Gordon Hayward erupted for a season-high 35 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 115-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Minnesota Timberwolves 102-115 Boston Celtics
Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 35 points and Terry Rozier got the start for an injured Kyrie Irving and scored 16 points on Wednesday night to lead the Celtics to a 115-102 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Irving suffered a right eye injury in a loss to San Antonio on New Year's Eve and his status remains day to day. Minnesota were short-handed with Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose and Robert Covington missing the game.
Hayward connected on 14-of-18 shots and went 4-for-7 from three-point range, including a 27-footer from the top of the key with 4:37 left that put the Celtics up 106-92 after Minnesota had cut a 21-point deficit to six.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with a season-high 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Minnesota came alive in the third quarter after the Celtics had grabbed a 60-42 half-time lead. The Timberwolves cut the deficit to 77-67 on a Towns' 26ft three-pointer.
Boston's Marcus Smart sprained his shoulder in a collision with Towns early in the third with the Celtics up 18. When he returned, the Celtics were up only 85-74.
Towns scored 20 third-quarter points and the Timberwolves trailed just 87-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
Hayward's 23ft three-point jumper ignited the rally that saw Minnesota miss nine straight shots and turn the ball over four times.
Tyus Jones ended the drought with a 12ft jumper, but Hayward answered with another three to make the game safe for the Celtics.
Philadelphia 76ers 132-127 Phoenix Suns
Joel Embiid scored 42 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the visiting Philadelphia 76ers past the Phoenix Suns 132-127.
Ben Simmons scored a season-high 29 points and JJ Redick contributed 27 for the Sixers, who won their second straight on consecutive nights after dispatching the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Embiid, who was questionable due to left knee soreness, registered his league-best 33rd double-double and his league-leading 26th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also became the first player to post at least 30 points and 14 rebounds in a half since Carlos Boozer on March 26, 2007, doing so before half-time.
Devin Booker led the struggling Suns with 37 points while DeAndre Ayton added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Jackson had 16 points.
Embiid was utterly dominant in the second quarter with 18 points. The Sixers pulled ahead 72-49 by the break as the Suns shot just 3-of-23 in the second period.
The Suns crept within 113-104 with 5:44 remaining when Jackson hit a jump shot, capping a 9-0 run. Embiid answered on the next possession with a clutch three-point play for a 116-104 advantage, giving him 40 points on the night.
Furkan Korkmaz hit a three-pointer and Embiid added a lay-up to help seal the tight win.
Oklahoma City Thunder 107-100 Los Angeles Lakers
Paul George scored 37 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 107-100 road win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
George, who picked up three fouls in first 3:12 of the first quarter, scored 20 points in the second half.
Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his NBA-leading 11th triple-double, but shot 3-for-20 from the floor.
Steven Adams had 14 points and 15 rebounds, eight on the offensive end, and Jerami Grant scored 13 for the Thunder, who have won three of four.
Lakers reserve Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who came in averaging 9.8 points, scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half. He scored a season-high 26 in a 121-114 win on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.
Caldwell-Pope started the second half after Lakers second-leading scorer Kyle Kuzma (18.7 points per game) sustained a lower-back contusion in the second quarter. Kuzma did not return.
Los Angeles' Brandon Ingram had 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. JaVale McGee scored 15 points, and Josh Hart had 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped three of four.
Dallas Mavericks 122-84 Charlotte Hornets
Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr led a balanced attack with 18 points apiece as the Dallas Mavericks posted a rare road win by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 122-84.
The Mavericks took control of the game early and led by as many as 25 in the first half and 47 in the second half, with their reserves playing the entire fourth quarter.
The Mavs came into the game 2-16 on the road this season. They had lost eight of their previous 10 overall.
Harrison Barnes scored 17 points, Dwight Powell added 15 off the bench, Wesley Matthews scored 11 and DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds.
Kemba Walker was the Hornets' leading scorer with just 11 points. Walker, who came into the game averaging 25.8, was 4-for-14 from the field. The only other Hornets in double figures were Marvin Williams, Devonte Graham and Bismack Biyombo with 10 each.
Miami Heat 117-92 Cleveland Cavaliers
Josh Richardson scored a game-high 24 points and Dion Waiters played his first game in more than a year as the Miami Heat won their fourth straight road game, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-92.
Shooting guard Waiters, who hadn't played since December 22, 2017, made the first shot he attempted - a three-pointer in the second quarter - and finished with seven points in 11 minutes.
