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Celtics overcome Kyrie Irving’s absence to rout Hornets
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BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Jayson Tatum scored 20 points and the Boston Celtics rolled over the Charlotte Hornets 126-94 on Wednesday night despite Kyrie Irving’s absence.

Terry Rozier had 17 points and tied a career high with 10 assists in place of Irving, the star guard who missed his second straight game with a left hip strain.

Marcus Morris scored 15 points, Al Horford had 14 and Gordon Hayward 12 to help Celtics win for the seventh time in eight games. Kemba Walker had 21 points for Charlotte.


NUGGETS 105, 

PELICANS 99

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 13 rebound and 10 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season and Denver beat undermanned New Orleans,

Malik Beasley scored 22 points, and Monte Morris added 20 to help the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets win their fourth straight. Kenrich Williams hit five of nine 3-point shots and scored a career-high 21 for the scrappy Pelicans. For the second night in a row, they played without four usual starters and a top reserve. Their only available starter, Jrue Holiday, had 22 points.


TIMBERWOLVES 99, GRIZZLIES 97, OT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns hit a buzzer-beating desperation shot in overtime to lift Minnesota past Memphis.

Memphis led twice during overtime, but Towns helped Minnesota closed it out. On the final possession, Andrew Wiggins ran the clock down to six seconds before shooting a pull-up 3. The rebound fell to the right side, where Towns grabbed it, dribbled once and floated up a shot as he faded toward the corner.

Towns scored all 16 of his points after halftime. Jerryd Bayless had 19 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Timberwolves on a frigid night with an announced crowd of 13,615 in Minnesota.

Mike Conley had 26 points and eight assists for Memphis.


MAVERICKS 114, KNICKS 90

NEW YORK (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 14 points in what might have been his final appearance at Madison Square Garden, Luka Doncic warmed up after an airball on his first shot in the arena to score 16 points, and Dallas routed New York.

Dennis Smith Jr. had his second career triple-double with 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 19 points. Kevin Knox scored 17 points for the Knicks.


WIZARDS 107,

 PACERS 89

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 25 points, Jeff Green added 23 to lead another productive night from Washington’s bench, and the Wizards beat Indiana.

Green had 16 points in the first half to help spell Beal, who came in second in the NBA in minutes at 37.2 per game, and the Wizards’ reserves scored 58 points. Washington’s second unit also led a fourth-quarter rally that just fell short against Cleveland a night earlier.

Thaddeus Young scored 13 points for the Pacers. They are 0-3 since a victory over Toronto in which leading scorer Victor Oladipo suffered a season-ending knee injury.


BULLS 105, HEAT 89

MIAMI (AP) — Bobby Portis scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half, Wayne Selden added 20 and Chicago ran away in the second half to beat Miami.

The Bulls, who finished January with a 2-13 record — the franchise’s second-worst mark ever in that month. Tyler Johnson scored 15 points for Miami.


TRAIL BLAZERS 132, JAZZ 105

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 36 points and 11 assists to lead the Trail Blazers to a win over the Jazz.

Lillard’s backcourt mate CJ McCollum was excellent as well, scoring 30 points in the win.

Donovan Mitchell had 22 points to lead Utah.

McCollum, only one game removed from his first career triple-double, stayed red hot. The Blazers guard made all nine of his shots in the first quarter and had 20 by the end of the period.