NBA: Irving Puts Down Brooklyn

Boston — The Boston Celtics squandered several opportunities to put away the pesky Brooklyn Nets before Kyrie Irving ended the comebacks.

Irving scored 28 points, hitting a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left after his teammates struggled from the line, and the Celtics held off the Nets, 108-105, on Sunday.

“You’ve got to give credit to just how talented that team is. They play extremely hard for all 48 minutes,” said Irving, who also had eight rebounds. “We had to take the challenge on every single possession.”

Al Horford had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Marcus Morris added 15 points and Terry Rozier scored 14 as Boston closed 2017 by winning three straight and four of five.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Caris LeVert scored 16 for the Nets, who could not overcome 10 turnovers in the second half.

The Celtics won their seventh straight against the Nets, although Boston didn’t have the game in hand until Irving made a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining. Boston went the final 4:27 without a field goal and struggled from the foul line, going 16 for 25 in the game, and missed several opportunities to put Brooklyn away.

Hollis-Jefferson pulled the Nets within 103-95 on a dunk, and then converted a three-point play with 2:05 left to cut the margin to 103-98. Quincy Acy hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left after the Nets grabbed two offensive rebounds, and Brooklyn was within 105-103.

Marcus Smart made one of two free throws with 15.2 seconds left, and then Irving — who went 4-for-4 from the foul line — added two more to seal it.

Mavericks 116, Thunder 113

Oklahoma City — Harrison Barnes scored 24 points, Dennis Smith Jr. got 11 of his 19 points in the final 1:39 and Dallas closed 2017 with its season-best fourth straight win, beating Oklahoma City.

Dirk Nowitzki added 13 points for Dallas, which had lost four straight in Oklahoma City and seven of nine overall against the Thunder.

Wizards 114, Bulls 110

Washington — Bradley Beal scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Washington Wizards to a 114-110 win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Beal scored 15 straight points for Washington in the fourth as the Wizards rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the period.

Timberwolves 107Pacers 90

Indianapolis — Jimmy Butler had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Minnesota never trailed against Indiana.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, and Taj Gibson added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves (23-14), who have won nine of the last 12 games.

Clippers 106, Hornets 98

Los Angeles — Lou Williams scored 40 points, Blake Griffin added 25 and Los Angeles held off Charlotte.

In an offensive struggle for both teams, the Clippers outshot the Hornets 47 percent to 39 percent to win for the fifth time in six games.

Rockets 148Lakers 142 (2 ot)

Houston — James Harden scored 40 points before leaving with a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter, and Chris Paul scored 15 of his 28 points in overtime as Houston snapped a five-game skid, beating Los Angeles in double overtime.

Los Angeles led by as many as 17, but couldn’t hold on as the team’s season-long losing streak stretched to six games.

Grizzlies 114, Kings 96

Sacramento, Calif. — Tyreke Evans had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists against his former team and Memphis beat Sacramento.

Evans shot 10-of-16 and had five 3-pointers. He spent two stints with Sacramento and was most recently with the team in 2016.

Sixers 123, Suns 110

Phoenix — Dario Saric tied a season high with 27 points and Philadelphia beat Phoenix after blowing an 18-point lead in one quarter.

Joel Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds, and Ben Simmons had 21 points to help Philadelphia win for third time in four games.

Devin Booker scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half for the Suns, and T.J. Warren had 28.