DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded his 20th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets withstood a furious fourth-quarter push from Boston to beat the Celtics 115-109 on Thursday night and sweep their season series with the leaders of the Eastern Conference.
Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, including several on alley-oops to Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray added 19 points and eight assists.
Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and 14 rebounds for the Boston Celtics, who hadn’t lost consecutive games since early November. But Brown failed on a dunk attempt that stretched his back during the next timeout, and he was just 7 of 14 from the foul line.
Boston missed nine free throws in total, while the Nuggets missed just one of 22 foul shots.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, PACERS 111
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards tied his season high with 44 points, made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:11 left and made a spectacular block at the buzzer to put the Minnesota Timberwolves up short digital victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Edwards flew out to reject a last-second layup from 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 first place in the Western Conference, a 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 in 26 seconds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Golden State Warriors after Stephen Curry limped off to the locker room in the final minutes .
Klay Thompson gave the Warriors the lead on a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left before DeRozan delivered again in Chicago’s third straight victory.
Curry came out with 3:51 left having scored 15 points, while Thompson finished with 25 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 33 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for Chicago, scoring a 3-point basket with 2:49 remaining. The Bulls won for the fourth time in five games and ended an eight-game losing streak at Golden State 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 the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat.
Doncic matched Russell Westbrook, who had five straight 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 to post four consecutive 35-point triple-doubles.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points for Dallas, which ended 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 dunk with 7.7 seconds remaining, and the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs.
Sacramento closed out the game with a 7-0 score in the final minute. Malik Monk hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds remaining, followed by Sabonis’ steal and transition dunk.
Sabonis added 17 rebounds and nine assists, recording his 45th consecutive 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 top scorer Victor Wembanyama, who was dealing with a sprained right ankle. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 30 points and nine assists.
SUNS 120, RARAPERS 113
PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Grayson Allen added 26 and the Phoenix Suns beat the 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 scored all of his goals 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, THREADS 112
DETROIT (AP) — Jaden Ivey scored 34 points and Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 11 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Brooklyn Nets.
The Pistons (10-52) had lost nine of 10 and had not won at home since beating Oklahoma City on Jan. 28.
Dennis Schroder had a game-high 31 points for the Nets, who won three of four. Lonnie Walker IV scored 21.
