NBA Roundup: Celtics Hold Off Hornets

Charlotte, n.c. — Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets, 102-91, on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his 18 points in the pivotal fourth quarter, helping Boston break open a tight game. The Celtics had dropped three of four, including a 111-103 loss to visiting Washington on Christmas Day.

Horford gave the Hornets fits all night, hitting 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Kemba Walker scored 24 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Hornets, who are in the midst of a freefall down the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte has lost 13 of 17 ahead of a four-game West Coast trip beginning Friday night at Golden State.

The Hornets trailed by as many as 20 in the first half, but cut the lead to one entering the fourth quarter after holding the Celtics to 7-of-23 shooting in the third.

But Charlotte never led.

Terry Rozier, who had 15 points, knocked down a 3-point to start the fourth and Horford scored inside to give the Celtics some breathing room.

Aron Baynes played a pivotal role on defense, helping hold Howard to 3-of-10 shooting from the field. Baynes consistently pushed Howard away from the low block, forcing him to take difficult shots and finished with nine rebounds.

Charlotte shot 36.8 percent from the field.

Notes: The Celtics have beaten the Hornets in six straight meetings and 10 of the last 11 dating to February 2015. … Had 15 fast-break points to Charlotte’s eight.

Pelicans 128, Nets 113

New Orleans — Rajon Rondo set a franchise record with a career-high 25 assists in just 30 minutes on the court, Anthony Davis had 33 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and New Orleans beat Brooklyn.

DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who’ve won three straight.

Mavericks 98, Pacers 94

Indianapolis — Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, Harrison Barnes made the tiebreaking free throw with 37.7 seconds left and Dallas snapped an eight-game road losing streak.

Nowitzki, the franchise’s career leading scorer in his 20th season, scored six points in the final quarter to help the Mavericks rally for their third win in 17 road games.

Barnes and Yogi Ferrell each scored 13 points. Ferrell, an Indianapolis native, hit a key 3-pointer to take a four-point lead with 2:09 remaining.

Hawks 113, Wizards 99

Atlanta — Dennis Schroder scored 21 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 and Atlanta won consecutive games for the first time this season.

The Wizards were coming off their best win of the season, a high-energy 111-103 victory at Boston on Monday, but they have been unable to shake a reputation for playing down to the competition.

Marco Belinelli scored 19 points in 20 minutes for Atlanta, the NBA’s worst team at 9-25.

Bulls 92, Knicks 87

Chicago — Kris Dunn scored 17 points, including two clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Chicago rallied to beat New York Knicks.

Chicago trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but shut down New York down the stretch of its ninth win in 11 games. The Knicks managed just three points in the final 5½ minutes.

Thunder 124, Raptors 107

Oklahoma City — Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds and Oklahoma City held off Toronto

Paul George scored 33 points — going 7 of 10 from 3-point range — and Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams had 18 points each for Oklahoma City, which has won six straight and is 12-3 in December.

Timberwolves 128Nuggets 125 (ot)

Minneapolis — Jimmy Butler scored 12 of Minnesota’s 14 points in overtime and finished with a season-high 39 to lift the Timberwolves over Denver.

Andrew Wiggins made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points for Minnesota, which won its fifth straight.

Taj Gibson added 20 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Will Barton led Denver with 28 points, while Trey Lyles added 23 points and 10 rebounds. Nikola Jokic scored 22 for the Nuggets, whose three-game winning streak ended.