Jamal Murray scored a game-high 35 points and Nikola Jokic added 34 to help the Denver Nuggets hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season with a 102-100 victory on Friday night.
Murray made 15 of 21 shots from the floor. He also had eight rebounds and five assists. Jokic finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists. Jayson Tatum missed a 17-foot jump shot that would have tied the score with three seconds to play. Denver came up with the rebound and ran out the clock.
Boston entered the game 20-0 at home this season, and had won 27 straight home games dating back to last season. Derrick White led the Celtics with 24 points. Tatum finished with 22 and Kristaps Porzingis had 21. Porzingis, who scored Boston’s first 11 points, was held to two points in the second half.
Al Horford had 10 rebounds for Boston, which had its three-game winning streak end. The Celtics went on a 7-0 run to take a 98-95 lead with 4:51 to play, but Denver took the lead for good on a Jokic basket that put the Nuggets in front 99-98 with 3:36 remaining.
Hawks 109, Heat 108
Dejounte Murray scored a team-high 22 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left, to help lead visiting Atlanta to a win over Miami.
With the Heat leading 105-104, Tyler Herro knocked down a contested triple to give the Heat a four-point lead with 35.5 seconds left. Bogdan Bogdanovic was fouled on the next possession and made both free throws. After Herro missed a jump shot, Atlanta elected not to call timeout, instead letting Murray take the final shot and win the game.
Bogdanovic added 17 points for Atlanta, which won its third straight game and its first at Miami since March 2021. Jalen Johnson chipped in 15 points, while Saddiq Bey tallied 14 points. Miami, which has lost two straight, was led by Jimmy Butler and Herro, who each scored 25 points.
Trail Blazers 118, Pacers 115
Jerami Grant poured in 37 points and Portland posted consecutive wins for the first time since late November after defeating visiting Indiana.
Malcolm Brogdon scored a season-high 30 points and had seven rebounds and six assists as the Trail Blazers completed a two-game season sweep of the Pacers, spoiling the Indiana debut of Pascal Siakam and the return of Tyrese Haliburton.
Siakam had 21 points and six rebounds in his first game since being acquired from the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks.
76ers 124, Magic 109
Joel Embiid scored 28 of his 36 points in the first half and Tyrese Maxey added 32 points, lifting the visiting Philadelphia over Orlando.
Embiid, who also had seven rebounds and four of Philadelphia’s 11 steals, made 12 of 22 shots from the floor and all 11 attempts from the foul line. The reigning NBA MVP scored at least 30 points in his 19th straight game, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor for the sixth-longest streak in NBA history.
Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. recorded a season-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds off the bench.
Suns 123, Pelicans 109
Devin Booker scored a season-high 52 points and hot-shooting Phoenix defeated host New Orleans.
Booker, who scored 58 points against the Pelicans in a game last season, made 18 of 30 field-goal attempts, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and sank all 10 of his free throws. His career high is 70 points, set against the Boston Celtics in 2017.
Zion Williamson scored 24, Brandon Ingram had 17 points and 11 assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 11 rebounds and CJ McCollum and Jordan Hawkins scored 13 each to lead New Orleans, which had won eight of its previous 11 games.
Nets 130, Lakers 112
Cam Thomas scored 33 points and Nic Claxton added 22 points and 14 rebounds as visiting Brooklyn ended a four-game losing streak with a convincing victory over Los Angeles.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points and Mikal Bridges added 17, one game after he was slowed by a leg contusion. Former Laker Lonnie Walker IV contributed 15 points for Brooklyn, which entered with losses in nine of its past 10 games. The Nets went 19 of 47 from 3-point range (40.4 percent) while ending a five-game road losing streak.
Anthony Davis scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and LeBron James added 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers remained inconsistent. The defeat came after Los Angeles registered consecutive victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.
Hornets 124, Spurs 120
LaMelo Ball scored 28 points in his first home game in almost two months and Charlotte beat San Antonio, ending a six-game losing streak.
Brandon Miller had 24 points and nine rebounds, Miles Bridges racked up 23 points, P.J. Washington added 20 points and Terry Rozier provided 17 points and eight assists for Charlotte.
Keldon Johnson poured in 25 points off the San Antonio bench, while Tre Jones and Zach Collins both had 16 points. Devin Vassell had 14 points, Dominick Barlow added 12 points and Jeremy Sochan finished with 11 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
—Field Level Media
