BOSTON -- Jaylen Brown scored 31 points in three quarters, Derrick White posted his first career triple-double and the NBA-best Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 119-94 on Monday night.
Boston star Jayson Tatum missed the game because of a right ankle injury, but the Celtics had more than enough to make up for the absence of their leading scorer (27.1 points a game) and rebounder (8.3).
White had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He completed his triple-double when he passed to Payton Pritchard, who hit a 3-pointer with 6:25 to play.
Pritchard had 23 points in the Celtics' sixth straight victory.
Boston forward Kristaps Porzingis returned after missing five games with a strained right hamstring. He had 20 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes.
Jaden Ivey led Detroit with 21 points. Cade Cunningham, who averages a team-high 22.2 points per game, rested for left knee injury management.
Boston also played without starting guard Jrue Holiday (bruised right shoulder) and reserve forward Al Horford. The 37-year-old Horford hasn't played consecutive games this season.
The Celtics opened a 47-37 lead on Brown's 3-pointer midway into the second quarter. They had a 61-48 advantage at the break.
One of the biggest cheers of the game occurred when Pritchard made a nifty behind-the-back pass to Xavier Tillman for a fast-break layup. Then Brown was fouled on a driving basket that led to a three-point play, making it 88-66 late in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Celtics: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
CAVS 108, PACERS 103
INDIANAPOLIS -- Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each scored 23 points and the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers 108-103 on Monday night.
Cleveland led by as many as nine in the final quarter before Indiana pulled even with 2:05 remaining. LeVert drove baseline then pulled up and swished a 9-foot fadeaway jumper to regain the lead. The Pacers didn't score again.
LeVert had 11 assists and eight rebounds. Allen had nine rebounds.
The Cavaliers were without three starters including guard Donovan Mitchell, who averages a team-high 27.4 points but was a late scratch with a nose injury. The absences necessitated signing veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. to a 10-day contract. Morris scored 14 off the bench.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and 12 rebounds. All-Star Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 12 assists. Reserve guard T.J. McConnell scored 14.
The Cavs entered the night as the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed, which had them slotted for a first-round playoff series against the No. 6 Pacers. But the Pacers, about to embark on a five-game road trip, were only one win ahead of Miami and Philadelphia.
The Pacers led by as much as 15 midway through the second quarter before the Cavaliers surged to tie the game in the final minute of the first half. Cleveland's largest third-quarter lead reached 10.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Pacers: Visit Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
76ERS 98, HEAT 91
PHILADELPHIA -- Tyrese Maxey had 30 points and 10 assists and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers hold off the Miami Heat 98-91 Monday night in a potential preview of an NBA play-in tournament game.
Kyle Lowry survived a hard tumble over the scorer's table and scored 16 points for the Sixers in his first game against the Heat since they traded him in January.
Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat. Terry Rozier III scored 20 points.
The Heat trailed by 14 points entering the fourth, but went on a 20-8 run and tied the game at 85 on Caleb Martin's dunk. Buddy Hield snapped the tie with 3-pointer and Lowry hit a 3 to help the Sixers avoid a brutal collapse in a game they couldn't afford to lose.
The Eastern Conference champion Heat are again in play-in mode with 14 games left this season and fell to eighth in the standings -- they finished seventh a year ago when Jimmy Butler sparked an improbable run to the NBA Finals. The 76ers are in seventh at 38-30 -- the Heat are 37-31 -- an ugly spiral for a team that spent most of the season as a surefire conference contender until losing Joel Embiid in the last game of January to a knee injury.
Butler (right foot contusion) and Embiid (who continues to rehab) missed Monday's game. Sixers forward Tobias Harris (right ankle sprain) also missed this one, and Miami's Duncan Robinson was forced out of the game with a bad back, leaving both teams devoid of star power -- except for Maxey.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse remained optimistic Embiid could return before the end of the season.
"I think he kind of rounds back into shape and rhythm pretty quickly," Nurse said. "I think obviously the more games we have him, the better. I also think we want to get to a point where he's as healthy as he can be at playoff or play-in time."
The Heat and Sixers can only hope all their starters are at full strength by the end of the season. At this pace, the Heat and Sixers could play each other again in the play-in tournament. In fourth year of the format, the No. 7 seed plays No. 8. The winner is in and gets the No. 7 seed for the playoffs. The loser has a second chance.
"We're going to try and fight like to heck to finish as high as we can," Nurse said. "That matters. But if not, so be it. We'll play-in, we'll play in the playoffs, whatever. I just hope we're playing."
Because of injuries, the Heat have used a franchise-record 32 starting lineups. They are trying to find any kind of consistency down the stretch and stave off any thoughts about a potential second straight run that starts with the play-in.
"We're not thinking about last year, not thinking about any of the narratives," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We're fully immersed in what we're trying to do right now."
Without Embiid, Maxey steadied the Sixers and dropped 18 points in the first half to help the Sixers win their second straight game following a skid in which they dropped seven of 10. The Sixers know, without Embiid, the play-in tourney looms.
"It isn't any fun when you're going backward to pay attention to it," Nurse said.
UP NEXT
Heat: Play Wednesday at Cleveland.
76ers: Harris will join the team on their upcoming four-game trip, which opens Wednesday at Phoenix.
Boston Celtics' Derrick White, right, shoots against Detroit Pistons' James Wiseman (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) shoots against Detroit Pistons' Jaden Ivey (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots against Detroit Pistons' Isaiah Stewart (28) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Detroit Pistons' Marcus Sasser, right, loses control of the ball against Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)