Josh Hart had 26 points and Jalen Brunson added 25 points and 10 assists as the New York Knicks extended their home winning streak to six games by beating the visiting Boston Celtics 112-106 on Thursday.
Boston was within 109-106 after a Nikola Vucevic basket with 35.6 seconds left, but a Hart 3-pointer extended the lead to six points with 15.2 seconds remaining. Hart made 5 of 7 3-point attempts, including two in the final minute.
New York, which can still catch Boston and finish as high as second in the Eastern Conference standings, received 16 points and 12 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Payton Pritchard added 23 points and Baylor Scheierman finished with 20. Scheierman made 6 of 7 3-point shots. Jaylen Brown (Achilles) sat out.
Rockets 113, 76ers 102
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points and drilled a critical late 3-pointer that helped host Houston fend off hard-charging Philadelphia.
The Rockets extended their winning streak to eight games but had to sweat out the final minutes, when what was once a 28-point lead was trimmed to three. Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson added 19 points apiece for Houston.
The 76ers, who have lost three straight, played without Joel Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy earlier on Thursday. Tyrese Maxey paced Philadelphia with 23 points while VJ Edgecombe added 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
Raptors 128, Heat 114
Brandon Ingram scored 23 of his 38 points in the first half as Toronto defeated visiting Miami to complete a four-game sweep of the Heat and move into fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.
RJ Barrett complemented Ingram with 22 points for the Raptors, while Collin Murray-Boyles went perfect from the field in scoring 17 points. Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Bam Adebayo bounced back from a disappointing performance Tuesday by tallying 24 points and adding 11 rebounds for Miami. Tyler Herro scored 15 points, while Davion Mitchell added 15 points and 11 assists.
Bulls 119, Wizards 108
Tre Jones scored 31 points, Collin Sexton had 27 and Leonard Miller recorded a career-high 26, fueling visiting Chicago to a victory over Washington.
Jones sank 9 of 14 shots from the floor and all 12 of his attempts from the free-throw line for the Bulls, who rode a strong finish to the third quarter en route to defeating the Wizards for the second time in three days. Miller, who made 11 of 14 shots from the floor, added 11 rebounds to record his second double-double in three games.
Washington rookie Will Riley collected 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Julian Reese recorded 16 points and 15 boards. Leaky Black and Anthony Gill each scored 14 points for the undermanned Wizards, who dressed the league-minimum eight players on Thursday.
Pacers 123, Nets 94
Reserve Obi Toppin collected a season-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Indiana seized control in the first quarter and rolled to an easy victory over Brooklyn.
Toppin, the only available player to appear in the NBA Finals last season for Indiana, made 11 of 14 shots in 19 minutes. Micah Potter added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 52%, scored 80 points in the paint and outrebounded Brooklyn 66-43.
E.J. Liddell led the Nets with a career-high 26 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. He made 10 of 16 shots and set his career high for scoring in a third straight game. Rookie Ben Saraf added 19 points and Tyson Etienne contributed 14.
Lakers 119, Warriors 103
LeBron James tallied 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Golden State in San Francisco.
Deandre Ayton scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and Jake LaRavia added 16 points for the Lakers, who moved into a tie with the Houston Rockets for the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference. Both teams are one game behind the Denver Nuggets. Luke Kennard finished with 14 points, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr. added 12 apiece and Bronny James had 10.
Brandin Podziemski and Nate Williams led Golden State (37-43) with 17 points apiece. Charles Bassey, Pat Spencer and Malevy Leons each scored 12 points, Seth Curry added 11, and Gary Payton II had 10. Bassey grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.
