregg Popovich moved another step higher on the NBA’s career wins list as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons. Popovich now has 1,221 victories. He’s tied with Jerry Sloan for third place, trailing only Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens. A 23-2 run spanning parts of the first and second quarters put the Spurs up 45-33. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points for the Spurs. Blake Griffin scored 34 for Detroit, and Andre Drummond added 19 points and 14 rebounds. Detroit has lost seven of nine.

Bucks 114, Jazz 102

MILWAUKEE

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and Malcolm Brogdon scored 21 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Utah Jazz. Thon Maker added a season-high 15 points off the bench for the Bucks. Milwaukee improved to 28-11, the second-best record in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost starting point guard Ricky Rubio to a right hamstring injury less than five minutes into the game. He didn’t return. The Bucks built the margin to eight with about three minutes left on two free throws by Brook Lopez, who nailed a deep 3 about a minute later to give Milwaukee an 11-point cushion and seal the victory. Antetokounmpo, who grabbed 10 rebounds, fouled out with 42.9 seconds remaining.

Rockets 125, Nuggets 113

HOUSTON

James Harden scored 32 points, Clint Capela added a career-high 31 and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets. P.J. Tucker set a career high with seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 21 points to help Houston win for the 12th time in 14 games. Gerald Green had 21 points on a night Houston made 22 3s for its sixth game this season with at least 20. Nikola Jokic scored 24 points for the Nuggets, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Harden had 14 assists and scored at least 30 points for the 13th straight game.

Pelicans 114, Grizzlies 95

NEW ORLEANS

Anthony Davis had 36 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the New Orleans Pelicans pulled away down the stretch for a victory over the reeling Memphis Grizzlies. Second-year pro Frank Jackson scored a career-high 17 points for New Orleans, which had won two straight for the first time since winning three in a row in mid-November. Mike Conley had 22 points and 10 assists for Memphis, but the Grizzlies dropped their sixth straight game. Jackson’s fast-break layup capped a 10-point outburst in a less than three-minute span that included two 3s and a reverse layup, putting the Pelicans up 83-71. Julius Randle finished with 15 points for New Orleans, while Holiday scored 13 and Elfrid Payton 11. JaMychal Green scored 16 points for the Grizzlies.

Lakers 107, Mavericks 97

DALLAS

Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and Lonzo Ball added 21 as the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Dallas Mavericks a rare home loss. The duo helped rally Los Angeles from a double-digit halftime deficit. The Lakers won for just the second time in seven games since LeBron James strained his groin on Christmas Day, and they swept the season series from the Mavericks 3-0. Los Angeles surged ahead by outscoring the Mavericks 32-13 in the third quarter. The Lakers closed the third on a 13-4 run with Ball and Michael Beasley scoring 11 of the 13 points. Luka Doncic scored 27 points to lead Dallas.

Associated Press