NBA: Magic top Celtics, Pacers stay hot

Trevelin Queen scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half of his first career NBA start to help the Orlando Magic to a 108-104 victory over the Boston Celtics in Monday's clash between Eastern Conference division leaders.

Queen, making just his fifth appearance of the season while on a two-way contract, and rookie Tristan da Silva keyed Orlando's comeback from a 15-point half-time deficit that handed the reigning NBA champion Celtics their second loss in three games. Da Silva recorded a team-high 18 points while sealing the win with a clutch 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds remaining.

Boston was without leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who sat out with an illness two days after notching a 43-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a win over the Chicago Bulls.

Jaylen Brown had 35 points and nine rebounds for Boston, but the Celtics were held to a season-low eight made 3-pointers while shooting just 24.2 per cent from beyond the arc.

Despite their perimeter shortcomings, the Celtics jumped out to a 32-21 lead after one quarter and stretched it to 58-43 at half-time behind Brown's 19 points.

The Magic opened the second half on a 7-0 run, however, and put forth a 10-1 spurt later in the third quarter to tie the game at 69-69 with three minutes left in the period.

Orlando then began the fourth quarter with seven straight points, capped by Jonathan Isaac's 3-pointer, to take an 86-79 advantage with 10 minutes to go.

The Magic pushed their lead to 10 points with four minutes remaining before the Celtics responded with an 11-2 run to get within 105-104 on Brown's putback inside the final minute.

Boston missed two 3-point tries in the waning stages, however, and da Silva iced the game by knocking down a 23-foot shot with under 10 seconds left.

Tristan da Silva vs. BOS: 18 PTS 3 REB 6-11 FG 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/TIto4QMwhT

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 24, 2024

Pacers shut down Curry, top Warriors for fifth straight win

Myles Turner posted 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Indiana Pacers played lock-down defence on Stephen Curry to extend their season-high winning streak to five games with a 111-105 road victory over the still-struggling Golden State Warriors.

Pascal Siakam added 20 points for the surging Pacers, who also received 16 points and 12 assists from Tyrese Haliburton to extend Golden State's month-long slump.

The Warriors have now lost 10 of 13 following a 12-3 start to the season after Indiana limited Curry to 10 points on a 2-of-13 shooting line.

Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 26 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Wiggins finished with 16 points but went 1 of 7 from 3-point range for the Warriors.

Golden State did manage to briefly overcome a 12-point deficit late in the third quarter, as it closed out the period on an 11-3 run to pull within 89-85 before moving ahead early in the fourth.

Kuminga put the Warriors ahead with a 3-pointer that made the score 95-93 with seven minutes left, and the game remained tight until Indiana got some breathing room when consecutive baskets by Turner and Andrew Nembhard gave the Pacers a 104-99 edge with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Golden State got to within 106-104 on Dennis Schröder's layup with 1:18 left to play, but the Warriors didn't make a field goal the rest of the way and Turner helped seal the outcome by hitting a 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left on the clock.

capped off a perfect road trip#PacersWin pic.twitter.com/Icls4pKxXu

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 24, 2024

Powell comes up big late as Clippers edge Grizzlies

Norman Powell capped a 29-point night by scoring four in the final minute to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Powell knocked down a pull-up jumper with 25.4 seconds remaining to break a 110-110 tie, then hit two free throws in the waning seconds following a Memphis turnover to secure the Clippers' third win in four games.

Los Angeles also received 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists from James Harden and a 20-point, 19-rebound effort from Ivica Zubac to complement Powell's strong game.

The Grizzlies shot just 31.2 per cent in the second half to squander a 10-point third-quarter lead and lose for just the third time in their last 15 games.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 24 points and Ja Morant added 23, though both struggled with their shot throughout the night. Jackson finished 9 of 26 from the field and Morant hit just seven of his 20 attempts.

Jackson did tally 16 points in the first half to help Memphis own a 58-51 advantage at the break, and the Grizzlies were up 63-53 following Morant's layup early in the third quarter.

The Clippers answered with a 17-3 run, however, to take a 70-66 lead midway through the period.

Los Angeles extended the margin to 101-93 with seven minutes left before the Grizzlies countered with a 10-0 spurt to regain the lead with under four minutes to go.

Seven straight points from Harden then put the Clippers up 108-103 with two minutes to play, but Memphis responded with a 7-2 push capped by two Morant free throws with 34.3 seconds left that tied the score at 110-110 before Powell's late heroics.

And to all a GOOD NIGHT@CarMax | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/9uG74eWFpB

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 24, 2024