Celtics make 20 3-pointers in 140-122 win over Pacers
- - Celtics make 20 3-pointers in 140-122 win over Pacers
The December 26, 2025 at 11:17 PM
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Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) dribbles in front of Indiana Pacers guard Quenton Jackson (29) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) ()
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and the Boston Celtics made 20 3-pointers in a 140-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
The All-NBA forward, who is averaging 29.4 points, shot 13 of 20 from the field and made two 3-pointers. Payton Pritchard added 29 points, making three 3s, and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Celtics were 20 of 39 from beyond the arc compared to the Pacers’ 18 of 44. Reserve Sam Hauser was 7 for 8 behind the arc and scored 23 points, while Derrick White added 21 points with three 3s.
The Celtics, winners of four in a row and back-to-back games against Indiana, were starting a five-game road trip.
Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 18 points and four 3s.
The Celtics trailed by 15 midway through the first quarter, but methodically chipped away at the deficit, then pulled away with six 3-pointers in a 47-point second quarter for a 75-61 halftime lead.
HEAT 126, HAWKS 111
ATLANTA (AP) — Norman Powell had 25 points, Pelle Larsson scored a career-high 21 and struggling Miami handed Atlanta its fifth straight loss.
Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 13 rebounds in place of Bam Adebayo, who missed the game with a back injury. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and Jamie Jaquez Jr. had 16 points off the bench.
The Heat had lost eight of nine games entering Friday, but got back over .500 at 16-15. Tyler Herro missed his eighth straight game with a toe injury. Larsson started after missing five games with a sprained left ankle.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 30 points and he also had seven assists. Jalen Johnson added 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Wiggins turned in one of the plays of the game in the fourth quarter. He saved the ball along the sideline after stealing an inbounds pass, got a return pass and hit a running reverse layup to stretch Miami’s lead to 102-87 with 9:05 to play. A 9-0 run capped by an over-the-head layup by Powell later in the quarter pushed the lead to 17.
The Heat outrebounded the Hawks 52-42 and forced 21 turnovers while committing 12. That resulted in 19 more field goal attempts for Miami.
WIZARDS 138, RAPTORS 117
WASHINGTON (AP) — Keyshawn George scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and last-place Washington beat struggling Toronto.
CJ McCollum and Bilal Coulibaly each added 21 points to help the Wizards to their highest-scoring performance of the season. The Raptors owned the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating entering Friday.
Washington halted a four-game home losing streak but still has the NBA’s worst record (6-23). The Wizards shot 59.3% (54 of 91) as a team, out-rebounded the Raptors 46-33 and outscored the visitors 36-17 in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and Immanuel Quickley added 25 for Toronto, which has lost nine of 13.
Sandro Mamukelashvili had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who played without starters RJ Barrett (knee sprain) and Jakob Poetl (back strain).
HORNETS 120, MAGIC 105
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Charlotte beat Orlando after losing rookie forward Kon Knueppel to a right ankle injury in the first half.
Miles Bridges had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets and Moussa Diabate added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Charlotte shot 19 for 39 (48.7%) from 3-point range and led by 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Black led Orlando with 24 points. Desmond Bane added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Hornets had a 57-48 lead in the final seconds of the first half when Knueppel, who ranks second among NBA rookies in scoring and 3-point shooting, went down with the injury. He had scored 16 points, all in the first quarter, while making all four of his 3-point shots. Hornets coach Charles Lee said X-rays on Knueppel’s ankle were negative and he would be evaluated again when the team returns to Charlotte.
Three 3-pointers by Collin Sexton late in the third quarter helped the Hornets stretch a 16-point lead to 24.
Led by Diabate, Bridges and Tidjane Salaun, the Hornets had a 53-42 rebound edge in winning for the fourth time in six games.
BULLS 109, 76ERS 92
CHICAGO (AP) — Jalen Smith sparked a game-ending run with a thunderous dunk on Joel Embiid, and Chicago matched a season high with its fifth straight win, beating Philadelphia.
The Bulls scored the final 10 points of the game, starting with Smith’s driving dunk. Tre Jones and Zach Collins each had 15 points, and Coby White scored 13, helping the Bulls match their best streak since a 5-0 start. They also evened their record at 15-15.
Embiid led Philadelphia with 31 points. Tyrese Maxey scored 27 and had five 3-pointers. Paul George shook off a slow start to finish with 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, but the 76ers lost for the fourth time in as many games this season with their three stars in the lineup.
