The Detroit Pistons matched the longest losing streak in NBA history Thursday, blowing a 21-point lead before falling to the Boston Celtics 128-122 in overtime for their 28th straight loss.

The Pistons tied the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost 28 in a row starting in 2014-15 and into the 2015-16 season.

Detroit’s next chance to record its first win since Oct. 28 is Saturday against Toronto.

The Pistons opened a 21-point lead in the first half but trailed 106-100 in the final two minutes of regulation. Jaden Ivey scored six straight points to erase the deficit, then Bojan Bogdanovic made a putback with 4.6 seconds left to force OT.

Derrick White scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra period and Kristaps Porzingis added six to finish with 35.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 10 assists for league-leading Boston, which has won four straight and nine of its last 10 games.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 31 points and nine assists, while Ivey finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Jokic has another triple-double

Nikola Jokić registered 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in less than three quarters to lead the Denver Nuggets to their sixth consecutive win, 142-105 over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies.

Jokic was 11 of 11 from the field and hit all three free throws before going to the bench with 1:31 left in the third quarter. He notched his 11th triple-double of the season and 116th of his career, which ranks fourth in NBA history.

Desmond Bane had 23 points and Marcus Smart added 17 for the Grizzlies, who were without star guard Ja Morant. Memphis had a four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 6-20 when Morant is out of the lineup.

Edwards leads Timberwolves past Mavericks

Anthony Edwards poured in a season-high 44 points and Rudy Gobert added 20 with 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without Luka Dončić.

Jaden McDaniels chipped in 12 points for Minnesota, which improved the Western Conference’s best record to 23-7.

With Doncic out on the second night of back-to-back games, Dallas lost its fifth in seven games. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 32 points off the bench and Jaden Hardy added 17 points.

The Detroit Pistons equalled the longest losing run in NBA history as they went down 128-122 to the Boston Celtics.

The Pistons, who broke the single-season record on Tuesday against Brooklyn Nets, forced overtime before going down to their 28th consecutive loss.

Defeat to the team with the league’s best record equals the record of the Philadelphia 76ers across two seasons in 2015.

Detroit did lead by 21 points in the first half, but needed a score from Bojan Bogdanovic to send the game into the first overtime of the losing streak.

Derrick White scored 10 points in the extra period as the Celtics pulled away. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 31 points.

Toronto are next up for Detroit on Saturday as they look to avoid taking sole ownership of the record.

Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 in his return to the lineup as the Boston Celtics remained perfect at home with Friday's 133-123 win over the New York Knicks.

Jayson Tatum chipped in 25 points to help Boston improve to 10-0 at TD Garden this season and bounce back from Monday's 122-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's In-Season Tournament quarter-finals.

Porzingis, who had missed the Celtics' previous four games with a strained left calf, tallied 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half to help stake Boston to a 74-65 lead at intermission.

The Celtics stretched their advantage to as many as 20 points in the third quarter and the Knicks never got closer than seven points down in the fourth.

Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett each had 23 points for New York, which had won three straight prior to Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Tournament quarterfinals.

Fox leads rally as Kings top short-handed Suns

De'Aaron Fox scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Sacramento Kings dominated the second half en route to a 114-106 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Domantas Sabonis compiled 15 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Sacramento, which overcame a nine-point half-time deficit by outscoring the Suns by a 33-12 margin in the third quarter.

Phoenix, which played without Kevin Durant due to an ankle injury and remains without fellow star Bradley Beal, shot 52.4 per cent in the first half to build a 59-50 lead. 

The Suns went 6 of 23 from the field in the third quarter, though, as the Kings fought back to tie the game before finishing the period on a 16-4 run to take an 83-71 advantage into the fourth.

Fox then took over in the final quarter as Sacramento gradually pulled away, with his 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining giving the Kings a comfortable 112-98 lead.

The slumping Suns lost for the fourth time in five games despite Devin Booker's 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with seven assists. Eric Gordon added 19 points for Phoenix.

Thunder continue mastery of Warriors with overtime win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points, Jalen Williams added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied late in regulation before handing the Golden State Warriors a 138-136 overtime loss.

Chet Holmgren chipped in 21 points, including three free throws with 7.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter that forced overtime, as the upstart Thunder defeated the veteran Warriors for the third time in four meetings this season. 

