sport news NBA ROUND-UP: Kyrie Irving explodes to carry the Nets to a win against the ... trends now

Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 29 points in the third quarter, Nic Claxton had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the short-handed Toronto Raptors 112-98 on Wednesday night.

Toronto held Kevin Durant to 12 points but still lost to the Nets for the fifth time in seven meetings after winning 21 of the previous 25.

Durant scored his 26,074th career point in the third quarter, passing Kevin Garnett (26,071) for 18th place on the NBA´s all-time list.

Royce O´Neale made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 15 points, and Ben Simmons had 14 for the Nets, who bounced back after losing Tuesday at depleted Philadelphia, which was missing Joel Embiid and James Harden.

'We´re in the business of winning,' Irving said. 'We´ll take this one, especially after last night´s loss, and the whole internet going up in an uproar in terms of how embarrassed we should be, which is true. We just wanted to make sure we paid attention to detail tonight. We came out and responded.'

Brooklyn has won three of four, including two of three since Irving returned from a suspension for tweeting a link to an antisemitic film.

The Nets shot 17 for 38 from 3-point range, a season high for made 3-pointers. The Raptors finished 7 for 29 from distance, matching their fewest made 3-pointers of the season.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points and Chris Boucher had 12 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Raptors. O.G. Anunoby scored 15 points and Thad Young had 12.

Toronto had 10 healthy players, with regulars Scottie Barnes (left knee) and Fred VanVleet (non-COVID illness) joining All-Star Pascal Siakam (strained right adductor) on the sidelines.

'We feel like we could have played better,' Anunoby said. 'We don´t make the injuries an excuse.'

Irving scored 26 points in the second half, the highest-scoring half by a Nets player this season. He attempted just three shots in the first half, making one.

'It doesn´t take too much,' Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said of Irving. 'He´s gifted, talented, and can score on any court. He got a couple to go his way and once that happens, off you go.'

With the Nets ahead 52-51 at halftime, Irving connected on his first seven field-goal attempts in the third.

'That´s what we want him to do,' Simmons said. 'Just be himself, have that confidence to come out and take those shots and be who he is. He´s an incredible player, incredible teammate.'

Brooklyn took a 91-76 lead into the fourth.

Irving had two higher-scoring halves last season. He scored 41 in the first half at Orlando on March 15, finishing with 60 points. That came one week after Irving scored 30 in the second half at Charlotte, finishing with 50 against the Hornets.

CELTICS 125, MAVERICKS 112 

Jayson Tatum had 37 points and 13 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 31 points on Wednesday night to help the NBA-best Boston Celtics bounce back from a rare loss and beat the Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics, who have a league-leading 14 wins, had won nine straight before losing to the Bulls on Monday.

Luka Doncic scored 42 points for the Mavericks, who had beaten Boston four straight times. Three of the wins came on a 3-pointer in the final seconds, and two of those were with no time at all on the clock.

NUGGETS 131, Thunder 126

Nikola Jokic scored 39 points, Aaron Gordon added 30 and Bruce Brown had a triple-double to help the depleted Denver Nuggets outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime Wednesday night.

Brown had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Playing without starters Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Jokic took it upon himself to dominate the opening period, hitting all five of his shots and scoring 14 points as the Nuggets took a 17-point lead into the second.

HAWKS 115, KINGS 106

Trae Young scored 35 points, Clint Capela added 11 points and 14 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Sacramento Kings' seven-game winning streak with a 115-106 victory Wednesday night.

Young had 10 points in the third, including a straightaway 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 97-86 lead, and his 27-foot 3 made it 110-97 with 3:58 left in the game and brought a huge roar from the crowd as the Kings never really threatened the rest of the way.

Young iced it with a 3 inside the final minute to make it 113-102.

 HORNETS 107, 76ERS 101

Terry Rozier scored nine of his 22 points in the final five minutes and the Charlotte Hornets rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of injury-riddled teams.