NEW YORK — Reserve forward Kelly Olynyk scored seven of his 18 points early in the fourth quarter, and the Boston Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak with a 110-91 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
Olynyk was one of four Celtics who finished with at least 18 points, but he made some of the biggest plays early in the final quarter that allowed Boston to maintain control. He scored seven straight points on a driving dunk, a 3-pointer and a tip-in that made it 96-80 with 8:19 remaining.
Coming off a 1-for-15 showing in losses to the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons that lowered his shooting percentage to 30.2 percent since his return from a sprained right ankle on March 4, Olynyk made seven of 12 shots Monday and tied a career high with three 3-pointers.
Point guard Avery Bradley led the way with 20 points for the Celtics, who entered a half-game behind the eighth-place Charlotte Hornets. Boston (31-39) earned its third win in four meetings with Brooklyn this season.
Celtics forward Evan Turner recorded a triple-double: 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Center Tyler Zeller contributed 18 for Boston, which shot 51.1 percent (47-for-92) and held Brooklyn to two points in the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Center Brook Lopez scored 31 points for the Nets, who were trying for their third straight win. The Nets (29-40) entered the game 11th in the East and a half-game behind the Hornets, but they shot 36 percent (32-for-89) as forwards Joe Johnson and Bojan Bogdanovic were a combined 6-for-25 from the floor.
The Celtics opened their first double-digit lead at 67-57 in the third quarter when Bradley drove through the right side of the paint and got an easy layup when Lopez left his feet defending under the basket. That was part of a 9-0 spurt that turned a 62-57 lead into 71-57.
The Nets cut it to nine on three occasions before getting within 77-72 on two free throws by Lopez late in the third quarter. The Celtics took an 80-72 lead when Crowder drove past Lopez for a layup and converted the free throw, expanded the margin to 83-72 on Olynyk’s right wing 3-pointer and went into the fourth with an 83-74 lead.
NOTES: Boston G Isaiah Thomas missed his eighth straight game with a bruised lower back and did not travel with the team. Coach Brad Stevens said that Thomas is doing a lot more movement and shooting. Stevens thinks Thomas would be probable for Wednesday’s home game with the Miami Heat. … Monday was the eighth regular-season meeting between the teams since the Celtics traded Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets in July 2013. Of all the active NBA players involved in that blockbuster trade, only F Gerald Wallace has not changed teams since. … Former Oklahoma State teammates G Markel Brown and Marcus Smart faced each other for the first time in the NBA. Brown was inactive in the previous three meetings with Brooklyn, while Smart played 79 minutes for the Celtics in those games. … Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins said that he stopped playing guards Jarrett Jack and Deron Williams together because forward Bojan Bogdanovic was averaging 17.4 points and shooting 64 percent (30 of 47) over his past four games before Monday.
Rockets 110, Pacers 100
INDIANAPOLIS — Forward James Harden scored 44 points, including 21 of 22 from the free-throw line, and the Houston Rockets handed the reeling Indiana Pacers their sixth consecutive loss, 110-100 Monday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
In two victories against the Pacers this season, Harden scored 99 points. He added seven assists to go with his 44-point night.
A Harden 3-pointer with 6:16 remaining gave Houston a 94-82 lead, and the Rockets (47-23) never were threatened again.
Houston made 13 of 24 shots from 3-point range, the ninth time this season an Indiana opponent has made at least 12 treys.
Forward Josh Smith added 18 for Houston, and forward Donatas Motiejunas scored 17.
Reserve guard C.J. Watson led Indiana (30-40) with 23 points, guard George Hill added 20 and center Roy Hibbert finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana used an 18-4 run to trim a 64-48 deficit to 68-66 with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter. The burst included 3-pointers from Solomon Hill and Damjan Rudez. But Houston countered with 3-pointers from Smith and Motiejunas to lead 76-68 through 36 minutes.
A Harden 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Rockets a 53-39 lead through the first 24 minutes during which Harden scored 18.
Houston led 41-20 with 8:24 left in the second quarter after a Smith 3-pointer, but Indiana got back to within 11 before Harden’s key shot pushed the advantage back to 14.
Smith scored 12 first-half points off the bench for Houston, which shot 47.4 percent from the field (18 of 38), including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Indiana was 17 of 43 from the floor in the opening half (17 of 43), including 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Led by Harden’s 9 of 9, Houston was 11 of 12 from the free-throw line during first-half action while the Pacers were 3 of 6.
The Rockets outrebounded Indiana 21-20 in the opening two quarters and scored 12 points as the result of 12 Indiana turnovers.
Watson had 11 in the half for the Pacers, and Hill scored 10.