Golden State fell to 10-12 on the season despite 34 points from Stephen Curry and 22 from Klay Thompson. Jonathan Kuminga posted 24 points and 12 rebounds off the bench before fouling out in OT.

The Thunder battled back from a 14-point second-quarter deficit, then never trailed in overtime after opening the session on a 12-3 run capped by a Holmgren 3-pointer that gave them a 130-121 lead with 2:40 left.

Golden State fought back and pulled to within 136-134 on Curry's 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds remaining, but Holmgren fed Luguentz Dort for a critical layup on the ensuing possession and the Warriors eventually ran out of time.

Boston Celtics hero Derrick White said "It just had to be won" after his buzzer-beating tip-in forced the Eastern Conference finals to Game 7, as Jayson Tatum added: "That s*** was crazy!"

From 3-0 down against the Miami Heat, the Celtics have fought back to 3-3 in the series, and are now just one win away from making history.

White grabbed and then sank the rebound from Marcus Smart's failed three-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining to seal a 104-103 victory in Miami on Saturday.

The Celtics are now on the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoffs history, needing a win at home in Game 7 on Monday to become the first team to win a series after losing the first three games.

Boston are only the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to force a deciding game.

Reflecting on the game-winning moment, Tatum told reporters: "I'm still, like, in disbelief. That s*** was crazy.

"That felt like the longest 10 seconds ever waiting for confirmation if he made it or not."

White told TNT: "It had to be won. Whatever it takes, our backs against our wall, it just had to be won.

"We're a resilient group. We pick each other up, we bond for each other.

"The job isn't done yet, we've got a tough one Game 7, we've got to find a way to get one more win."

White had tears sparkling in his eyes, but explained: "I'm just happy. So far, so good."

It is just the second time in league history that a player has hit a buzzer-beater when his team was down and facing elimination, after Michael Jordan's legendary "The Shot", way back in 1989.

"Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man," team-mate Jaylen Brown added. "An incredible play."

The Heat can only lick their wounds as they head to Boston for Monday's winner-takes-all matchup.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said: "It's a seven-game series. There's nothing better than Game 7s.

"I don't know how we're going to get this done, but we're going to go out there and get it done, and that's what the next 48 hours is about.

"There's been nothing easy about this season for our group, and so we just have to do it the hard way."

Jimmy Butler did his best for Miami, with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

"We've got to go on the road and do something special, but we've got a special group," Butler said.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played some role reversal with their star backcourt on Tuesday as Darius Garland led the scoring charge to defeat the New York Knicks 107-90.

The Game 2 victory tied the series at 1-1 after the Knicks took the opener on the road, but following his 38-point performance in Game 1, Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell assumed point guard responsibilities.

Mitchell dished a career-high 13 assists to go with 17 points as he went six-of-11 from the field, setting up Garland to shoulder the scoring workload.

After 17 points in Game 1, Garland posted a game-high 32 on eight-of-17 shooting, draining six-of-10 from long range, and he also chipped in seven assists in a masterful offensive showing.

Evan Mobley, who was third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, blocked two shots and snatched two steals to go with his 13 points and 13 rebounds, while his interior partner Jarrett Allen racked up three steals and three blocks as they controlled the paint throughout.

For the Knicks, who found themselves down 59-39 at half-time and could not claw their way out, Jalen Brunson shot a disappointing five-of-17 from the field for his 20 points, although he added six assists and four steals.

Julius Randle was not much better, finishing with 22 points on eight-of-20 shooting with eight rebounds and six turnovers, and the Knicks shot seven-of-29 (24.1 per cent) from three-point range.

After splitting the first two games, the Knicks will head to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4 with home court advantage now in their favour.

Boston's White knight delivers

Complimentary guard Derrick White gave the Boston Celtics a match-winning cameo in their 119-106 Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

White, who was one of only 10 players this season to play all 82 games in the regular season, put together a terrific game with 26 points (11-of-16 shooting), seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal after starting and playing 34 minutes.

His hot-shooting night saw him usurp Jaylen Brown for the evening in shot attempts as the Celtics' second All-Star chipped in 18 points (seven-of-14), three steals and two blocks, while First Team All-NBA candidate Jayson Tatum led the way with 29 points (12-of-22), 10 rebounds and six assists.

