NBA: Suns beat Celtics 111-103, extend winning streak to four games

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.

Boston center Aron Baynes broke a bone in his left hand early in the game and the team announced that he’ll be sidelined indefinitely.

at Rockets 136, Wizards 118: 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.

The winning streak ties their longest of the season and comes after the Rockets lost their previous three games.

Bradley Beal had 28 points to lead the Wizards, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

at Hornets 110, Cavaliers 99: 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.

at 76ers 131, Knicks 109: 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.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 27 points and Kevin Knox had 21 for the Knicks (9-24), who have lost three straight and eight of their last nine. Emmanuel Mudiay, averaging 20 points per game in his previous nine contests, was held to 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Spurs 129, at Magic 90: LaMarcus 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.

D.J. Augustin led Orlando with 17 points. Rookie center Mo Bamba had seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks in his first NBA start.

Aaron Gordon, who had 26 points in the Magic’s win at San Antonio on Nov. 4, finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

at Raptors 99, Pacers 96: 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.

VanVleet scored nine of his 11 points in the final quarter as Toronto won its 10TH straight home meeting with the Pacers. Indiana has not won in Toronto since March 1, 2013.

Victor Oladipo scored 20 points for the Pacers, who lost their second straight after winning the previous seven.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points, Myles Turner had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana.

at Bucks 123, Pelicans 115: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

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

New Orleans, already short-handed in the frontcourt due to a rash of injuries, played an extended stretch without star forward Anthony Davis, who led the Pelicans with 14 points and five rebounds in the first quarter. He limped off the court and directly to the locker room with an apparent left ankle injury in the waning seconds of the period after his legs got tangled with teammate Andrew Harrison underneath the basket as Harrison drew a charge on Thon Maker.

The Pelicans’ public relations staff tweeted shortly before halftime that Davis’ return was questionable due to illness. Davis returned to the bench in the third quarter and entered the game almost immediately.

Nets 96, at Bulls 93: Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points off the bench and made a critical defensive play in the final seconds, lifting the Brooklyn Nets over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night for their 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. Brooklyn was coming off a 115-110 victory at home Tuesday night over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

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.

Pistons 129, at Timberwolves 123 OT: Blake Griffin scored 34 points and Reggie Bullock added a career-high 33 as the Detroit Pistons beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime on Wednesday night.

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.

at Jazz 108, Warriors 103: Joe Ingles scored 20 points while Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Jae Crowder score 18 points and Donovan Mitchell added 15 points on 5-of-26 shooting for the Jazz, who won their fourth straight at home.

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and Kevin Durant added 30 to lead Golden State in just its second loss in eight games.

Thunder 132, at Kings 113: Paul George scored 43 points, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double and Steven Adams grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in Oklahoma City’s win over Sacramento in a matchup of short-handed teams.

George hit four 3-pointers and went 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Westbrook had 19 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds for the 112th triple-double of his career.

George and Adams had double-doubles — George pulled down 12 rebounds and Adams scored 20 points — as the Thunder won for the eighth time in 11 games. Oklahoma City finished with a season-high 66 boards.

Buddy Hield had a career-best 37 points and De’Aaron Fox added 28 points and 12 assists for the Kings.

at Trail Blazers 99, Grizzlies 92: 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.

Memphis closed within 99-92 after Marc Gasol’s free throws with 45.5 seconds left, but couldn’t catch up. The Grizzlies were led by Mike Conley with 23 points.