The Sixers led 102-99 after Embiid backed in with 2:45 remaining, but that was all the scoring for them. Smith then drove the baseline and dunked on a rotating Embiid with about 2:30 remaining, bringing the crowd to its feet.
White then nailed a step back 3, drawing more roars, and Jones hit a reverse layup. After a driving Maxey got blocked by Nikola Vucevic, Jones tracked down a loose ball and laid it in with 47 seconds left. He added a free throw with 17 seconds remaining.
GRIZZLIES 125, BUCKS 104
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 24 points, Ja Morant had 17 points and 10 assists in his return from a four-game absence and Memphis beat Milwaukee.
Cam Spencer finished with 19 points for Memphis. Jackson added nine rebounds and five blocks as Memphis beat Milwaukee for the eighth straight time, all of them by double digits. Morant had been out with a left ankle sprain.
AJ Green matched his season high for Milwaukee with 20 points, connecting on 7 of 13 overall and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Kevin Porter Jr. finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Bobby Portis Jr, Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins scored 15 points apiece as Milwaukee lost for the fourth time in five games.
Milwaukee continues to play without leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed the last eight games with a right calf strain. That’s 28.9 points and 10 rebounds out of the lineup.
Milwaukee chipped into the Memphis double-digit lead to get within 92-85 early in the fourth, but Memphis scored the next seven points to take it back to a 14-point margin.
SUNS 115, PELICANS 108
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Devin Booker scored 30 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to lead Phoenix to a victory over New Orleans in the opener of a two-game series.
The Suns trailed 100-97 after Zion Williamson hit a free throw with 4:58 left, but the Suns closed out New Orleans by outscoring the Pelicans 18-8 the rest of the way. Booker started the surge with two free throws, and Mark Williams then made four consecutive free throws and a dunk off an alley-oop feed from Booker. Williams finished with 24 points, including 10 in the final period, and 13 rebounds.
Williamson led the Pelicans with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Jordan Poole and Trey Murphy III had 19 points apiece. But the Pelicans hurt themselves with an abysmal night from the foul line, going 25 of 42.
The teams play again Saturday in New Orleans.
Williamson’s layup with 1:51 left cut the Suns’ lead to 107-106, but Phoenix iced the game with a 15-foot jumper by Collin Gillespie that started a five-point run in a 35-second span.
JAZZ 131, PISTONS 129
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George scored 31 points and hit a floater in the lane with 2.1 seconds remaining as Utah snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Detroit.
Cade Cunningham, who had 29 points and 17 assists, missed a contested shot at the buzzer and then had a long conversation with the officials before leaving the court. Cunningham had a personal-best 13 assists in the first half.
Lauri Markkanen scored 30 points and Brice Sensabaugh equaled his season high of 20 points filling in for Ace Bailey, who missed the second half with a hip injury.
Tobias Harris had 16 points for the Pistons, who lost for just the second time in their last nine games despite shooting 52.2% from the field and making 18 of 37 from 3-point range.
George stole a backcourt pass and threw down a breakaway dunk to give the Jazz a 129-125 lead with 1:14 remaining. Caris LaVert blocked George and Cunningham stole the ball. Cunningham’s free throws tied the game at 129-129.
Utah’s largest lead came with 2:34 left in the third quarter, 104-89, after Kevin Love’s three free throws. Love had 11 in the period as the Jazz outscored the usually stingy Pistons 44-35.
CLIPPERS 119, TRAIL BLAZERS 103
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — James Harden had 34 points, Brook Lopez scored 31 points, including a career-high nine 3-pointers, and Los Angeles beat Portland for its third straight win.
Kawhi Leonard pitched in 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists, including 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Deni Avdija led Portland with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Clippers outscored the Blazers 63-41 in the second half, including a 19-1 run in the third quarter to take control.
A free throw by Donovan Clingan made it 71-59 Blazers with 8:16 left in the third quarter, matching Portland’s biggest lead of the game. After a drought for both teams, the Clippers took over.
After Lopez’s seventh 3-pointer made it 72-67, acting Blazers coach Tiago Splitter was called for a technical foul. Leonard made the free throw to make it 72-68.
Harden hit two free throws and then scored on a driving layup to tie the game at 72.
The Clippers took their first lead at 75-72 with 3:23 left in the third quarter on Lopez’s eighth 3. Lopez connected on his ninth 3 to make it 78-72.
Source: “AOL Sports”
