BOSTON — Jared Sullinger scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds Thursday night to help lead the Boston Celtics to a 99-85 preseason victory against the New York Knicks.
Sullinger was 6 of 10 and had six assists in 19 minutes for the Celtics. Tyler Zeller finished with 15 points and Jae Crowder added 13. Also, David Lee had seven points and eight boards.
Carmelo Anthony scored eight points for the Knicks on 4-of-18 shooting in 31 minutes. Jose Calderon finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Derrick Williams added 14 points.
Anthony struggled, missing six of his first seven shots. He was held scoreless for more than 20 minutes until a pair of baskets late in the first half.
Marcus Smart of Boston dished out nine assists, tying his personal best.
New York will open the regular season Wednesday at Milwaukee. Boston wraps up its preseason schedule Friday night against Philadelphia.
PACERS 98, HORNETS 86: C.J. Miles had 20 points and Paul George added 12 as Indiana won at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Frank Kaminsky had 19 points and six rebounds for Charlotte, which finished the preseason 7-1.
NOTES
CAVALIERS: LeBron James skipped part of Cleveland’s practice while remaining limited by a back issue.
Coach David Blatt said the team is being “conscientious and cautious” with James, who received an anti-inflammatory injection last week.
James didn’t speak to reporters following the workout, but he did throw around some footballs with a few teammates on a field outside the facility before heading home.
James played in just two of Cleveland’s seven exhibition games, missing the last three after receiving the shot. Last week James said he would get another injection in his back if needed.
Entering his 13th NBA season, James has said he may play fewer minutes in the regular season to stay fresh for the postseason and a run at a third league title. He has played more than 43,000 minutes – he averaged a career-low 36.1 last season – and has acknowledged his basketball mortality, saying “Father Time is undefeated” on more than one occasion.
James missed 13 games last season, the most in his career, and took two weeks off to rest his back and a strained knee. Blatt said he’s not concerned the time off will affect James’ conditioning.
• Cleveland signed power forward Tristan Thompson to a five-year, $82 million deal.
HAWKS: Atlanta trimmed its roster by waiving swingman Terran Petteway.
The 6-foot-6 rookie was signed by the Hawks after failing to get drafted out of Nebraska. The move left Atlanta with 17 players heading into the final preseason game.
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