BOSTON (AP) - Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points, Jae Crowder hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat Philadelphia 84-80 on Wednesday night, handing the 76ers their 16th straight loss to open the season and record-tying 26th in a row overall.
Philadelphia tied the major U.S. professional sports futility mark set by the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-77 and matched by the 76ers in 2013-14. They are two losses away from tying the then-New Jersey Nets’ NBA-worst mark of 18 losses to open a season.
Evan Turner added 16 points for Boston, which trailed by five with just under 3 minutes left. The 76ers scored three points in the final 6:13.
Jahill Okafor led the 76ers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Hollis Thompson scored 15 points.
RAPTORS 103, CAVALIERS 99
TORONTO (AP) - Kyle Lowry scored 27 points, DeMar DeRozan added 20 and Toronto beat Cleveland for its third straight victory.
LeBron James had 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers, who lost their third straight road game. Kevin Love added 21 points and 13 rebounds.
The Raptors went up for good with 7:45 to go in the fourth.
After missing their first five shots of the fourth quarter, the Raptors scored nine straight points over a 2-minute span to open a 91-84 lead with 5:38 to go.
TIMBERWOLVES 99, HAWKS 95
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Zach LaVine had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in place of the injured Ricky Rubio, and Minnesota swept the season series with Atlanta.
Rubio first tweaked his left ankle Monday night against Philadelphia and tried to play through it Wednesday. But another spill in the second quarter ultimately limited him to 21 minutes.
Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting for the Wolves (7-8), who won their second home game in a row after an 0-6 start at Target Center. The Wolves entered the night last in 3-point field goals, but went 9 for 21 against the Hawks.
Paul Millsap had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Teague scored 22 points for the Hawks. But Atlanta shot just 37.8 percent from the floor and 25 percent on 3s for its fifth loss in seven games.
SPURS 88, MAVERICKS 83
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and San Antonio beat Dallas.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and seven rebounds in his return from a two-game absence because of a mild left ankle sprain. Tony Parker added 16 points and eight assists, and the Spurs improved to 12-3 with their third straight victory.
Wes Matthews had 15 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 13 for Dallas.
Devin Harris’ 3-pointer cut San Antonio’s lead to 84-83 with 33 seconds remaining, but Leonard followed with his own 3 just 18 seconds later. Matthews then missed a 3-pointer, and Manu Ginobili went 1 for 4 on free throws to close out the Spurs’ eighth straight home victory to open the season.
JAZZ 102, CLIPPERS 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gordon Hayward scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and Utah beat slumping Los Angeles to snap a 13-game skid against the Clippers.
Derrick Favors added 22 points, Rodney Hood 13, and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Blake Griffin had 40 points - two off his career high - and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. They fell to 7-8 with their seventh loss in eight games. Chris Paul added 24 points and eight assists.
HORNETS 101, WIZARDS 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and seven rebounds, Nicolas Batum added 16 points and 11 assists and Charlotte closed with a 25-2 run to beat Washington.
The Hornets overcame a late nine-point deficit and set a franchise record by holding the Wizards to six points in the fourth quarter. Charlotte ran its home winning streak to seven and has won five of six overall to improve to 9-6.
Kemba Walker, coming off a 39-point game Monday night in Charlotte’s overtime win over Sacramento, added 16 points, and Marvin Williams and Al Jefferson each had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Marcin Gortat led Washington with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Bradley Beal also had 17 points.
GRIZZLIES 102, ROCKETS 93
HOUSTON (AP) - Jeff Green scored 20 points and Courtney Lee had 10 of his 17 in the fourth quarter to help Memphis beat struggling Houston.
Houston has lost three straight to drop to 5-10 overall and 1-3 since coach Kevin McHale was fired and replaced by J.B. Bickerstaff. James Harden had 40 points for the Rockets.
The Grizzlies led for most of the game despite playing without Zach Randolph, who missed his fourth straight game with soreness in his right knee.
KINGS 129, BUCKS 118
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Rudy Gay scored 36 points and Sacramento beat Milwaukee for its second road victory of the season.
Sacramento scoring and rebounding leader DeMarcus Cousins sat out because of a strained lower back. The Kings had lost all five previous games that Cousins missed this season.
Omri Casspi added 19 and seven rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 10 points and 13 assists.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd was ejected with 1:49 remaining after he slapped the ball out of a referee’s hand. Kidd had to be restrained by O.J. Mayo and an assistant coach before being escorted to the locker room. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton had 21 points apiece for Milwaukee.
PISTONS 104, HEAT 81
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Andre Drummond had 18 points and 20 rebounds and Detroit routed Miami to end a two-game losing streak.
Drummond had his fourth 20-rebound game of the season. Dwight Howard has the only other one in the NBA this season. Reggie Jackson added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons.
Gerald Green had 16 points for Miami, and Hassan Whiteside added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored two points on 1-for-9 shooting - the fewest points he has ever scored in at least 20 minutes of action.
THUNDER 110, NETS 99
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook added 27 points and 13 assists and Oklahoma City beat Brooklyn.
Dion Waiters had 16 points, and Serge Ibaka finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in the Thunder’s third straight victory.
Brook Lopez scored 26 points for the Nets. They had their three-game winning streak in Oklahoma City snapped.
PELICANS 120, SUNS 114
PHOENIX (AP) - Anthony Davis tipped in a missed shot with 20.6 seconds left for the go-ahead basket and New Orleans pulled away to beat Phoenix.
Davis had 26 points and 17 rebounds and the Pelicans overcame a 17-point first-half deficit for their third straight victory and second over the Suns in four days.
Jrue Holiday hit a pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds to give the Pelicans a 116-112 lead and the Suns cut it to two on free throws by Brandon Knight, but Holiday made two more free throws to seal the win in the game that had 17 lead changes.
Eric Gordon had 23 points for New Orleans, former Sun Ish Smith added 20 points and 11 assists, Ryan Anderson also had 20 points, and Holiday finished with 19. Knight scored 29 points, 20 in the first quarter, and had 10 assists.
MAGIC 100, KNICKS 91
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Victor Oladipo scored a season-high 24 points, and Nik Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds in Orlando’s victory over New York.
Tobias Harris had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help Orlando stop a two-game losing streak. Carmelo Anthony led New York with 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Jose Calderon had 23 points.
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