Jayson Tatum scored 35 of his career-high 53 points after halftime as the Boston Celtics erased a 17-point deficit to outlast the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136 in overtime Friday night.
Tatum, the youngest player in Celtics history to score at least 50 in a game at 23 years and 37 days, shot 16 of 25 from the field, had six 3-pointers and added 10 rebounds as the Celtics won for the fourth time in five games. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Marcus Smart 24 points and eight assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the league-worst Timberwolves, who rallied from down 11 with 2:51 left in regulation to force overtime. D’Angelo Russell scored 26 with eight assists and Anthony Edwards had 24 points.
Boston led 122-111 before 3-pointers from Towns and Russell helped Minnesota get within three. The visitors knotted the score at 124 on another Russell trey that banked in with 9.7 seconds remaining, and Tatum missed a chance at a game-winner at the buzzer.
Hawks 120, Bulls 108
Trae Young scored 42 points on 15-for-25 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and nine assists, and Atlanta rallied for a win over visiting Chicago.
Clint Capela contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-for-12 from the field. Danilo Gallinari added 20 points off the bench for the Hawks, who earned their fifth win in the past six games.
Zach LaVine scored a career-high 50 points for the Bulls. He made 18 of 31 shots from the field, 7 of 12 shots from beyond the arc and 7 of 8 attempts from the free-throw line. Chicago lost for the first time in four games.
Wizards 110, Warriors 107
Bradley Beal’s four-point play with 6.1 seconds remaining powered Washington to a win over Golden State in San Francisco.
Beal, the NBA’s leading scorer, finished with 20 points — more than 11 fewer than his season average. Russell Westbrook — who recorded his 21st triple-double of the season with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists — notched six of his points in the final period.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry led all scorers with 32 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 23, 11 of them in the third quarter.
Knicks 133, Grizzlies 129 (OT)
RJ Barrett scored 20 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining in overtime as New York rallied for a victory over Memphis.
Barrett was among six Knicks to reach double figures. Immanuel Quickley also finished with 20 points, Derrick Rose contributed 19 while Burks scored 16 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Ja Morant led all scorers with 26 points, but the Grizzlies saw their four-game winning streak end. Morant shot 9 of 18 but also missed 4 of 8 free throws as Memphis shot 61.8 percent (21 of 34) from the line.
Nuggets 121, Spurs 119
Nikola Jokic racked up 26 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds as host Denver built a big early lead and barely held on to beat San Antonio.
By beating San Antonio for the second time in three days at Denver, the Nuggets earned their eighth consecutive victory. Denver is 13-3 since the All-Star break. San Antonio lost for the fifth game in a row and fell for the 10th time in the past 12 contests.
Jokic logged his 13th triple-double of the season, second in the NBA only to the 21 of Washington’s Russell Westbrook. Michael Porter Jr. added 22 points and 10 rebounds. Six players scored in double figures for the Spurs, led by Derrick White with 25 points and DeMar DeRozan with 24 points and 12 assists.
Clippers 126, Rockets 109
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and dished out eight assists as host Los Angeles defeated Houston for its fourth win in a row.
Reggie Jackson finished with 26 points, Nicolas Batum added 17 and Terance Mann totaled 16 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles. Clippers forward Paul George didn’t play as the team gave him a rest following consecutive 30-plus-point outings, and Rajon Rondo (adductor soreness) also sat out.
Houston lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Rockets had six players in double figures, led by Christian Wood with 23 points and Jae’Sean Tate with 18 points.
Hornets 127, Bucks 119
Miles Bridges scored 26 points and Charlotte wrapped up a key road swing with a victory against short-handed Milwaukee. The backcourt duo of Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier each supplied 20 points for the Hornets, who went 4-2 on the trip.
The Bucks played their fourth straight game without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee). Milwaukee also was missing Jrue Holiday (left knee), Khris Middleton (right knee), Brook Lopez (back), Donte DiVincenzo (hip) and P.J. Tucker (calf).
Rookie Jordan Nwora led Milwaukee with a career-high 24 points. Jeff Teague tacked on 19 points, and Bryn Forbes scored 18.
Pelicans 101, 76ers 94
Zion Williamson had 37 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as host New Orleans defeated Philadelphia. Williamson tied a career high with eight assists and made 15 of a career-high 28 field-goal attempts.
Brandon Ingram returned from a five-game absence caused by a foot injury and scored 17 for the Pelicans, though he made just 5 of 21 shots.
Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 23 points, and Joel Embiid had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Pacers 111, Magic 106
Aaron Holiday’s 20 points and 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range propelled Indiana to a victory at Orlando.
The healthier Pacers, who welcomed Domantas Sabonis (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Malcolm Brogdon (11 points) back to their lineup, secured back-to-back wins as they began a stretch of five out of six on the road.
Terrence Ross led Orlando with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Ross’ driving dunk with 54.1 seconds left pulled the Magic within four points. However, he airballed a 15-foot jumper with 19.3 seconds left, and the Pacers sealed the win at the foul line.
—Field Level Media