Dejounte Murray was strong for the Hawks with 29 points (11-of-24), six rebounds, six assists and four steals, finishing with a dead-even plus/minus in his 40 minutes, but Trae Young was minus 15 and Atlanta were torched when he was left on the floor without Murray.

While the Celtics will take a 2-0 lead to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4, the Hawks can put all the pressure back on Boston by holding serve at home.

Booker shines for the Suns

Devin Booker stepped up and helped his Phoenix Suns tie their series at 1-1 with a 123-109 triumph over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Booker put up a game-high 38 points on 14-of-22 shooting, playing 45 out of a possible 48 minutes while also leading the Suns with nine assists.

Kevin Durant was excellent in support with 25 points (10-of-19), six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal, while Deandre Ayton added 14 points with 13 rebounds and Chris Paul chipped in eight assists to go with his 16 points.

It was another ubiquitous performance from two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard as he embarks on his quest to join LeBron James as the only Finals MVP-winner with three different teams.

He had a team-high 31 points (11-of-20), a team-high seven assists and a team-high three steals, while Russell Westbrook posted 28 points (nine-of-16), five rebounds and five assists, but they did not have enough help.

The series will head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.

The New York Knicks claimed their ninth straight win on Sunday but top scorer Immanuel Quickley says they are not satisfied.

The Knicks improved their record to 39-27, firming up fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with Sunday's 131-129 double overtime win over the Boston Celtics fuelling the hype surrounding the side.

Quickley stepped into the starting line-up for the absent Jalen Brunson, who was the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February, before scoring a career-high 38 points showcasing the Knicks' depth.

"We're not satisfied at all," Quickley told ESPN. "We want to continue to get better. We want to continue to make a push down the stretch."

The Knicks are firmly in contention for one of the top four seeds in the East, which would earn them home-court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs.

The Milwaukee Bucks (46-18) and Celtics (45-20) are well out in front in, but the Knicks are closing in on the third-placed Philadelphia 76ers (41-22) and fourth-placed Cleveland Cavaliers (40-26).

Quickley's performance, across a career-high 55 minutes, included making five-of-12 from three-point range with eight rebounds and seven assists, though he was not interested in individual accolades.

"My team-mates did a great job," he said. "I'm really proud of my team. Double overtime against a really good team. You can't ask for better."

The defeat dealt another blow to the Celtics, who have dropped three of their past four games, including two against the Knicks.

Boston had led by 14 points, having allowed the biggest comeback of the season on Friday when the Brooklyn Nets rallied back from 28 points down.

"We're not locking in as much as we need to," said Celtics veteran Al Horford, who missed an attempt for a game-winning three-pointer on the second overtime buzzer.

"This is the second time we've had a lead, we feel good about it and a team makes a run and we let them back in the game.

"Throughout the season you're going to have adversity. We've played pretty good basketball most of the year. This is a time when you tighten up and fix some of these issues or it goes the other way.

"We want to play our best basketball, but this is a part of the season. There's ups and downs."

Celtics guard Derrick White claimed they have lost their "swagger", having surrendered top spot to the Bucks over the past week.

"We've just got to get our swagger back," White said. "Find a way to play with each other, have fun out there. I'm sure we'll get it back here soon."

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla says point guard Derrick White is OK after suffering a worrying neck injury early in Saturday's 122-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

White exited the game in the first quarter when he inadvertently collided with teammate Marcus Smart as he bent over to pick up the ball after P.J. Washington attempted a steal.

The collision led to White falling to the ground, clutching his head and neck, with the Celtics later ruling him out of the game with a "neck sprain".

"He's good," Mazzulla told reporters. "I haven't gotten a report back but he's OK, I spoke with him in the locker room."

In White's absence, Malcolm Brogdon played 31 minutes off the bench, contributing 30 points on 11-of-17 field-goal shooting with three rebounds and three assists.

The former Indiana Pacers point guard, who joined the Celtics in July, has added good scoring output lately, averaging 20 points over the last five games.

"It obviously changed our rotation as we were a man down, but I thought Malcolm was great tonight," Mazzulla said.

"He's a guy that is adjusting to playing on our team. He shows tremendous humility and patience. Tonight was big for him. He really helped our team and was really selfless. I'm happy for him."

MVP candidate Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics, who recorded their sixth straight win to improve their NBA-best record to 32-12, with 33 points.

Tatum scored 17 points in the third quarter as the Celtics responded to a 66-62 half-time deficit, to lead by 10 at the final change.

