UNDATED (AP) — James Harden and Kevin Durant each scored 20 points despite three relatively quiet quarters, and the Brooklyn Nets broke away with a big run in the fourth to beat the Miami Heat 98-85. Kyrie Irving added 16 points for the Nets, who completed a sweep of the Heat in two games that couldn’t have been more different. Brooklyn won 128-124 on Saturday, then took the rematch despite barely topping its lowest-scoring game of the season. Harden had only 10 points and four shots through three, then scored 10 more in the 18-2 spurt that turned a tie game into a 96-80 lead.
In other Monday night action:
— LeBron James went on a tear in the fourth quarter on his former home court, scoring 23 of his 46 points to keep the Los Angeles Lakers unbeaten on the road with a 115-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anthony Davis added 17 points as the defending NBA champions improved to 10-0 away from home. The win for Los Angeles came on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash.
— Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 after missing five games because of COVID-19 protocols and the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 119-103. Brown had another solid game following his 33-point outing in Sunday’s romp over Cleveland. Tatum made three 3-pointers and had five assists over 31 minutes in his first appearance since Jan. 8. Daniel Theis scored 19 points and Marcus Smart added 13 while tying a career high with 11 assists as the Celtics won their second straight. Zach LaVine led Chicago with 30 points and shot 6 of 10 on 3s.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Mike Muscala added 23, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a three-game losing streak with a 125-122 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard, who had scored 30 or more points in his last three games, had 26 points and 10 assists for the Blazers. Anfernee Simons had 26 points off the bench and Enes Kanter added 13 points and 22 rebounds.
— Stephen Curry scored 36 points with seven 3-pointers, Andrew Wiggins took it to his old Timberwolves team for 23 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat Minnesota 130-108 after coach Steve Kerr shook up his starting five. Facing the Timberwolves for the first time since his trade last February, Wiggins showed a steadiness that was missing at times when he played in Minneapolis. He drove the lane for pull-up jumpers, dunked, hit from long range, made three steals, blocked three shots and grabbed all six of his rebounds on the offensive glass.
— Delon Wright scored a career-high 28 points and Wayne Ellington had another impressive shooting night for Detroit, leading the Pistons to a 119-104 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Jerami Grant scored 25 points for the Pistons, who still have the NBA’s worst record but took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence. The Philadelphia star was out with back tightness.
— Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 36 points and Myles Turner scored 11 of his 21 in the final 8 1/2 minutes to help Indiana pull away for a 129-114 victory over Toronto. Brogdon also had nine assists and seven rebounds, a day after his poorest game of the season. Jeremy Lamb matched his season-high with 22 points as Indiana earned a split in the two-game set against the Raptors. Toronto was led by Fred VanVleet’s 25 points and six rebounds. Norman Powell scored 24 points.
— Nikola Vucevic scored 28 points and rookie point guard Cole Anthony added a career-high 21 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the Charlotte Hornets 117-108. Orlando snapped a two-game losing streak and bounced back from squandering a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter a night earlier in a loss to the Hornets. Anthony made 8 of 12 shots and 4 of 5 3-pointers. Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 24 points apiece.
— Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 30 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame Jamal Murray’s ejection for a shot to the groin of Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to beat the Mavericks 117-113. Porter was 6 of 10 from 3-point range, including a go-ahead shot to start a decisive 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter after the Mavericks had rallied immediately following the incident involving Murray and Hardaway. Luka Doncic had 35 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high 16 assists for his NBA-leading sixth triple-double.
