Gordon Hayward scored 30 points off the bench, Kyrie Irving had 19 points and 11 assists, and the Boston Celtics ran away from the Golden State Warriors early on the way to a 128-95 win in a game that turned testy with the two-time defending champions down big.
DeMarcus Cousins and Terry Rozier received double technicals with 8:44 to play. Cousins was called for his fifth foul on a charge drawn by Aron Baynes, then the fiery Warriors center stood over Baynes in clear frustration.
JJ Redick hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points to break out of a slump and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 114-106 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. Orlando entered the game in the mix with Charlotte and Miami for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Magic have been one of the more baffling teams of late, holding recent wins over Toronto, Golden State and Indiana and losing to Chicago, Cleveland and New York.
In other Tuesday league action, Karl-Anthony Towns had 41 points and 14 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Paul George's return to the Oklahoma City lineup with a 131-120 win over the Thunder. Towns has scored 180 points over his last five games, the best five-game stretch in team history.
James Harden scored 35 points, Gerald Green had 11 of his 18 in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-95 on Tuesday night. Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers each scored 13 points as the Rockets won their sixth straight, matching a season high. Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and Serge Ibaka had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Toronto.
Mike Conley scored 19 of his career-high 40 points in the fourth quarter as Memphis used a late rally to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-111 Tuesday night. Delon Wright matched his career high with 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 17. CJ McCollum led Portland with 27 points, while Damian Lillard added 24. Maurice Harkless finished with 20 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 41 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Paul George's return to the Oklahoma City lineup with a 131-120 win at Target Center on Tuesday.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 27 points, Darren Collison added 22 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Chicago Bulls 105-96. Chicago was led by Zach LaVine with 27 points, but the Bulls lost their fifth straight to Indiana, including all four games this season.
Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle each scored 30 points to rally the New Orleans Pelicans past the Utah Jazz 115-112. Anthony Davis had 15 points and 11 rebounds in three quarters for the Pelicans.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's basketball, UAlbany downed Binghamton, 73-58, Vermont topped UMass-Lowell, 74-57, and Stony Brook beat Hartford, 68-63.
In top-25 basketball, Jeremy Harris scored 20 points as No. 19 Buffalo locked up the Mid-American Conference regular-season title and a top seed in the conference tournament with an 82-79 win over Ohio.
Luke Maye scored 17 points and added a career-high 20 rebounds to lead No. 3 North Carolina to a 79-66 victory over Boston College and preserve the Tar Heels' hopes for a regular-season conference title.
In other top-25 action, RJ Barrett scored 28 points and No. 4 Duke held on to beat Wake Forest 71-70 on Tuesday night after Chaundee Brown's jumper rimmed out at the buzzer. Tre Jones added 13 points for a sluggish Duke team missing star freshman Zion Williamson for a fourth straight game with a sprained right knee. The Blue Devils overcame 41 percent shooting and a 16-for-26 showing from the free-throw line to win their 10th straight in the in-state series.
Admiral Schofield scored 18 points in his final home game, and No. 5 Tennessee beat Mississippi State 71-54 for its 26th straight home victory. Tennessee moved into sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference, a half-game ahead of No. 10 LSU.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points, Tyler Herro added 20 and No. 6 Kentucky earned a hard-fought 80-76 win over Mississippi. PJ Washington had 13 points, all in the second half, to help the Wildcats push past the Rebels.
Kenny Goins scored 21 of his career-high 24 points in the first half and Matt McQuaid had a career-best 22, leading No. 9 Michigan State to a 91-76 win over Nebraska.
Amir Coffey matched his career with 32 points, making two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to seal Minnesota's 73-69 victory over No. 11 Purdue. Carsen Edwards scored 22 points for Purdue, but he needed 31 shots to get there and finished just 3 for 15 from 3-point range. Jordan Murphy had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Gophers in his final scheduled home game.
M.J. Walker scored nine of his 11 points after halftime, including a critical 3-pointer in overtime, and No. 14 Florida State rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to top No. 15 Virginia Tech 73-64.
NHL
Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal scored in the shootout and the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 Tuesday night, giving coach Barry Trotz his 800th win. Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Devon Toews and Ross Johnston scored in regulation to help the Islanders recover after giving up a two-goal lead in the third period and snap a two-game skid. Robin Lehner stopped 21 shots before leaving with an injury late in the third period. Thomas Greiss came on, stopped both shots he faced through overtime and denied Thomas Chabot and Bobby Ryan in the shootout.
Ben Bishop made 28 saves in his 28th career shutout, John Klingberg scored a second-period goal and the Dallas Stars beat the New York Rangers 1-0. Dallas won its third straight to move one point ahead of Minnesota for the first wild card from the Western Conference. Three of Bishop's four shutouts this season have been by a 1-0 score. Alexandar Georgiev had 31 saves for New York, which hasn't won in five games.
Jake Guentzel scored on a breakaway 2:44 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Florida Panthers 3-2. Guentzel took a lead pass from Sidney Crosby and slipped a backhand by Roberto Luongo for his second goal of the night and 33rd this season. Pittsburgh picked up two vital points in its pursuit of a playoff berth.
David Krejci scored 1:36 into overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 win over Carolina, ending the Hurricanes' five-game winning streak. Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, setting up the game-winner after making a steal in the corner and sending a crossing pass to Krejci in the slot.
