Highlights of today's NBA games

Mar 25, 2017 - 6:10 AM HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NBA GAMES PLAYED ON FRIDAY (SATURDAY AEDT)

CELTICS 130 beat SUNS 120 - The Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker scored 70 points, becoming the sixth different player in NBA history to reach that total, but the Boston Celtics got 34 points from Isaiah Thomas and outlasted the visitors 130-120.

Booker joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson and Elgin Baylor as the NBA's 70-point scorers. Baylor also held the previous record against the Celtics with 64 points in Minneapolis for the Lakers on November 8, 1959.

The win was Boston's third straight, and avenged their buzzer-beater loss in Phoenix earlier this month.

CAVALIERS 112 bt HORNETS 105 - LeBron James had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Cleveland bounced back from their worst defensive outing of the season with a win over Charlotte.

James will meet with an eye doctor after a physical game in which he was poked in the eye by Jeremy Lamb, but remained in the game to lead the Cavaliers to a Central Division-clinching win.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped Charlotte's three-game winning streak.

The Hornets were led by Kemba Walker, who had 28 points on five 3-pointers. Cody Zeller added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

ROCKETS 117 bt PELICANS 107 - James Harden scored 38 points, including eight down the stretch, and tied a career high with 17 assists to help Houston pull away from New Orleans.

Anthony Davis had 33 points and 16 rebounds and Cousins added 29 points for the Pelicans, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.

BUCKS 100 bt HAWKS 97 - Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up his second straight double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds as Milwaukee held on to beat Atlanta.

The Bucks, who have won 11 of 13 games, moved into a tie with Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have lost six straight.

Dennis Schroder had 28 points for the Hawks.

WARRIORS 114 bt KINGS 100 - Stephen Curry had 27 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 12 assists to help Golden State beat Sacramento.

Draymond Green added a season-best 23 points with eight assists, while Ian Clark scored 10 points to help the Warriors improve to an NBA-best 58-14. Golden State have won six straight since their season-high three-game losing streak.

Buddy Hield scored a career-high 22 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, while Ty Lawson scored 20 for Sacramento. The Kings have lost four straight.

WIZARDS 129 bt NETS 108 - John Wall scored 22 points despite dealing with migraine headache symptoms earlier in the day, Bradley Beal added 19 points and Washington cruised past Brooklyn to clinch a playoff spot.

Brandon Jennings had 18 points, one of three bench players to score in double-figures as the third-place Wizards moved a game ahead of idle Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

Wall and Jennings each had nine assists as Washington won their second straight before embarking on a five-game road trip.

NUGGETS 125 bt PACERS 117 - Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 17 rebounds and a big three-pointer to turn back a late Indiana rally as Denver beat the Pacers.

Wilson Chandler scored 12 of his 24 points in the opening quarter and Danilo Gallinari added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Jokic had 21 points and 12 rebounds by halftime, helping Denver open an 11-point lead, but Indiana staged a furious rally in the final minutes to trim a 23-point deficit to five before Jokic's three-pointer with 1:28 remaining.

All-Star forward Paul George scored 27 points for Indiana, while Jeff Teague had 21 and Myles Turner added 20.

MAGIC 115 bt PISTONS 87 - Elfrid Payton had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season while Terrence Ross scored 18 points as Orlando routed slumping Detroit.

It was another costly defeat for the Pistons, who entered the night just one game out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference and lost for the third straight time and the sixth in their past seven games.

All five Magic starters were in double figures to back Payton's seventh career triple-double. Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon each scored 16 points and Evan Fournier had 15 in one of Orlando's most complete performances of the season.

76ERS 117 bt BULLS 107 - Rookies Dario Saric and Shawn Long had career highs in scoring, leading Philadelphia over desperate Chicago.

Saric scored 32 points, extending his double-digit points streak to 22 games, the longest by a rookie this season. He added 10 rebounds. Shawn Long, playing in his ninth career game, had 18 points and seven rebounds.

The 76ers were playing without injured post players Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid, two of their recent high draft picks. Embiid had knee surgery on Friday and is out for the season, while Okafor (knee soreness) is questionable for Sunday at Indiana.

The Bulls remained even with Detroit, who lost at Orlando, for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 36 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

LAKERS 130 bt TIMBERWOLVES 119, OT - Jordan Clarkson had career highs of 35 points and eight three-pointers as Los Angeles rallied to beat Minnesota to snap a six-game skid.

Julius Randle added 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who earned just their second victory since the All-Star break. They had lost 15 of 16 coming into the matchup of last-placed teams in their respective divisions.

Andrew Wiggins scored 36 points before fouling out with 1:17 left in OT and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, who dropped their fifth in a row.

The Wolves blew a 15-point lead in the third.

Source: AAP