DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded his 20th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets withstood a furious fourth-quarter surge by Boston to beat the Celtics 115-109 on Thursday night and sweep their season series with the Eastern Conference leaders.
Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, several of them on alley-oops to Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray added 19 points and eight assists.
Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and had 14 rebounds for the Boston Celtics, who hadn’t lost consecutive games since early November. But Brown came up short on a dunk attempt that had him stretching his back during the subsequent timeout, and he was just 7 of 14 from the foul line.
Boston missed nine free throws overall, while the Nuggets missed just one of 22 foul shots.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, PACERS 111
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards matched his season high with 44 points, made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining, and came up with a spectacular block at the buzzer to give short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves the win over Indiana Pacers.
Edwards soared to reject a last-second layup by the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith, hitting his head on the rim as time expired.
Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota moved into the top spot in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of Oklahoma City.
Neither team led by more than five points over the final 20 minutes, and Edwards scored the final eight points for the Wolves.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 23 points and 13 assists for the Pacers.
BULLS 125, WARRIORS 122
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and converted a three-point play with 26 seconds, and Chicago Bulls beat Golden State Warriors after Stephen Curry limped off and went to the locker room in the closing minutes.
Klay Thompson put the Warriors ahead on a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left before DeRozan delivered again in Chicago’s third straight victory.
Curry exited with 3:51 to play having scored 15 points, while Thompson finished with 25 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 33 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for Chicago, hitting a tying 3-pointer with 2:49 remaining. The Bulls won for the fourth time in five games and snapped an eight-game losing streak on Golden State’s home floor with their first win in the Bay Area since Jan. 27, 2015.
MAVERICKS 114, HEAT 108
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to become the second NBA player to record five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles, and Dallas Mavericks rallied past Miami Heat.
Doncic matched Russell Westbrook, who had five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles in 2017 for Oklahoma City. The All-Star, who leads the league in scoring, also became the first player in history with four straight 35-point triple-doubles.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.
Terry Rozier had 27 points and 11 assists for Miami, his highest-scoring game since being acquired from Charlotte in late January.
KINGS 131, SPURS 129
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis scored 31 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 7.7 seconds remaining, and the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs.
Sacramento closed the game with a 7-0 run in the final minute. Malik Monk hit a tying 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds left, followed by Sabonis’ steal and transition dunk.
Sabonis added 17 rebounds and nine assists, posting his 45th straight double-double. De’Aaron Fox scored 17 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings.
The Spurs fell to 0-7 without leading scorer Victor Wembanyama, who sat with a sprained right ankle. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 30 points and nine assists.
SUNS 120, RAPTORS 113
PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Grayson Allen added 26 and Phoenix Suns beat Toronto Reptors.
Bradley Beal had 20 points and eight assists for the Suns, who never trailed. Durant shot 11 of 19 from the field while Allen did all of his scoring in the first half, setting a franchise record with seven 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Gary Trent Jr. led Toronto with 30 points. Immanuel Quickley added 21 points and 17 assists, while RJ Barrett scored 23.
PISTONS 118, NETS 112
DETROIT (AP) — Jaden Ivey scored 34 points and Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 11 assists as Detroit Pistons beat Brooklyn Nets.
The Pistons (10-52) had lost nine of 10 and hadn’t won at home since beating Oklahoma City on Jan. 28.
Dennis Schroder had a season-high 31 points for the Nets, who had won three of four. Lonnie Walker IV scored 21.