Patrick McCaw, a 6ft 7in shooting guard who won two NBA titles while starting 30 games for the Golden State Warriors over the past two years, made his Cavaliers debut by scoring two points in 18 minutes off the bench.
Besides the comebacks, there were no mysteries in Wednesday's game. Miami outrebounded Cleveland 47-22. The Heat also shot 51.2 per cent from the floor, including 16-for-31 on three-pointers (51.6 per cent).
The Heat (18-18) are now one win away from being above .500 for the first time since October 27, when they were 3-2. Cleveland (8-30), owners of the worst record in the NBA, lost their seventh consecutive game.
Atlanta Hawks 98-114 Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal scored 24 points while Jeff Green added 22 as the Washington Wizards pulled away late and defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 114-98.
The Wizards took the lead with an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter and closed it out by scoring 12 of the game's final 14 points.
Thomas Bryant (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Tomas Satoransky (14 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles while Trevor Ariza (12 points) was the fifth Washington player to finish in double figures.
Alex Len, a 7ft 1in center who played his college ball at nearby Maryland, came off the bench to post a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hawks. John Collins added 21 points, while Kevin Huerter (12) and DeAndre' Bembry also scored in double figures.
The Wizards have won two straight games since learning that guard John Wall will miss the remainder of the season due to surgery on his left heel. Otto Porter Jr came back after sitting out 10 games due to a quadriceps strain and scored nine points.
New Orleans Pelicans 121-126 Brooklyn Nets
D'Angelo Russell collected 22 points and 13 assists as the Brooklyn Nets held on for a 126-121 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in New York.
He made nine of his 21 field-goal attempts as the Nets bounced back from a pair of double-digit road losses and won for the 10th time in 13 games.
Joe Harris added 21 points, including three big hoops down the stretch after New Orleans turned a 24-point deficit into a five-point gap.
DeMarre Carroll added 19 while Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 18 as Brooklyn's reserves outscored the Pelicans' reserves by a 55-5 margin.
New Orleans' Anthony Davis returned from being a last-minute scratch due to illness Monday and produced 34 points and a career-high 26 rebounds. It was his ninth straight double-double.
Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter when the Pelicans outscored the Nets 34-21 but, after the Pelicans center converted a put-back to make it 119-114 with 55 seconds left, Harris hit his biggest hoop of the night to ensure the Nets held on for the win, taking a pass from Dinwiddie and rolling from the three-point arc down the baseline for a decisive lay-up.
Orlando Magic 112-84 Chicago Bulls
Nikola Vucevic totalled 22 points and 12 rebounds in only three quarters of play as the visiting Orlando Magic pounded the Chicago Bulls 112-84.
Aaron Gordon added 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Terrence Ross scored 15 off the bench for the Magic, who have won three of their last four following a four-game losing streak.
Zach LaVine had 16 points and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points and six rebounds for Chicago who have lost three of their last four games.
The Magic shot 57.9 per cent from the field and led the game from start to finish.
Aaron Gordon scored the first points of the game to put Orlando in front and the Magic raced to a 16-point lead after one quarter. They led by as much as 21 in the second and 30 in the third.
Detroit Pistons 101-94 Memphis Grizzlies
Luke Kennard ignited a late-game run with back-to-back three-pointers to send the Detroit Pistons to a 101-94 victory over the host Memphis Grizzlies in a game in which Mike Conley went scoreless in a start for the first time since December 2015.
Blake Griffin had a team-high 26 points, including five in the critical 13-0 burst, as the Pistons beat the Grizzlies for just the fourth time in their last 18 meetings.
Conley shot 0-for-8 and didn't score in 28 minutes for the Grizzlies, who at 18-19 fell below .500 for the first time since opening 0-1.
In a game in which neither team led by more than eight to that point, the Grizzlies trailed just 83-82 with 5:58 to go after a tip-in by Dillon Brooks.
But Kennard then countered with his consecutive threes, Reggie Jackson added a floater and Griffin contributed a jumper, a free throw and an interior basket in the 13-0 run that opened a 96-82 Detroit advantage with just 2:45 to go.
Griffin complemented his big scoring night with eight rebounds and a game-high seven assists, while Andre Drummond recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons.
Jaren Jackson Jr matched Griffin's game-high point total with 26 and Drummond's game-high rebound total with 10 for the Grizzlies, who lost their third straight game.
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