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Suns beat Celtics 111-103, run winning streak to 4 games
NBA

BOSTON (AP) — Devin Booker had 25 points and eight assists, and Deandre Ayton added 23 points and 18 rebounds to lead the suddenly resurgent Phoenix Suns past the Boston Celtics 111-103 on Wednesday night.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Suns since opening the season 4-24. Phoenix has its first four-game winning streak since March 2015.

T.J. Warren scored 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 13 for the Suns.

Kyrie Irving led Boston with 29 points and Jayson Tatum had 18. The Celtics lost their second straight after winning eight in a row.

ROCKETS 136,

WIZARDS 118

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden scored 35 points as Houston set an NBA record with 26 3-pointers and won its fifth straight game.

A 3 by Gary Clark tied the record with 2:42 left. The Rockets missed their next four tries before Michael Carter-Williams hit one with 31.1 seconds left and was greeted with loud cheers. The previous record was held by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made 25 against Atlanta on March 3, 2017.

Harden made six 3s, Chris Paul added 5 and Gerald Green and Eric Gordon made 4 each on a night Houston attempted 55.

HORNETS 110,

CAVALIERS 99

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker had 30 points and six assists to help Charlotte rally past Cleveland.

Walker was coming off a season-low four points in Saturday’s 128-100 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in which he shot 2 for 13 from the field and missed all five 3-point tries. After missing his first seven shots against Cleveland, Walker got untracked and Charlotte evened its season record to .500 (15-15).

It was Walker’s ninth 30-point game this season.

Jeremy Lamb added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Marvin Williams 18 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points, Jaron Blossomgame had 15 and Cedi Osman added 13 for the Cavaliers.

76ERS 131, KNICKS 109

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Ben Simmons got his second triple-double in three games to lead Philadelphia.

Simmons had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Jimmy Butler added 20 points and Landry Shamet had a career-high 17 off the bench for the Sixers, who shot 53.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.

Philadelphia had lost three of four, including a lopsided defeat in San Antonio on Monday.

SPURS 129, MAGIC 90

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — LeMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points and five San Antonio players scored in double figures in the win.

The Spurs, the NBA’s leading 3-point shooting team, went 12 of 19 from behind the arc and 50 for 77 overall (64.9 percent) to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Marco Belinelli came off the bench and scored 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and DeMar DeRozan and Bryan Forbes added 17 points each.

RAPTORS 99, PACERS 96

TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds left and Toronto rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Indiana.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Pascal Siakam had 17 and Greg Monroe 13 as Toronto snapped a two-game losing streak. The Raptors, who have the best record in the NBA at 24-9, avoided their second three-game slump of the season.

BUCKS 123,

PELICANS 115

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points and Milwaukee dispatched New Orleans.

Antetokounmpo added eight assists and eight rebounds for Milwaukee, which improved to 21-9.

New Orleans forward Anthony Davis limped to the locker room with an apparent left ankle injury in the waning seconds of the first period. He returned to the bench briefly at the start of the second quarter before again heading to locker room. The Pelicans tweeted before halftime that Davis’ return was questionable due to illness. Davis returned and scored the Pelicans’ first nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with 27, along with 11 rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 12 assists.

Milwaukee’s George Hill hit a 3-pointer at the horn to end the third quarter and tie it at 90 in a game that featured seven ties and 14 lead changes through the first three periods.

The game remained tight throughout the fourth before the Bucks went on an 11-0 run to build a 10-point lead with 3:18 remaining. The Pelicans got no closer than six the rest of the way.

NETS 96, BULLS 93

CHICAGO (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points off the bench and made a critical defensive play in the final seconds to lift Brooklyn to its seventh consecutive victory.

Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the resurgent Nets (15-18), who have put together the NBA’s longest active winning streak on the heels of an eight-game skid.

Kris Dunn scored 24 points for Chicago, which has the worst record in the league at 7-25 after dropping 12 of its last 14. Bobby Portis added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls before exiting in the final minute with an apparent leg injury.

Chicago led 93-92 before Joe Harris put Brooklyn ahead to stay on a floating bank shot with 43 seconds left.

PISTONS 129,

TIMBERWOLVES 123, OT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 34 points and Reggie Bullock added a career-high 33 as Detroit topped Minnesota in overtime.

Reggie Jackson added 24 points and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Detroit, which trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter but rallied behind its strong 3-point shooting.

Derrick Rose led Minnesota with 33 points, while Robert Covington scored 22 and Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins each had 16.

TRAIL BLAZERS 99, GRIZZLIES 92

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 24 points, including 15 in the third quarter, and Portland handed Memphis its fourth straight loss.

Portland’s bench was key, outscoring the Grizzlies’ reserves 44-14 for the team’s third straight win. Meyers Leonard had 12 points and eight rebounds.