The Celtics small forward shot 12-of-27 from the field with four triples along with nine rebounds and six assists.

Mazzulla praised Tatum, who is learning how different teams are guarding him to develop his consistency.

"He's done a really good of developing an awareness, because it changes night to night and quarter to quarter," Mazzulla said. "He's done a nice job of building an awareness to what the coverage is and having a solution for that."

Stephen Curry scored 50 points but could not prevent the Golden State Warriors' winless road run from extending to eight games after a 130-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The defeat means the Warriors are 0-8 on the road this season, and slump to 6-9 in the 2022-23 campaign, which is a tie for fourth worst 15-game start to a season by an NBA champion.

Golden State's 0-8 road start is the worst ever by a defending champion in NBA history. The eight-defeat run is also a tie for third for longest road losing streak by a defending champion in their title-defense season.

The Warriors' defense was an issue once again, having allowed 124.3 points per game on the road this season which is the worst in the NBA. The Warriors' opponents have scored 120 or more points six times in 15 games this season.

The Suns improved to 9-5, with point guard Cameron Payne top scoring with 29 points including six three-pointers alongside Devin Booker with 27 points. Mikal Bridges added 23 points with five triples along with eight rebounds and nine assists.

Phoenix, who were without Cameron Johnson (knee), Chris Paul (heel) and Jae Crowder, knocked down a season-high 21 three-pointers, which is the most allowed by the Warriors this season, shooting at 52.5 per cent from beyond the arc.

Curry posted 50 points on 17-of-28 field shooting with seven-of-11 from three-point range with nine rebounds and six assists. Klay Thompson added 19 points but the Warriors' bench combined for only 17 points.

Celtics extend winning run to eight games

The short-handed Boston Celtics secured their eighth straight win with a 126-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks where seven players scored double digits for the winners.

Jayson Tatum had a career-high six assists in the first quarter and finished the game with 19 points, with seven rebounds and eight assists, while Jaylen Brown top scored for Boston with 22 points. Derrick White dished off 10 assists and Al Horford hauled down 11 rebounds.

During the Celtics' eight-game win streak, they have the NBA's best offensive efficiency (123.2), three-point field goals made (16.4) and assists-turnovers ratio (2.3).

SGA comes up clutch again for OKC

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored an equal career-high 42 points, including draining a last-gasp three-pointer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Washington Wizards 121-120.

Bradley Beal had hit a two-pointer to put the Wizards up 120-118 with 6.1 seconds left, but Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 19 points in the third quarter, had time to hit a step-back triple with 1.1 seconds remaining.

Over the last two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored four go-ahead or game-tying field goals in the final five seconds, which is more than any other player in the NBA. Nine players have two.

The Boston Celtics were left to wonder what might have been after a poor third quarter saw them lose Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, levelling the series at 1-1.

An underwhelming first half performance saw the Celtics trail by only two points, and after their incredible fourth quarter showing in Game 1, the hope for Boston was they could finish strongly again and take a commanding 2-0 lead.

However, after finding themselves trailing by 23 points by the time the final quarter arrived, they had left themselves far too much to do.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka blamed the amount of turnovers, saying after the 107-88 defeat at Chase Center: "That's been an ongoing theme in the playoffs so far. We've turned over the ball. Take teams out of scoring against us in the half court, give them some baskets.

"But it was more of the same in that third quarter. We had 11 for 18 points in that first half and gave up five or six more in that quarter. Kind of blew it open, and that hampered our offense, as well."

Jayson Tatum - who top-scored for the Celtics with 28 points, though ended the game with a minus-36, which is the worst plus-minus of the 24-year-old's career - agreed with Udoka on turnovers, but also pointed to the general sloppiness at the start of the third-quarter that saw the Warriors pull away.

"I think tonight, turnovers, and I think sometimes letting our offense affect how we defend, kind of was a little stagnant in the third quarter," Tatum said.

"I feel like it translated on the defensive end, and they got going and hitting shots and things like that."

Boston have now been outscored by at least 14 points on four occasions in the third quarter during this year's playoffs, and guard Derrick White also expressed his frustration at the increasing trend of losing the game just after half-time.

"Yeah, it's definitely frustrating," he said. "I mean, we've talked about it pretty much the whole postseason. It's easy to talk about, but we've got to go out there and change something.

