BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points a pivotal third quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-109, on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), snapping the defending champions’ 12-game win streak.
Jayson Tatum recovered from back-to-back rocky performances to add 19 points and 12 rebounds while also contributing seven assists as Boston earned a split in the two regular-season matchups between the past two NBA champs.
Brown added eight rebounds and eight assists, and his big quarter helped the Celtics take an 88-83 lead into the fourth. Boston’s edge grew as high as 14 in the final period.
OKC got within 115-109 with 1:30 remaining, but a layup by Brown, and two free throws by Derrick White helped Boston close it out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and eight assists. But Oklahoma City was outscored by the Celtics 19-2 in second-chance points and shot just 12 of 37 from the 3-point line.
Lu Dort added 14 points. Jalen Williams finished with seven points in his second game back following a 16-game absence with a hamstring injury.
The Thunder earned a two-point victory in the first meeting between the teams two weeks ago in Oklahoma City. But that game was played with both sides missing key players.
The Celtics were without both Tatum, who hadn’t returned from Achilles tendon rehab, and White (bruised right knee). Oklahoma City didn’t have Williams (strained right hamstring) or Isaiah Hartenstein (bruised left calf).
All four were on the floor for Wednesday’s rematch in a rare late-season pairing of elite NBA teams still with things to iron out before the playoffs. The Thunder entered topping the West and owning the NBA’s best record, while the Celtics came in boasting the East’s second-best mark.
Heat 120, Cavs 103
In Cleveland, Norman Powell scored 19 points, Tyler Herro added 18 and the Miami Heat got contributions from everyone while stopping a five-game losing skid.
As healthy as they’ve been all season, the Heat squandered a 17-point lead in the third quarter before recovering in the fourth. Miami led by nine with five minutes left before Bam Adebayo converted a three-point play and Kel’el Ware scored on a layup in an 11-second span.
Adebayo finished with 17 points, Ware had 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Heat had eight players score in double figures. The Heat will stay in Cleveland and play the Cavaliers again on Friday.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points before fouling out in the final minutes for the Cavs, whose winning streak ended at four. James Harden and Sam Merrill scored 18 apiece.