BOSTON, Massachusetts: Boston guard Rajon Rondo’s streak of NBA games with double-digit assists ended at 37 Wednesday with his ejection for fighting in the Celtics’ 95-83 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Joe Johnson scored 18 points and Jerry Stackhouse added a spark off the bench, scoring 17 points for the Nets in the testy contest.
Rondo and Brooklyn forward Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace were all ejected from the game after a first-half fight.
Rondo’s ejection meant his streak of games with at least 10 assists ended at 37 — tying Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton for second on the all-time list.
Former Lakers great Magic Johnson holds the record at 46 games.
The first half featured six technical fouls and a noticeable disparity in foul shots awarded.
The Nets had attempted 17 free throws to Boston’s two into the closing minute of the half, when Humphries was whistled for a hard foul against Boston’s Kevin Garnett.
That included an extra shove that angered both Garnett and Rondo, who steamed toward Humphries and started pushing and shoving.
Eventually Rondo was tossed, Garnett was assessed a technical foul and Humphries and Wallace both received their second technical fouls of the game — leading to the ejection of the Nets’ two starting forward.
The absence of Humphries and Wallace meant more playing time for Stackhouse, Andray Blatche and Reggie Evans.
Blatche posted 17 points with 13 rebounds and Evans answered the call with five points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, who have won four straight games.
Thunder 120, Rockets 98: Kevin Durant matched his season high with 37 points, and Oklahoma City beat Houston in James Harden’s first game back at Chesapeake Energy Arena since being traded by the Thunder before the season.
Harden scored 17 points, but was limited to 3-for-16 shooting. He had six shots blocked by the Thunder.
Bulls 101, Mavericks 78: Luol Deng had 22 points and six rebounds to lead Chicago over Dallas.
Five players scored at least 11 points to help the Bulls (7-7) beat the Mavericks for the fourth straight time.
Grizzlies 103, Raptors 82: Marreese Speights had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help Memphis beat Toronto for its third straight win.
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph finished with 17 points apiece, while Randolph added 13 rebounds and six assists. Mike Conley had 16 points, going 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, and Rudy Gay added 14 as the Grizzlies maintained the best record in the NBA (11-2).
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 16 points, while Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon scored 12 apiece. Linas Kleiza added 11 points, but was 5 of 15 from the field, as Toronto lost its sixth straight.
The Raptors played without Andrea Bargnani, their second-leading scorer, who sat out after hurting his left ankle in Tuesday night’s loss at Houston.
Knicks 102, Bucks 88: Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points to lead New York past Milwaukee.
Anthony, who sat out the fourth quarter, was 9 of 18 from the floor and also grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes. The second-leading scorer in the NBA has scored at least 29 points in his last four games, including 35 points and 13 rebounds in a 96-89 overtime loss at Brooklyn on Monday.
New York’s Steve Novak added 19 points and Tyson Chandler chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game road losing streak.
Jason Kidd missed his second game in a row for New York with lower back spasms.
Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings and Beno Udrih each scored 18 points. The Bucks have lost four of their last five.
Clippers 101, Timberwolves 95: Chris Paul had 23 points and 11 assists, and Los Angeles welcomed Chauncey Billups back to the lineup for the first time this season.
Billups had seven points and three assists in 19 minutes as the Clippers ended a four-game losing streak. The five-time All-Star, beginning his 16th NBA season, was sidelined for more than nine months after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon on Feb. 6 in a 107-102 victory at Orlando.
Blake Griffin, who had career lows in points (four) and field goals made (one) during Monday night’s 105-98 home loss to New Orleans, had 18 points and six rebounds. Caron Butler, who scored 33 points in that game and set a franchise record with a career-high nine 3-point baskets, missed his first five shots and finished 1 for 8 with two points in 24 minutes.
Kevin Love had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota and is averaging 23.0 points and 15.6 boards in five games since returning from a broken right hand he sustained in the preseason.
Pistons 117, Suns 77: Brandon Knight and Charlie Villanueva scored 19 points apiece, and Detroit routed Phoenix to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Detroit is 5-3 since opening 0-8. The Pistons led 55-44 at halftime and then broke the game open when the Suns came unglued in the third quarter. Phoenix picked up four technical fouls in the third and trailed by as many as 44 in the fourth.
Rodney Stuckey added 18 points for Detroit. Kyle Singler and Tayshaun Prince contributed 12 each, and Greg Monroe had nine points and eight rebounds.
Luis Scola scored 11 points for the Suns.
The Pistons avenged a 92-89 loss at Phoenix in early November.
Hawks 94, Bobcats 91: Al Horford scored 17 points and hit two clinching free throws to help Atlanta beat Charlotte for its sixth straight victory.
Josh Smith and Lou Williams also had 17 points apiece for the Hawks.
Ben Gordon finished with 26 points and Ramon Sessions had 18 to lead Charlotte, which has lost two straight and three of four.
Gordon’s straightaway 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining cut Atlanta’s lead to 92-91. The Bobcats got the ball back, but Sessions’ inbounds pass from the left sideline was ruled a turnover after the officials watched replays and concluded neither Gordon nor Smith touched the ball, which bounced out of bounds on the other side of the court with 5.2 seconds to go.
SPURS 110, MAGIC 89: Manu Ginobili had 20 points, Gary Neal scored 19 and San Antonio raced past Orlando for its fifth straight win.
Tim Duncan added 15 points in 27 minutes and Tony Parker chipped in 14 points and eight assists.
The Spurs also posted their eighth consecutive victory on the road and have now beaten the Magic in five of their last six meetings.
Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 16 points, followed by Jameer Nelson with 14. The Magic struggled from the field, connecting on just two of their 15 3-point attempts.
Orlando has lost two straight and concludes its season-high, five-game homestand Friday against Brooklyn.
JAZZ 96, HORNETS 84: Al Jefferson had 19 points, Marvin Williams scored 16 before leaving with concussion symptoms and Utah won its second straight game by defeating New Orleans.
Paul Millsap scored nine of his 16 points during a dominant third quarter for Utah, and Gordon Hayward had 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Jazz overcome one last New Orleans surge.
Robin Lopez and Greivis Vasquez each scored 18 points for New Orleans, which has lost eight of nine. Brian Roberts added 11 points. But the Hornets, who defeated Utah in an earlier meeting this season, struggled from 3-point range this time, going 5 of 21.
