Jaylen Brown racks up 17 points as Celtics’ airtight defense demolishes Miami Heat

Jaylen Brown scored 17 points and the Boston Celtics played airtight defense for a second consecutive night to beat the Miami Heat 95-78 on Thursday.

Dennis Schroder scored 14 points, Aaron Nesmith had 13 and Romeo Langford added 12 for Boston, which swept a back-to-back in Orlando and Miami by giving up an average of 78.5 points on 33% shooting. The Celtics topped the Magic 92-79 on Wednesday.

Jimmy Butler scored 20 points for Miami, which lost point guard Kyle Lowry to a sprained left ankle in the third quarter as part of an utterly forgettable night. The Heat shot 35%, 9 for 41 from 3-point range and managed a total of 55 points in the final three quarters.

76ERS 109, PISTONS 98

Seth Curry scored 23 points, Tyrese Maxey added 20 and short-handed Philadelphia beat Detroit.

Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia. Playing for the second straight night, the 76ers used only eight players. Furkan Korkmaz (wrist) sat out, while former Pistons forward Tobias Harris remained sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols.

Jeremi Grant scored 27 for Detroit.

JAZZ 116, HAWKS 98

Jordan Clarkson bounced back from his worst game of the season, scoring 30 points to lead Utah past Atlanta with Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell sidelined by a sprained right ankle.

Clarkson was coming off a miserable game Tuesday night, going 0 for 11 from 3-point range and 1 of 13 overall to finish with just two points in a victory over Sacramento.

Trae Young scored 21 points for the Hawks.