NBA roundup: Celtics tackle Magic, improve to 14-0 at home

 

[December 18, 2023]  Jaylen Brown heated up late to polish off a 31-point performance as the Boston Celtics continued to inch toward history with a 114-97 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Boston has won its first 14 home games of the season, becoming just the second team in franchise history to accomplish the feat. The 1957-58 Celtics got off to the best start in front of a friendly crowd, going 18-0.

Brown scored 17 of his points in the fourth quarter and went 12-for-20 from the field for the game. Jayson Tatum added 23 points and eight rebounds for Boston, which also got 15 points and 10 boards from Kristaps Porzingis.

Paolo Banchero poured in a game-high 36 points to go along with 10 rebounds as Orlando fell to the Celtics for the second time in three days. Boston beat the Magic 128-111 on Friday.

Suns 112, Wizards 108

Phoenix rallied from a 16-point deficit and outscored visiting Washington 31-19 in the fourth quarter en route to a win.

Devin Booker shot 4 of 6 from the floor and scored 11 of his 27 points in the final period, helping to ignite Phoenix's rally on the offensive end. The Suns defense held Washington to 7-of-27 shooting in the quarter as Phoenix flipped a nearly game-long deficit into a lead down the stretch. Kevin Durant finished with a game-high 28 points.

Daniel Gafford buoyed Washington with his career night, recording personal bests of 26 points and 17 rebounds.

Pelicans 146, Spurs 110

CJ McCollum scored 29 points while hitting six of his seven 3-point attempts as visiting New Orleans set a franchise record for 3-pointers and romped past San Antonio.

New Orleans made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers on 42 tries in its season-high fourth straight victory. Brandon Ingram added 26 points, with Jose Alvarado scoring 16 and Jonas Valanciunas racking up 15 points and 16 rebounds.

The Spurs struggled in falling for the 19th time in their past 20 outings after breaking their team-high 18-game losing streak with a win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Victor Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Dec 17, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) dribbles away from Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second half at TD Garden./Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Bucks 128, Rockets 119

Damian Lillard had 39 points and 11 assists as Milwaukee posted its fourth straight win, beating visiting Houston.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points and 17 rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 20 points and Brook Lopez had 18 for Milwaukee, which shot 50 percent from the field and snapped the Rockets' five-game winning streak.

Fred VanVleet led the Rockets with 22 points, while Alperen Sengun tallied 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Houston trailed by as many as 14 late in the third quarter before cutting the deficit to 118-113 when VanVleet scored with 3:26 remaining in the game, but it could never pull ahead.

Warriors 118, Trail Blazers 114

Klay Thompson scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting to lead Golden State to a victory over host Portland.

Andrew Wiggins added 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench as Golden State posted back-to-back wins for the first time since Nov. 1-3. Warriors star Stephen Curry scored just seven points and missed all eight of his 3-point attempts to see his NBA record of 268 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer come to an end.

Jerami Grant scored 30 points for Portland, which dropped its seventh straight game. Anfernee Simons added 24 points after going scoreless in the first half.

--Field Level Media

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