Celtics 114, Timberwolves 98

Celtics coach Brad Stevens was curious how his team would play in its first game without Rajon Rondo.

Boston did just fine.

Moving the ball crisply one day after the NBA assists leader was traded to the Dallas, the Celtics beat struggling Minnesota on Friday night.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of emotion we have,” Stevens said before the game.

Afterward, he said, “We did a lot of good things. I thought the ball was moving great.”

Of course, it came against a team that lost for the 10th time in 11 games and fell to 5-20.

Leading 95-92 midway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored the next eight points and 12 of 14 to take a 107-94 lead with 3:25 remaining. They stayed ahead by at least 12 the rest of the way.

“We played hard, got to the sixth-minute mark and we had a couple sequences where ... we turned it over,” Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said.

Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points to lead six Celtics in double figures during their third straight victory, all against teams that have combined for just 17 wins this season.

Minnesota was led by Shabazz Muhammad with 26 points and Chase Budinger with a season-high 19 off the bench

“It felt good, personally,” Budinger said, “but it didn’t feel good that we still got beat.”

Jeff Green added 18 points for Boston and Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller and Avery Bradley had 14 each. Sullinger led all rebounders with 10.

Without Rondo, seven Celtics had at least three assists and Bradley led them with seven.

“I was obviously down” about Rondo’s departure, Bradley said. “He’s like an older brother to me.”

Boston also outshot Minnesota 56.5 percent to 45.2 percent.

“We had our ups and downs,” Olynyk said, “but we were just playing together, moving the ball and everyone contributed. That’s a fun way to play.”

Neither team led by more than four points in the first quarter and the game was tied at 43 with 3 minutes left in the first half.

Boston scored the next six points on a short jumper by Zeller, a 13-footer by Evan Turner, who started in place of Rondo, and two free throws by Bradley. Minnesota chipped away but still trailed 53-48 at halftime.

The Celtics led 83-77 after the third quarter as Zeller scored 10 points in the period, many on layups after quick passes.

The decisive spurt came after a layup by Thaddeus Young with 6:12 to go cut Boston’s lead to 95-92.

Rookie guard Marcus Smart then hit a 3-pointer, and Green dunked on a fast break after one steal and then hit a 3-pointer following another.

Budinger stopped the eight-point run with a short turnaround shot, but consecutive layups by Smart and Sullinger made it 107-94.

Cavaliers 95, Nets 91

LeBron James scored 22 points and Mike Miller, making his first start of the season, added 21 on seven 3-pointers to lead Cleveland over Brooklyn.

James, who moved into 23rd place on the career scoring list, scored eight points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers bounced back from their biggest loss of the season Wednesday against Atlanta.

Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points. Brooklyn guard Deron Williams limped off the court in the second quarter with a strained right calf and didn’t return.

Brooklyn cut an eight-point lead to 94-91 on Johnson’s 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers committed a turnover, but Kevin Garnett missed a contested 3-pointer and James split two free throws with 1.3 seconds left.

Trail Blazers 129, Spurs 119 (3OT)

Damian Lillard had a career-high 43 points, including 16 after regulation, and Portland handed San Antonio its second straight defeat in triple overtime, rallying for a victory.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games.

Tim Duncan had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Green added 27 points and Tiago Splitter had 14 points for San Antonio.

The Spurs had lost their two previous home games by a combined three points, including a 117-116 loss in triple overtime to Memphis on Wednesday.

It was the first time a team has played consecutive triple-overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did so in December 1951.

Hornets 109, 76ers 91

Kemba Walker scored a season-high 30 points, Al Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Charlotte snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Philadelphia.

Tony Wroten and Robert Covington scored 19 apiece for the Sixers, who dropped to 0-14 at home this season. They’re closing in on the NBA record for the most home losses to start a season, which is held by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks at 19.

The Hornets (7-19) had dropped 14 of 16 coming in but dominated the rebuilding Sixers (2-23), who committed 24 turnovers that led to 35 Charlotte points.

Charlotte played without starting guard Lance Stephenson (pelvic sprain), who missed his first game of the season.

Bulls 103, Grizzlies 97

Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Nikola Mirotic added a season-best 27 and Chicago snapped Memphis’ six-game winning streak.

Butler went 11 of 21 from the field and Mirotic connected on all six of his shots beyond the arc, setting a season standard for 3-pointers. Aaron Brooks scored 17 points and Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Butler also had 10 rebounds as the Bulls outrebounded the Grizzlies 51-45.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 21 points. Beno Udrih had 15 before leaving with a hand injury in the fourth quarter.

The Grizzlies shot 39 percent.

