NBA RoundupThomas Does It Again

Boston — Isaiah Thomas scored 19 of his 44 points in the final quarter to lift the Boston Celtics over the Toronto Raptors 109-104 on Wednesday night in a showdown for first place in the Atlantic Division.

It was the fifth straight win for Boston, which moved 1½ games ahead of the Raptors in the division and holds the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.

Jae Crowder scored 14 points for the Celtics and Al Horford had 11. Thomas had 18 of Boston’s final 23 points.

Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 32 points, former Celtic Jared Sullinger had 13 and Norman Powell added 12. The Raptors have lost seven of nine.

In a final quarter that rivaled playoff intensity, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was fouled on a breakaway attempt and walked over and had words with Lowry — before a few others joined in and had to be separated by the officials. Boston’s Terry Rozier and the Raptors’ DeMarre Carroll were each given a technical foul.

With the Celtics trailing by eight, Thomas scored nine straight points to give them their first lead of the game — 95-94 on a driving basket with 4:39 to play.

The lead changed hands six times over the next 3½ minutes — with Thomas’ 3-pointer from the left wing giving Boston a 103-101 edge with 48.1 seconds left.

Toronto led by 11 at the halftime and scored 13 of the first 19 points in the third, pulling to a 75-57 edge on Lowry’s 3-pointer from the right corner.

Notes: G Avery Bradley missed his eighth straight game with a right Achilles tendon injury. Coach Brad Stevens said he’s practiced the last two days, but the team wants “to make sure that when we get him back, he’s back on the court and limit the chance that it’ll happen again.” … F Kelly Olynyk was out with a strained left shoulder. … Thomas hit a 36-foot 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to cap off his 16-point first quarter.

Cavaliers 125, Wolves 97

Cleveland — LeBron James scored 27 points, Kyrie Irving had 14 and a career-high 14 assists and Cleveland, coming off a losing record in January, defeated Minnesota.

Cleveland, which went 7-8 last month, began February looking like the defending NBA champions. The Cavaliers held a three-point halftime lead and took control midway through the third quarter. James’ three-point play gave the Cavaliers a 90-70 lead.

Knicks 95, Nets 90

New York — Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and joined a group of mostly substitutes who led a big fourth-quarter turnaround that carried New York over Brooklyn.

Carmelo Anthony had 15 points for the Knicks, but he was on the bench for the entire fourth quarter after shooting 6 for 22 from the field. Instead, the Knicks rallied behind Willy Hernangomez, who had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic, who made team history by converting a pair of four-point plays in the game.

Heat 116, Hawks 93

Miami — Goran Dragic scored 27 points, Dion Waiters added 20 and Miami pushed the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games.

Hassan Whiteside scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Heat, who hadn’t won nine straight since November 2013. James Johnson scored 16 before getting ejected in the fourth quarter for Miami (20-30).

Pistons 118, Pelicans 98

Auburn Hills, Mich. — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 38 points, leading Detroit over New Orleans.

Tobias Harris added 19 points and Andre Drummond 17 for the Pistons, who ended an eight-game losing streak to New Orleans. Detroit had lost three in a row overall.

Pacers 98, Magic 88

Orlando, Fla. — C.J. Miles scored 16 points, Glenn Robinson III added 14 and Indiana held on to beat Orlando.

The Pacers used their smaller lineup and timely 3-point shooting to keep the struggling Magic from rallying. Orlando didn’t have an answer for Miles’ 3-point shooting, including a trey that pushed the lead to 96-88 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.