Rajon Rondo scores 29 in his return to Boston as Dallas wins, 119-101

Rajon Rondo scored the Mavericks’ first 10 points in his return to Boston, finishing with a season-high 29 on Friday night to lead Dallas to a 119-101 victory over the Celtics.

Rondo had a career-high five three-pointers and also finished with six rebounds and five assists in his first game at TD Garden in an opponent’s uniform. The rebuilding Celtics traded the four-time All-Star to Dallas last month.

Monta Ellis scored 22 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 17 and Tyson Chandler collected 16 rebounds to help the Mavericks to their fourth consecutive victory.

Avery Bradley scored 22 points for the Celtics, and Tyler Zeller had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Rondo scored a career-high 15 points in the first quarter to help Dallas to a 14-point lead. The Mavericks put together a 13-0 run at the end of the third to make it 92-64. The Celtics cut the deficit to 10 points with about six minutes left.

But Rondo hit a jumper and soon added a steal and an assist to help make it 105-90 with 4:45 to play.

Rondo received a lengthy ovation when he was introduced in the pregame warmups, and then quickly went to work. He knocked the ball loose from Jared Sullinger on Boston’s first possession, took a handoff from Tyson Chandler and went the length of the floor for a layup.

Cleveland 91, at Charlotte 87: Kevin Love scored 27 points and Kyrie Irving had 23 as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak. It was Cleveland’s first win since announcing LeBron James would miss two weeks with knee and back strains. Love returned to the lineup after missing one start with back spasms and played 38 minutes. He was nine of 15 from the field and helped the Cavaliers take control of the game with three straight three-pointers in the third quarter after an injury scare.

Brooklyn 100, at Orlando 98: Mason Plumlee had 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Nets got back to .500 for the first time since November. Brooklyn led by as many as 26 points in the second half, but the Magic rallied in the fourth quarter, and got within two points with 3.8 seconds to play. But they weren’t able to foul again as Brooklyn successfully ran out the clock.

Detroit 97, at New York 81: Brandon Jennings scored 29 points and the Pistons extended the Knicks’ losing streak to 10 games. It was a season-high fourth straight win for the Pistons.

at New Orleans 111, Houston 83: Ryan Anderson scored 22 points and Tyreke Evans added 21 for the Pelicans, who opened a double-digit lead in the second quarter and led by as much as 32 in the second half. With his starters ineffective early in the third quarter, Rockets Coach Kevin McHale opted to play reserves during most of the second half.

at Oklahoma City 109, Washington 102: Kevin Durant scored 34 points, shooting 12 for 18 from the field in just 32 minutes, to lead the Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 53% from the field to win for the fourth time in five games.

Indiana 94, at Milwaukee 91: The Pacers had five players score in double figures, led by C.J. Miles with 22 points, in their fifth win in seven games. Indiana trailed by seven at the break, but held the Bucks to 15 points in the third and went ahead to stay in the final period.