NBA Roundup: Red-Hot Celtics Cool Off Heat

Boston — Kyrie Irving had 26 points and 10 assists, Al Horford added 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat, 107-99, on Monday night for their fourth straight victory.

Irving has had 20 or more points and 10 or more assists in 10 games. Hall of Famer Larry Bird accomplished the feat 11 times in 1986-87.

Jayson Tatum added 19 points and Marcus Morris 17 for the Celtics, who won their ninth straight at home and improved to 18-5 at TD Garden.

Derrick Jones Jr. and Dion Waiters led the Heat with 18 points apiece.

Boston led by 19 points entering the final quarter, before Miami rallied and closed within 99-94 with 4½ minutes to play.

Irving then hit three spinning, driving baskets in the paint on the Celtics’ next three possessions to seal the win.

The building was somewhat quiet for most of the game, until the Celtics broke it open in the third quarter.

Boston shot a torrid 72.7 percent (16 of 22) in the third, outscoring the Heat, 37-18.

The teams were tied at the half before Boston opened the third with a 9-0 run over a 1:39 stretch.

Following a 3-pointer by Miami’s Tyler Johnson, the Celtics took charge by scoring 11 of the next 14 points, pushing their lead to 70-56. Tatum and Horford each had a pair of buckets before Morris closed it with a three-point play.

The Celtics used a late 12-3 run to move in front 87-68 after three periods.

Bucks 116, Mavericks 106

Milwaukee — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and Milwaukee beat Dallas.

Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 for the Bucks, who have won five straight and 12 of their last 14 to improve to 34-12 overall.

Luka Doncic had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Dallas, which has lost four in a row. Jalen Brunson had 16 points.

Pelicans 105, Grizzlies 85

Memphis, Tenn. — Jrue Holiday and Nikola Mirotic scored 21 points, Jahlil Okafor and Julius Randle had 20, and balanced New Orleans beat Memphis without injured star Anthony Davis.

Okafor set a season high for points and added 10 rebounds filling in for Davis. Randle had 12 rebounds and Holiday grabbed 11 as New Orleans outrebounded the Grizzlies, 50-35. It was the Pelicans’ first game since announcing Davis would miss 1-2 weeks with a left index finger sprain.

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 22 points, while Mike Conley added 20 and eight assists for Memphis, which lost its sixth straight and 12th in the last 13.

Nets 123, Kings 94

New York — D’Angelo Russell had 31 points and eight assists, and surging Brooklyn won its fourth straight game by running away from Sacramento in the second half.

Russell, announced as the Eastern Conference player of the week shortly before the game, made seven 3-pointers. He hit all four 3-point attempts and was 5-for-6 overall in the third quarter, fueling a 22-4 spurt that launched the Nets into the lead for good.

Joe Harris added 19 points and rookie Rodions Kurucs had 16 for the Nets, who won for the 17th time in 22 games.

Thunder 127, Knicks 109

New York — Paul George scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as Oklahoma City beat New York.

George and Westbrook both sat out the fourth quarter. Dennis Schroder added 17 points for the Thunder while both Jerami Grant and Abdel Nader each had 16.

Wizards 101, Pistons 87

Washington — Trevor Ariza scored 20 points, Otto Porter Jr. added 19 and Washington turned in its best defensive performance this season in beating Detroit.

The Wizards held the Pistons to 30 percent shooting from the floor in the first half and never let their lead dip below 10 points in the second. Detroit’s 87 points were the fewest by a Washington opponent this season.

Magic 122, Hawks 103

Atlanta — Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points apiece to lead Orlando past Atlanta in the season’s first matchup between the Southeast Division rivals.

Vucevic had 14 rebounds and Fournier had seven assists as Orlando snapped a three-game losing streak.

Bulls 104, Cavaliers 88

Cleveland — Zach LaVine scored 25 points and Chicago broke a 10-game losing streak, beating Cleveland in a meeting of teams that began the day with the worst records in the NBA.

Chicago never trailed and has won all three games this season against Cleveland, which has lost 16 of 17 overall.

Bobby Portis had 15 points while Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn each added 13 for the Bulls.

Rookie Collin Sexton scored 18 points and Ante Zizic, who is seeing playing time because of injuries in Cleveland’s frontcourt, had 13.