NEW YORK -- Michael Beasley scored 28 of his season-high 32 points in the second half, helping the New York Knicks shake off a dismal return by Kristaps Porzingis to beat the Boston Celtics 102-93 on Thursday night.
Beasley went back to the bench with Porzingis back from a knee injury, but he was on the floor in the fourth quarter while Porzingis watched from the sideline as the former No. 2 overall pick punished the Celtics inside and out to help the Knicks pull away.
Porzingis was 0 for 11 from the field and finished with one point after missing two games with a sore left knee. The "MVP! MVP!" chants he has heard this season instead went to Beasley, who also had 12 rebounds.
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He surpassed the 30 points he scored last Saturday against Carmelo Anthony and Oklahoma City with a jumper with 1:06 remaining that stopped a little run by Boston and gave New York an eight-point lead. The Knicks held on for their fifth victory in six games.
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points for the Celtics, who lost for the second night. They played without starter Jaylen Brown because of left Achilles tendon soreness.
Jayson Tatum added 17 points (see full recap).
Cavaliers run home win streak to 12 straight
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 34 points, Kevin Love added 27 and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their 12th straight home game, 115-112 over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night as injured point guard Isaiah Thomas moved even closer to his return.
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James had 11 points in the fourth quarter and dropped a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds left as the Cavs won for the 19th time in 21 games and ended Chicago's seven-game winning streak.
With Cleveland's Jae Crowder guarding him closely, Chicago's Denzel Valentine was short with a tying 3-pointer in the final second.
Dwyane Wade had three steals and two blocks in the fourth quarter for Cleveland, which improved to 3-0 against the Bulls this season.
Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points, Valentine had 18 and Nikola Mirotic 15 for the Bulls, who lost for the first time since Dec. 6. Chicago's win streak followed a 10-game losing skid.
The Bulls battled back from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth and were within four at 111-107 when James, who has been so clutch in the fourth quarter all season, sank a fadeaway baseline jumper. Chicago pulled to 113-112 on Valentine's layup before James made his two free throws and Cleveland got the key defensive stop to end it (see full recap).
Daniels’ late triple helps Suns hold on
PHOENIX -- Former Memphis guard Troy Daniels hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play to give Phoenix the lead, and the Suns held off the Grizzlies 97-95 on Thursday night for their third victory in four games.
T.J. Warren led the Suns with 27 points, and Daniels -- acquired from the Grizzlies in September -- added 14 off the bench. Phoenix won at home for the first time since Nov. 19 against Chicago.
Tyreke Evans led Memphis with 21 points, and Marc Gasol added 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots. The Grizzlies have lost eight of nine games and nine straight on the road.
The teams traded baskets and leads for much of the fourth quarter, and there were three ties. Neither team scored from the 3:45 mark of the fourth quarter until Daniels' key 3.
Memphis had two chanced to tie or take the lead, but Evans' shot at the buzzer missed.
Greg Monroe rebounded a miss and saved the ball to Daniels for his shot. Monroe had 12 rebounds (see full recap).