NBA Roundup: C’s Gut Out a Win

Boston — Kyrie Irving had 23 points and five assists, and Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the short-handed Boston Celtics slip past the Dallas Mavericks, 97-90, on Wednesday night.

Boston’s Al Horford finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Boston has won four straight and six of their last seven.

The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris. Brown sat with an inflamed right eye, while Morris was out due to left knee soreness.

It forced coach Brad Stevens to rely heavily on his reserves. They came through in the fourth, leading a 10-0 run to put Boston back in front 80-73.

Dallas fought back to tie it up at 85. But the Celtics ran off eight straight points to push their lead to 93-85 with 2 minutes to play.

Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and six rebounds.

Boston’s bench outscored their Dallas counterparts 36-23 for the game.

Dallas had just three turnovers in the opening 24 minutes and led 57-47 at the half.

The Celtics fought through periods of sloppiness offensively, committing seven turnovers in the half. They were also outscored 20-12 in the paint.

The Mavericks took a 59-47 lead earlier in the third quarter. But the Celtics erased the deficit with a 15-2 run. It was part of a fast-moving quarter that saw the lead change hands eight times.

Barnes had 12 points in period for Dallas. Horford paced Boston with 10 points.

Warriors 101, Hornets 87

Charlotte, n.c. — Kevin Durant had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Golden State beat Charlotte without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

It was Durant’s first triple-double of the season and his second since joining the Warriors before last season.

Klay Thompson scored seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Warriors, who have won five straight overall and seven in a row against the Hornets.

Curry will be sidelined for about two weeks with a sprained ankle, while Green is nursing a sore shoulder.

Cavaliers 101, Kings 95

Cleveland — LeBron James drained a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and finished with 32 points as the Cavaliers tied a franchise record with their 13th straight win.

James, who changed his sneakers three times, also had 11 rebounds and nine assists, helping the Cavs rally from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to remain unbeaten since Nov. 11. His decisive 3-pointer in the final minute was in the face of JaKarr Sampson, who had jawed with James earlier.

Cleveland also won 13 straight in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

Pacers 98, Bulls 96

Indianapolis — Victor Oladipo scored 27 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 31.1 seconds left, and Indiana beat Chicago.

Bojan Bodganovic had 17 points for Indiana, and Darren Collison finished with 14.

Knicks 99, Grizzlies 88

New York — Courtney Lee scored 24 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18 after a slow start in his return to the lineup, and New York beat Memphis.

Moving from forward back to shooting guard in Tim Hardaway Jr.’s absence, Lee fell just shy of his season high and was the catalyst in a big run to open the second half that largely determined the game.

Magic 110, Hawks 106 (ot)

Orlando, Fla. — Evan Fournier scored 27 points, but injured his right ankle as Orlando rallied to beat Atlanta in overtime.

Aaron Gordon had 24 points and 15 rebounds and Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic.

Pelicans 123, Nuggets 114

New Orleans — DeMarcus Cousins had 40 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks, and New Orleans won for the second time in three games without Anthony Davis.

Jrue Holiday scored 27 points and E’Twaun Moore had 14 for New Orleans.

Bucks 104, Pistons 100

Milwaukee — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and nine rebounds, and Milwaukee used a strong start to the fourth quarter to beat Detroit.

Khris Middleton had 21 points, including four free throws in the final 20 seconds to help the Bucks win for the fourth time in five games. Eric Bledsoe added 22 points.