Celtics, Cavs win again

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA's top team earned another victory on Monday. So did the league's hottest club, along with the defending champs

The Boston Celtics are 21-4 after Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 32 points in the second half of a 111-100 win against the Bucks. Al Horford added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to help the Celts avenge one of their two home losses of the season.

Jayson Tatum chipped in 17 points as Celtics won for the fifth time in six games since their 16-game winning streak ended on Nov. 22.

The Bucks lost despite 40 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers easily won their 12th in a row as Kevin Love provided team-highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 113-91 rout of the Bulls in Chicago. LeBron James had 23 points and hit three of the Cavs' 13 3-pointers.

The Bulls are a league-worst 3-19 following their ninth consecutive loss.

The Warriors' win was trickier as they turned a 21-point deficit into a 125-115 triumph over the Pelicans at New Orleans. Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 assists but sprained his right ankle late in the game. Klay Thompson added 22 points to Golden State's fourth straight win, while Kevin Durant and Draymond Green each added 19.

Checking out Monday's other NBA action:

— The Grizzlies ended their 11-game losing streak as Marc Gasol scored 21 points and Tyreke (ty-REEK') Evans added 16 in a 95-92 verdict over the Timberwolves. Evans hit a pair of free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining before Jimmy Butler's 26-footer glanced off the rim on Minnesota's final possession.

— LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs held off the Pistons 96-93. Rudy Gay furnished 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for San Antonio, which trailed by nine before handing Detroit its third straight loss.

— Devin Booker nailed four 3-pointers and poured in 46 points on 17 of 32 shooting to lead the Suns past the 76ers 115-101. Booker supplied 32 points in the second half, including three treys in the final period after Phoenix saw a 17-point lead shrink to five.

— Utah picked up its sixth straight win by getting 27 points from Alec Burks in a 116-69 thrashing of the Wizards. Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for the Jazz, who shot 57 percent in taking a 64-30 halftime lead.

— The Pacers were 115-97 winners over the Knicks as Thaddeus Young scored 20 points to lead seven Indiana players in double figures. Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 19 points and Victor Oladipo added 16 for the Pacers, who led by 30 entering the fourth quarter.

— The Mavericks posted their second consecutive wire-to-wire win behind Harrison Barnes' 22 points and Dennis Smith Jr's 20 in a 122-105 rout of Denver. Dallas built a 21-point first-quarter lead and were up by 25 before the Nuggets got within 88-80 late in the third period.

— The Hornets' four-game losing streak ended as Kemba Walker delivered 29 points and seven assists in a 104-94 victory against Orlando. Dwight Howard had 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to move into 19th place on the league's all-time list.

— The Nets avenged Saturday's loss to the Hawks by scoring 17 straight points in the third quarter of a 110-90 win in Atlanta. Caris LaVert scored a season-high 17 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 16 in Brooklyn's most lopsided victory of the season.

Rose returns to Cavaliers

UNDATED (AP) — Point guard Derrick Rose has returned to the Cavaliers, two weeks after the former NBA MVP left the team to attend to a personal matter.

Rose has been dealing with a sprained left ankle that had him contemplating retirement, but the team says he has rejoined the team to resume treatment and rehabilitation. There is no timetable on his return to the court.

Rose was averaging 14.3 points in seven games with Cleveland after signing a one-year package in July.

In other NBA matters:

— The Pelicans say an MRI performed on forward Anthony Davis revealed no structural damage to his pelvic area. The club says Davis has been diagnosed with an abductor strain and is day to day.

— Jazz center Rudy Gobert had four points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes against the Wizards Monday after missing 11 games with a bone bruise in his lower right leg. Gobert went down late in the third quarter on Nov. 10 when Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters fell into his legs.

— The NBA has punished both guard Shaun Livingston and official Courtney Kirkland following their altercation in Sunday's game at Miami. Livingston was suspended for Monday's game at New Orleans and Kirkland was pulled from the officiating rotation for a week. Livingston was assessed a technical foul and ejected for making contact with Livingston, but a league review determined that the referee moved toward the player and shared responsibility for the contact.

— Former NBA player Kermit Washington has pleaded guilty to spending thousands of dollars on jewelry, vacations and other personal items with money donated to an African charity he organized.

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