In other Tuesday action, Carey Price tied Jacques Plante for most career wins by a Montreal Canadiens goalie, making 26 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Price won his 314th game in 611 appearances for Montreal, matching the total Plante had in 556 games with the team.
Nikita Kucherov tied the Tampa Bay Lightning's single-season points record with a pair of assists to lead Tampa Bay to a 5-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. Kucherov's two points give him 108 on the season to tie the single-season mark set by Vincent Lecavalier in the 2006-07 season when he finished with 52 goals and 58 assists.
Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:29 into overtime and also had an assist to help the Colorado Avalanche rally past the skidding Detroit Red Wings 4-3. MacKinnon's 34th goal of the season gave Colorado two valuable points in the Western Conference wild-card chase.
Ryan Johansen scored the lone goal in a shootout and the Nashville Predators beat Minnesota 5-4 for their second win against the Wild in three nights. Johansen also got the game-winner in the fourth round of a shootout Sunday at Minnesota. This time, he scored after Kyle Turris, Ryan Ellis and Filip Forsberg all were stopped. Ryan Donato had one last chance, only to see Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stop his shot.
Adam Henrique and Troy Terry scored power-play goals in the third period, and the Anaheim Ducks ended Arizona's NHL-long six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory over the Coyotes. Jakob Silfverberg had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who had scored only seven goals while losing five of their previous six.
In NHL news, Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter will have sports hernia surgery again and is likely done for the season. The team said Tuesday his recovery is expected to last six to eight weeks. Vancouver entered Tuesday eight points out of a wild-card spot in the congested Western Conference. Its regular season ends April 6. Sutter hasn't played since a Feb. 9 victory over Calgary.
MLB
New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino has been scratched from his first scheduled spring training start due to right shoulder discomfort. Severino was slated to face the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday but was replaced by Stephan Tarpley. New York manager Aaron Boone has said that Severino was expected to the opening-day starter against the Baltimore Orioles on March. 28.
In other MLB news, Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski will miss the first couple months of the season after breaking a bone in his right wrist while diving to catch a fly ball against Texas. Padres manager Andy Green said an MRI revealed the fracture and Jankowski will have surgery this week. Jankowski was poised to be a fourth outfielder and defensive replacement. Jankowski missed almost all of 2017 with a broken bone in his right foot. He hit .259 in 117 games last season, but his biggest value came with his defense and speed. He stole 24 bases in 31 chances.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow, keeping the six-time All-Star off the field for the entire 2019 season. The decision was made after Perez received a second opinion Tuesday from the Los Angeles Dodgers' team physician. Perez hurt the elbow during a workout last week.
Pitcher Clay Buchholz and the Toronto Blue Jays have finalized a $3 million, one-year contract. The 34-year-old right-hander is expected to join a starting rotation that includes Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. A two-time All-Star, Buchholz is 84-64 with a 4.78 ERA in 12 big league seasons for Boston (2007-16), Philadelphia (2017) and the Diamondbacks. He pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his second major league start.
The Detroit Tigers have assigned top draft pick Casey Mize to minor league camp. Mize, the No. 1 selection in last year's draft, pitched two innings Monday for the Tigers against St. Louis. He struck out the first two batters of a 1-2-3 seventh, then allowed a run in the eighth after walking two.
Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano will likely miss the first month of the season, following another procedure to repair a severe cut above the heel on his right foot. Sano saw a plastic surgeon to undergo an operation to remove damaged tissue or foreign objects from a wound. Sano suffered the gash in late January during the celebration of his team's winter league championship in the Dominican Republic.
Cody Bellinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract that pays a $605,000 salary in the major leagues, a $20,000 raise from last year. A unanimous pick as NL Rookie of the Year in 2017, the outfielder/first baseman hit .260 with 25 homers and 76 RBIs last year, down from a .267 average, 39 homers and 97 RBIs in his debut season. His salary would drop to $292,500 this year in the unlikely event he is sent to the minor leagues.
NFL
The New York Giants didn't put a franchise tag on three-time Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins. The Giants' leading tackler in each of his four seasons with the team, Collins has thanked the organization for "4 great years" in a tweet and said he was looking forward to the next chapter of his football career.
In other NFL news, defensive tackle Margus Hunt has re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts, keeping him off the free-agent market. The 6-foot-8, 298-pound lineman started 15 games with Indy last season, primarily at tackle after starting the season as an end. He posted career highs with 30 tackles, 13 for loss, and five sacks. He also forced one fumble and recovered another.
The Chicago Bears have released linebacker Sam Acho. An eight-year veteran, Acho made 25 starts in four seasons with the Bears and had four sacks, three pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He missed the final 12 games last year because of a torn pectoral muscle.
Former Denver Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly has pleaded not guilty to first-degree criminal trespassing after being accused of entering a couple's suburban Denver home uninvited. KDVR-TV reports that Kelly entered the plea on Monday in Arapahoe County District Court.
Cornerback Kevin Johnson has been released by the Houston Texans. Johnson was a first-round pick in 2015 but never lived up to his high draft status in a career that was plagued by injuries. He got a concussion in a preseason game last season and after a second one in the first week of the regular season he was placed on injured reserve and didn't return.
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