DENVER -- Kyrie Irving scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining and the struggling Boston Celtics edged the Denver Nuggets 111-110 on Monday night.
Denver had a chance to win in dramatic fashion at the end but Torrey Craig's tip-in of Will Barton's long attempt from 3-point range was too late.
Irving finished 11 of 17 from the field to lead the Celtics to just their second win in seven games. Jayson Tatum added 20 points and Marcus Morris had 14 off the bench.
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Boston blew a 20-point lead and trailed heading into the final period. Then the Celtics couldn't hold onto a six-point advantage in the final two minutes as the Nuggets tied the game at 108 with 43 seconds to go.
Nikola Jokic had a double-double by the first minute of the second half for Denver, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Barton scored 19, Gary Harris 15 and Jamal Murray 14.
Mason Plumlee had 16 points and eight rebounds before he left with a leg injury in the fourth.
The Celtics beat Denver for the second time this season, also prevailing 124-118 on Dec. 13.
NBA
Boston made 10 of its first 16 shots from beyond the perimeter to go up 51-31 in the second quarter and led 56-45 at halftime. Irving led the way with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
The Nuggets climbed back on the strength of a 14-5 run to end the half and outscored Boston 37-24 in the third to go up 82-80 (see full recap).
Oladipo, Pacers pull away for win over Hornets
INDIANAPOLIS -- Victor Oladipo scored 25 points, Myles Turner added 22 and the Indiana Pacers pulled away late for a 105-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
The Pacers have won two in a row and four of five.
Kemba Walker finished with 23 points and a trio of 3-pointers to lead the Hornets, who have lost two straight and four of six.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte. Nicolas Batum made five 3s and wound up with 22 points.
Both teams had chances to take control throughout the first 3 quarters. Neither could until Oladipo's 19-footer spurred a 13-4 run, which finally gave Indiana a 94-86 lead with six minutes to go.
After that, it was no contest.
Turner's 3-pointer started a 7-0 run that extended the lead to 103-89 with 2:46 left -- the biggest advantage of the game for either team.
Charlotte couldn't cut the deficit to single digits until the final minute in a game that featured 18 lead changes and 16 ties (see full recap).
Whiteside helps Heat sweep Mavs yet again
DALLAS -- Hassan Whiteside had 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Miami Heat completed another season series sweep of the Dallas Mavericks with a 95-88 victory Monday night.
The Heat never trailed after Goran Dragic had a steal that led to Tyler Johnson's tiebreaking 3-pointer to make it 38-35 just under 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Their lead went to double-digits again after Whiteside had consecutive baskets midway through the third quarter.
Harrison Barnes had 20 points and Wesley Matthews 19 for the Mavericks (16-35), who have dropped four games in a row and seven of eight overall.
This is the 14th time in their 30 seasons that the Heat, who beat Dallas 113-101 at home on Dec. 22, have swept the regular-season series. These teams twice met in the NBA Finals, with Miami getting its first championship in 2006 and the Mavs winning their only title in 2011.
Miami (29-21) led 51-41 when Josh Richardson hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left in the first half. But the Mavs trimmed that in half when rookie Dennis Smith Jr. made a defended buzzer-beating 3-pointer from about 27 feet to make it 51-46. James Johnson had a hand up in front of Smiths' face with Whiteside coming from the side.
Richardson had 14 points for the Heat, while Gragic had 13 and Kelly Olynyk 12.
Smith scored 14 for Dallas, and Nowitzki 10 (see full recap).