Boston
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.
The Suns led by six entering the final quarter and pushed it to 92-80 on Jamal Crawford’s 3-pointer from the top of the arc with just under 10 minutes to play.
They led 97-84 before Boston sliced it to five on Marcus Smart’s 3 with 1:49 to go. Warren was fouled by Smart taking a 3 on the ensuing possession and made all three free throws.
After a 3 by Irving, Oubre nailed a 3-pointer on the other end to help the Suns hold on.
Smart’s 3 at the second-quarter buzzer gave the Celtics a 62-59 halftime lead.
Boston grabbed an 11-point lead early in the first only to see the Suns come charging back with a 25-7 run over a 6½-minute stretch in the second.
Baynes blocked Ayton’s pass and shook his hand in visible pain before heading to the locker room during a stoppage in play.
Tip-Ins: Celtics C Al Horford missed his sixth straight game with a sore left knee. Boston coach Brad Stevens said Horford didn’t practice Tuesday but did some things on the court Wednesday morning. “Feeling better, getting better. Reassess pretty much every day,” Stevens said. … F Marcus Morris also missed the game with a sore right knee. … Boston shot 70.8 percent (17 of 24) in the first quarter.
Raptors 99, Pacers 96
Toronto
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 tenth straight home meeting with the Pacers. Indiana has not won in Toronto since March 1, 2013.
Sixers 131, Knicks 109
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 (21-12), who shot 53.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range.
Hornets 110, Cavaliers 99
Charlotte, n.c.
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 in time to help Charlotte even its season record to .500 (15-15).
Spurs 129, Magic 90
Orlando, Fla.
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. San Antonio shot 69 percent through the first three quarter and led 104-77 heading into the final period.
Rockets 136, Wizards 118
Houston
A 3 by Gary Clark tied the record with 2:42 left and fans began chanting: “Three, three, three,” every time Houston got the ball after that. 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.