Wizards 105, Heat 103

John Wall had 20 points and 10 assists, Nene scored 20 off the bench and Washington rallied to beat Miami.

Bradley Beal had 16 points and Paul Pierce added 14 for the Wizards, who won their sixth straight.

Dwyane Wade finished with 28 points for Miami, which dropped its fifth consecutive home game and is 4-9 on its own floor this season. Luol Deng scored 19 and Mario Chalmers had 14 for the Heat.

Miami had a shot to tie the game with 11 seconds left, but Beal intercepted a pass by Wade and made two free throws to clinch the win. Wade hit a 3-pointer as time expired.

Raptors 110, Pistons 100

Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points to lead a balanced offense as Toronto handed Detroit its 12th straight home loss.

Brandon Jennings scored 22 points to lead the Pistons, who extended their single-season franchise record for consecutive home defeats.

Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams had 15 points each, James Johnson scored 12, and Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross added 11 each for the Raptors.

Jazz 101, Magic 94

Derrick Favors had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward added 20 points to lead Utah past Orlando.

The Jazz, who won in Miami on Wednesday, claimed back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Enes Kanter added 11 points and Trey Burke had 11 points and five assists for Utah, which shot 53.4 percent against a timid Magic defense.

Tobias Harris led Orlando with 24 points and Evan Fournier had 21. They combined for 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point territory.

The Magic have lost five of six.

Nuggets 109, Clippers 106

Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari hit successive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and Denver fought back after blowing a 16-point halftime lead to beat Los Angeles.

Nate Robinson scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Blake Griffin had his second 30-point performance in a row, finishing with 32 for the Clippers, who have dropped their last three games on the road.

Jamal Crawford added 20 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and 15 assists.

Trailing by 16 points at halftime, the Clippers began the third quarter with a 16-0 run to pull into a 59-all tie on a driving layup by Matt Barnes. Denver missed its first 10 shots of the second half before Gallinari connected on a tiebreaking 3.

Thunder 104, Lakers 103

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and hit a key jumper with 38 seconds left, and Oklahoma City overcame the absence of NBA MVP Kevin Durant against Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant missed a 17-foot jumper right before the buzzer for the Lakers, who had won three of four. Bryant had nine points on 3-of-15 shooting, but added eight rebounds and eight assists.

Reggie Jackson scored 25 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 1:05 left for the Thunder, who persevered down the stretch for their eighth victory in nine games.

Durant sat out after spraining his right ankle in the first half of the Thunder's loss at Golden State on Thursday night.

Ed Davis had a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.

Ainge says impending free agency led to Rondo deal

Rajon Rondo wanted to avoid rush-hour city traffic so he met at the Boston Celtics suburban practice facility with the man who traded him.

"I shared with him how much I appreciated all he had done for us," Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said of that Thursday night farewell.

All that wasn't enough for Ainge to keep the star point guard who could have left as a free agent after the season. Or to reject a Dallas Mavericks offer that gave Ainge more assets to continue shaping the young roster into a contender.

"There was definite uncertainty into what may happen this summer," Ainge said before Friday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, "So that was a big factor."

The Celtics traded Rondo, 28, and rookie forward Dwight Powell on Thursday night for point guard Jameer Nelson, center Brandan Wright, forward Jae Crowder, two draft picks and a $12.9 million trade exception. The three new Celtics were in town Friday night but not active against the Timberwolves.

One night after meeting with Ainge in Waltham, Rondo attended a news conference with his new team which should be more competitive in the tough Western Conference.

"He should be enthusiastic about the opportunity he's going to," Ainge said. "It makes me feel a little better. We have to do what's best for the Celtics. It is, at the same time, a great opportunity for him."

Rockets acquire Timberwolves swingman Brewer

The Houston Rockets made a move to bolster their depth on the perimeter on Friday, obtaining veteran swing man Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team trade that also included the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Rockets sent shooting guard Troy Daniels, cash considerations and a pair of future second-round selections to Minnesota: a protected pick in 2015 originally belonging to Sacramento (acquired by Houston in September) and a protected pick in 2016. The Timberwolves sent center Ronny Turiaf to the 76ers, who dealt guard Alexey Shved to the Rockets. Houston also sent to Philadelphia its own 2015 second-round draft pick and the rights to center Serhiy Lishchuk, a Ukraine native currently playing in Spain.

The trade gave the Rockets another proven veteran defender in Brewer to compete in the demanding Western Conference, where they were in fourth place at 19-6 after Thursday's games. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been in pursuit of help for weeks, knowing that Golden State, Memphis, San Antonio and the Clippers all could have superior depth to his roster.