NBA Roundup: Celtics Rally, Hand Pistons 28th Straight Loss

Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) and center Kristaps Porzingis (8) battle for a rebound during overtime at TD Garden in Boston on Dec. 28, 2023. Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

The Boston Celtics overcame a 21-point deficit and raised their home record to 15–0 by beating the Detroit Pistons 128–122 in overtime Thursday night.

The Pistons also made dubious NBA history, losing for the 28th straight time, the longest in-season losing streak in league history. If they fall on Saturday vs. the visiting Toronto Raptors, they would tie the longest skid of all time, including from one season to the next.

Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-high 35 points and added eight rebounds. Jayson Tatum finished the game with 31 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 31 points and nine assists. Detroit received 22 points and 10 rebounds from Jaden Ivey, 15 points and 14 rebounds from Jalen Duren and 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from Bojan Bogdanovic.

Nuggets 142, Grizzlies 105

Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his 11th triple-double of the season, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points and nine assists and host Denver beat Memphis.

Peyton Watson scored a career-high 20 points while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Julian Strawther contributed 12 points each for the Nuggets, who earned their season-high sixth win in a row.

Desmond Bane logged 23 points and Marcus Smart put up 17 points for the Grizzlies, who played without Ja Morant (illness). Memphis had been 4–0 since Morant returned from a 25-game suspension to open the season.

Pelicans 112, Jazz 105

Brandon Ingram scored 26 points to lead three New Orleans players with 20-plus points as the host Pelicans held off Utah.

CJ McCollum added 22 points and Zion Williamson had 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Pelicans, who had lost three of their previous four games.

Collin Sexton scored 26 points and Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, whose three-game winning streak ended. Utah’s Walker Kessler scored 11 and Jordan Clarkson added 10.

Pacers 120, Bulls 104

Myles Turner scored 24 points and Tyrese Haliburton delivered 21 points and 20 assists to lift visiting Indiana over Chicago.

Buddy Hield added 19 points for the Pacers, while Jalen Smith (15), Bennedict Mathurin (15), and Aaron Nesmith (12) rounded out a balanced attack that helped Indiana pull away down the stretch after squandering a 25-point lead.

Patrick Williams led the Bulls with 22 points, while DeMar DeRozan (21), White (16), Alex Caruso (15) and Ayo Dosunmu (15) followed.

Timberwolves 118, Mavericks 110

Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points to lead Minnesota past Dallas in Minneapolis.

Edwards made six 3-pointers while equaling the third-highest scoring output of his career as the Timberwolves won for the 12th time in 15 games. Dallas played without star Luka Doncic (quadriceps) for the second time in five games. Sidekick Kyrie Irving (heel) missed his 11th game in a row.

Rudy Gobert registered 20 points on 7–of–7 shooting and also had 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for Minnesota, which owns the second-best record in the NBA at 23–7. Tim Hardaway Jr. matched his season high of 32 points and Jaden Hardy added 17 for the Mavericks, who lost for the sixth time in nine games.

Lakers 133, Hornets 112

Anthony Davis tallied 26 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and LeBron James added 17 points and 11 assists as Los Angeles beat visiting Charlotte.

Rui Hachimura scored 17 points in just his fourth start of the season as the Lakers won for the third time in nine games since winning the NBA in-season tournament Dec. 9 with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. Los Angeles received production from its bench, getting 16 points from D'Angelo Russell (nine assists) and Austin Reaves.

Miles Bridges scored 20 points and Terry Rozier added 18 points with eight assists for the Hornets, who lost their ninth consecutive game. Brandon Miller scored 17 points after missing Tuesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with a sprained right ankle and Nick Richards added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who are 0–2 to start a six-game road trip.

Spurs 118, Trail Blazers 105

Victor Wembanyama collected 30 points, six rebounds, six assists and seven blocked shots and keyed an early run that stoked San Antonio’s win over the short-handed Trail Blazers in Portland.

Devin Vassell added 17 points for San Antonio, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Jeremy Sochan scored 16, Malaki Branham 13 and Zach Collins 11.

Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon led Portland with 29 points apiece, and Scoot Henderson added 25. Grant added 10 rebounds and five assists. The Trail Blazers have dropped three of the past four games.

Heat 114, Warriors 102

Tyler Herro led a balanced attack with a game-high 26 points and Miami opened a five-game Western swing with a handcuffing of Golden State in San Francisco.

Playing without Jimmy Butler, out with a strained left calf, the Heat extended their road winning streak to four by holding Golden State to 24.2 percent shooting on 3-pointers (42 percent overall). Jamal Cain chipped in with 18 points, Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez Jr. 17 each, and Nikola Jovic 11 for the Heat, who made 48.4 percent of their shots and won despite connecting just 10 times in 31 3-point attempts.

Stephen Curry struggled through a 3–for–15 shooting performance for the Warriors, who were opening a seven-game homestand. Curry and Klay Thompson shared team-high scoring honors with 13 points apiece but hit a combined 27 percent. Curry’s 3–for–15 struggle included a 2-for-8 night on 3-pointers, while Thompson posted similar numbers, going 4–for–11 overall and 2–for–6 on 3-pointers.