"That was a big quarter for them and really a quarter that put us away."

The Boston Celtics smothered the Miami Heat all night on the way to a 102-82 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

With the win, the Celtics evened the series at 2-2, and are still yet to lose back-to-back games this postseason. 

It all started on the defensive end for Boston, playing in front of their raucous home fans, as the Heat missed their first 14 field goal attempts.

The Celtics led 29-11 at quarter time – after leading 26-4 at one stage – marking the fewest first-quarter points ever scored by a Heat team in the playoffs. They shot three-for-20 from the field.

Victor Oladipo tried to ignite the Heat off the bench, scoring 18 of their first 28 points, but it was a historically bad showing from Miami's starting line-up, made even worse by the fact Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro was out injured.

With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Heat trailed 73-42, leading to their starters getting benched for the final frame. Their five starters combined to score 18 points and shoot seven-for-38 (18 per cent) from the field.

For Boston, Jayson Tatum was terrific, scoring 24 of his 31 points in the first half, finishing up with shooting figures of eight-of-16 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free throw line.

The big-man combination of Al Horford and Robert Williams III was also game-changing, as the duo combined for 22 rebounds and six blocks, while Derrick White also shined in his first game since becoming a father.

White missed Game 3 for the birth of his child, and after scoring no more than nine points since Game 4 of the Celtics series against the Milwaukee Bucks, he had 10 points in the first quarter as he started in the place of the injured Marcus Smart.

He went on to finish with 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

Game 5 will head back to Miami with plenty on the line. Throughout NBA history, when a series has been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 goes on to win the series 82 per cent of the time – although the Celtics bucked that trend last round.

The Philadelphia 76ers solved their Ben Simmons conundrum with a blockbuster trade for James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets before the NBA trade deadline passed on Thursday. 

Simmons has refused to play for the Sixers this season after coach Doc Rivers and center Joel Embiid were critical of his performances in the Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Atlanta Hawks last season. 

Philadelphia had been trying to trade the fifth-year guard/forward ever since, but the former Rookie of the Year's value plummeted after he came up short against the Hawks. 

However, according to multiple reports a deal was finally struck to send Simmons to Brooklyn in exchange for the 2018 NBA MVP Harden. Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick were also sent to the Nets, with Paul Millsap going in the opposite direction. 

Harden can become a free agent in the offseason, while Simmons is under contract until 2025 after signing a five-year, $177.2million deal in 2019.

While the 76ers seemingly boosted their chances of contending by adding Harden, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors remained idle. However, there were still plenty of other deals reported on Thursday.

Mavericks move on from Porzingis

The Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis era is over in Dallas.

The Mavs sent Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Injuries have continued to trouble the 7ft 3in center, who averaged 20 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in two and a half seasons in Dallas.

Kings trade Bagley, Bucks get Ibaka 

The Sacramento Kings made Marvin Bagley III the second overall pick in the 2018 draft but brought an end to his time in California as part of a seven-player, four-team trade. 

Bagley was sent to the Detroit Pistons, with Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles going to Sacramento. The Kings also received Donte DiVincenzo from the Milwaukee Bucks, who swapped Serge Ibaka for Semi Ojeleye and Rodney Hood. The reigning NBA champions also received two future second-round picks and cash considerations. 

Bagley has started just 17 games for Sacramento this season, averaging 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.

Celtics bring Theis back, send Schroder to Houston

Daniel Theis is back for a second spell with the Boston Celtics.

Less than a year after he was traded to the Chicago Bulls by the Celtics, Theis was brought back from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando. Freedom is expected to be waived by the Rockets, though.

Boston also sent Bol Bol and PJ Dozier, who are both out for the season, to the Orlando Magic and offloaded Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford to the San Antonio Spurs. The Celtics' brought in Derrick White.

Elsewhere...

Goran Dragic's time with the Toronto Raptors is up after he was traded to the Spurs for Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks – whom they were set to waive – and a 2022 lottery-protected first-round pick. Dragic is expected to be bought out, with the Chicago Bulls, Mavs, Bucks, Warriors, Nets and Clippers all credited with an interest.

The Charlotte Hornets added Montrezl Harrel from the Wizards. Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr went the other way. 

Torrey Craig is back with the Phoenix Suns following a deal that saw Jalen Smith land with the Indiana Pacers. Aaron Holiday was also acquired from the Wizards.