BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 31 points, Kemba Walker had 28 and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 112-93 on Wednesday night.
Jayson Tatum added 19 points to help Boston improve to 8-0 at home. Brown connected on a season-high six 3-pointers, and Walker had seven assists and four rebounds.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with a season-high 37 points and had six rebounds and four assists. Former Celtic Kelly Olynyk added 12 points, and Duncan Robinson and Justise Winslow each had 10. Miami had won three in a row.
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra left the team in the morning, flying home to be with wife Nikki for the birth of their second son. Assistant coach Dan Craig ran the team.
Brown hit two 3-pointers and Semi Ojeleye had one – all coming from the left corner directly in front of the Heat bench just over a minute apart – during a 9-1 spurt that pushed Boston’s lead to 80-67 late in the third quarter. The Celtics led by 13 after three quarters.
Boston then scored the first seven points of the fourth, making it 89-69 on Carsen Edwards’ 3 from the right wing.
Brown later banked in a 3 from the top of the key, making it 102-79 with 5:16 to play.
Guard Marcus Smart missed the game due to illness for Boston. Coach Brad Stevens said he would have been “doubtful” with a sore oblique, but “the illness knocked him out” of playing.
BUCKS 127, PISTONS 103: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and Milwaukee got its 13th consecutive victory with a win at Detroit.
The last time the Bucks had a longer winning streak than this was when they won 16 in a row spanning the end of the 1972-73 season and the beginning of 1973-74. They also had a 13-game run shortly after that 16-game streak ended. Milwaukee had won its previous two games by 41 and 44 points, and the Pistons had won their previous two by 34 and 33. This one wasn’t close either. The Bucks have dominated Detroit of late.
Milwaukee won all eight matchups with the Pistons last season – four in the regular season and four in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks also beat Detroit last month in their first meeting of 2019-20.
HORNETS 106, WARRIORS 91: Devonte Graham made 10 3-pointers and scored 33 points, and Charlotte spoiled D’Angelo Russell’s return to the court with a win over the visiting Warriors.
Graham was 10 of 16 from beyond the arc and also dished out nine assists and had seven rebounds for the Hornets (9-14), who stopped a two-game slide.
Backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 25 points, seven assists and seven rebounds as the Hornets built a 19-point, second-half lead and hung on. Russell finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes after missing the last nine games with a right thumb sprain.
MAGIC 128, SUNS 114: Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 32 points, Terrence Ross had 22 and Orlando beat visiting Phoenix.
Evan Fournier added 21 points, and Markelle Fultz had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Magic.
Frank Kaminsky led the Suns with 23 points and five rebounds, and Devin Booker had 17 points and five assists.
NOTES
WIZARDS: Washington forward C.J. Miles is out indefinitely after having surgery on his left wrist.
Miles had an operation Wednesday to repair ligament damage. He was hurt in Washington’s 117-104 loss at the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 26. The Wizards say there is no timeline for his return.
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