REGGIE Jackson scored 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 17 to lift the short-handed Denver Nuggets to a 114-106 victory against the host Chicago Bulls on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
Denver won for the second time in as many nights despite losing star Nikola Jokic to a second-quarter ejection and playing without Jamal Murray (ankle).
Officials ejected Jokic with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter for briefly arguing a no-call as he ran down the floor. He finished with four points, nine rebounds and six assists. The Nuggets also lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the second quarter due to a head contusion.
Coby White put up 27 points and Nikola Vucevic logged 26 points and 16 rebounds, but the Bulls still lost their second straight game on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
In other games, it was the Celtics 120, Cavs 113; Suns 119, Warriors 116; Mavs 127, Lakers 125; and Clippers 119, Kings 99.
Celtics 120, Cavs 113
Boston went 26-for-26 from the free-throw line and improved its home record to 11-0 this season by beating visiting Cleveland.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored a team-high 25 points for the Celtics, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 21. Tatum and Porzingis each had a game-high 10 rebounds. Derrick White made 5 of 8 3-point attempts and added 17 points.
The game was tied 106-106 with 6:05 to play, but Boston scored the next nine points and the Cavaliers were never closer than seven the rest of the way. The Celtics have won 18 consecutive regular-season home games dating back to March. Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 29 points for Cleveland.
Suns 119, Warriors 116
Devin Booker recorded 32 points and seven assists, and Phoenix overcame the absence of Kevin Durant to defeat visiting Golden State.
Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as Phoenix improved to 3-0 against the Warriors this season. Durant missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Bradley Beal returned from a 12-game absence due to a back injury and had 16 points in 27 minutes.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Brandin Podziemski added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State, which lost for the 11th time in the past 15 games. Draymond Green was ejected with 8:23 left in the third quarter for delivering a wild open-hand punch to the face of Nurkic.
