NBA roundup: recap, scores, notes for every game played on December 30

Boston Celtics 117, Miami Heat 114

BOSTON -- Isaiah Thomas pulled off another of his amazing finishes at TD Garden Friday night. And this one was his best.

Boston's Little Big Man scored a career-high 52 points, including a club-record 29 in the fourth quarter, allowing the Celtics, predictably a bit flat after a tough loss in Cleveland the previous night, to hold off the undermanned Miami Heat 117-114.

It was the fourth-highest scoring total in Celtics history, behind Larry Bird's 60 in 1985, Kevin McHale's 56 in 1985 and Bird's 53 in 1983.

Thomas scored 29 of the Celtics' 35 points in the quarter, the last basket a three coming on a long bomb from well behind the 3-point line. He hit six 3-pointers in the quarter and finished 15-for-26 from the floor, 9-for-13 in the fourth, 9-for-13 from 3-point range and 13-for-13 from the foul line.

Amazingly, Thomas, who came in averaging 6.3 assists per game, didn't have a single assist -- and heard chants of "M-V-P" from the home crowd in the latter stages of the game.

Bird (1983) and Darren Daye (1995) had held the club record with 24 points in a fourth quarter.

Atlanta Hawks 105, Detroit Pistons 98

ATLANTA -- Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver combined for 48 points and Atlanta beat Detroit to climb over the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 30.

Atlanta got 26 points, six rebounds and five assists from Millsap and won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 9. Millsap has scored at least 20 points in seven of 12 games since missing three games with a hip injury.

Kyle Korver knocked down three 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points as Atlanta avenged an earlier 36-point loss to the Piston.

Houston Rockets 140, Los Angeles Clippers 116

HOUSTON -- James Harden recorded his seventh triple-double on the season while second-year forward Montrezl Harrell scored a career-high 29 points off the bench to fuel Houston's win over Los Angeles at Toyota Center.

Harden finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Harrell helped finish off the Clippers with 13 fourth-quarter points to propel the Rockets to a hard-fought victory. Houston led by 25 points midway through the second quarter but needed Harden and Harrell to carry it to victory.

Reserve Raymond Felton paired 26 points with eight assists off the bench while center DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who dropped their fifth consecutive game. Los Angeles guard Austin Rivers and coach Doc Rivers were ejected 25 seconds apart in the second quarter, with the former sent to the locker room following his contact with official J.T. Orr.

New Orleans Pelicans 104, New York Knicks 92

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis had 23 points and 17 rebounds and Tyreke Evans came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points to lift New Orleans to a victory over New York at the Smoothie King Center.

In winning their fourth consecutive game and for the fifth time in six games, the Pelicans improved to 14-21. It was a team effort as the Pelicans placed six players in double figures, led by Davis, who had his 21st game this season of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds

Jrue Holiday had a double-double for the Pelicans -- 12 points and 11 assists -- and E'Twaun Moore and Buddy Held had 12 points each.

Minnesota Timberwolves 116, Milwaukee Bucks 99

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a game that featured several of the NBA's bright young stars, Minnesota's stars shined just a little bit brighter than Milwaukee's did.

Led by youngsters Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, the Timberwolves took care of the visiting Bucks at Target Center.

Wiggins led all scorers with 31 points, his fourth 30-point performance of the season. LaVine added 24 points and Towns registered his 23rd double-double of the season, the fourth most among all NBA players. Towns finished Friday's game with 18 points and 16 rebounds, just one game removed from his first career triple-double.

Washington Wizards 118, Brooklyn Nets 95

WASHINGTON -- Trey Burke scored 20 of 27 his points in the first half as the Washington Wizards won their eighth straight home game with a rout over Brooklyn.

John Wall had 19 points and 14 assists for the Wizards, who ended 2016 winning nine of 12 games and moving into playoff position despite starting 2-8.

Washington shot 56.6 percent from the field despite playing without second-leading scorer Bradley Beal. Beal suffered a sprained right ankle in the first half of Wednesday's 111-105 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana Pacers 111, Chicago Bulls 101

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored nine of his 32 points during the final 4:07, and Indiana recorded 14 of the game's last 18 points and defeated Chicago in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

A Jimmy Butler basket tied the contest at 97, but George was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer at the 4:07 mark. His three free throws gave Indiana the lead. Thaddeus Young, who added 17 points, scored the Pacers' other five points during the game-closing run.

Myles Turner had 15 points for Indiana, Glenn Robinson III scored 12 and added 10 rebounds and Jeff Teague finished with seven points and a career-best 17 assists.

San Antonio Spurs 110, Portland Trail Blazers 94

SAN ANTONIO -- Backcourt mates Tony Parker and Danny Green scored 18 points apiece and San Antonio had five players in double figures as it roared from behind and beat Portland at the AT&T Center.

Winners of four in a row, the Spurs trailed by five points at halftime but led by seven after three quarters. San Antonio was at its best early in the fourth in blowing past the reeling Trail Blazers.

It was the eighth time this season, and the fourth game in a row, that San Antonio had at least a 20-point lead at some point in the contest.

Philadelphia 76ers 124, Denver Nuggets 122

DENVER -- Joel Embiid scored 23 points, Ersan Ilyasova had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Philadelphia beat Denver.

T.J. McConnell tied a career high with 17 points and also had eight assists for the Sixers, who escaped at the end to stop a four-game skid.

Nikola Jokic led Denver with 25 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 22. Danilo Gallinari finished with 18 points.

Golden State Warriors 108, Dallas Mavericks 99

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Klay Thompson scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in a third-quarter runaway, propelling Golden State to a victory over Dallas.

Kevin Durant posted his first triple-double as a Warrior with 19 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high 10 assists, helping Golden State improve upon its best-in-basketball record with a seventh straight home win.

The Mavericks, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 101-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, played the Warriors even for 14 minutes and hung within arm's length into the third quarter.