NBA ROUND-UP: Jayson Tatum scores triple-double in Celtics win over Dallas, Nuggets beat Clippers

The Boston Celtics cemented their lead at the top of the NBA on Thursday night with a 124-95 win over host Dallas Mavericks.

Jayson Tatum hit a triple-double with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while Jaylen Brown had 19 points for the NBA-leading Celtics, who were recovering from a 150-117 loss in Oklahoma City when the Thunder were 30 points short Goalscorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Luka Doncic scored 23 points after averaging 44.5 points in the last five games. The Mavs superstar didn’t play in the fourth quarter, which started with Boston taking a 24-point lead.

Jayson Tatum hit a triple-double as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 124-95

Luka Doncic scored 23 points for the Mavs after averaging 44.5 points in the last five games

Doncic scored three 3-pointers for the win in Boston’s last two Dallas visits. There was never a chance for a third-place finish or for the Mavs to continue their longest winning streak since their only championship season in 2010-11.

Doncic missed all six shots from long range as the Mavericks finished 7 of 32. Doncic was 7 of 23 overall and Dallas finished with 38 percent.

Tatum wasn’t much better than Doncic, leaving the field 8th of 22, but his teammates were. Boston shot 16 of 43 of 3, with eight players hitting at least one.

Jaylen Brown scored 19 points as Boston cemented its lead at the top of the NBA

Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 15 points, with Smart scoring 4 of 9 from deep while Brogdon was 3 of 5.

The Celtics were never behind after the middle of the first quarter, and Dallas got no closer than 13th after halftime.

Doncic had nine rebounds but was limited to three assists as Dallas hit their season low of 15 assists. Spencer Dinwiddie had 18 points and Christian Wood had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

LA CLIPPERS 91-122 DENVER NUGGETS

The Nuggets led by as much as 43 in a 122-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers to tie Memphis for the top spot in the Western Conference Thursday night.

The Nuggets picked the perfect time to deliver one of their best performances of the season. Denver pushed the pace and showed why the team is tied with Memphis for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets shot 50.6 percent from the floor and finished the game with 28 assists.

It wasn’t even Nikola Jokic who did the most damage either. The two-time reigning NBA MVP had 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists before taking the fourth quarter off.

Jamal Murray (L) sparked Denver early as the Nuggets drove to a 122-91 win over the Clippers

Jamal Murray triggered Denver early by scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter.

Murray was one of seven Denver players to finish in double figures. He hit four of the team’s 14 3-pointers.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope helped fuel a 19-0 run in the second quarter to turn the game into a loss.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 123-115 ORLANDO MAGIC

Western Conference leaders the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic 123-115 Thursday night for their fifth straight win.

Ja Morant scored 32 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 31 points and 10 rebounds, while Ziaire Williams came off the Memphis bench with 6 of 7 shots and 16 points.

Paolo Banchero had 30 points and nine rebounds for Orlando. Franz Wagner added 22 points, 19 in a desperate fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

Jackson had 13 points and five rebounds in the Grizzlies’ 43-point second quarter, which ended with Memphis leading 65-43.

Ja Morant (right) scored 32 points as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic 123-115

Banchero scored Orlando’s first 10 points of the second half, but Morant responded with 11 straight points for the Grizzlies.

Banchero made three free throws to bring the Magic back to 12 by the end of the third, but Morant ended the period with a short jump and the Grizzlies regained a 21-point lead with three 3-pointers (two from Williams) early in the fourth.

Orlando rallied behind Wagner in the fourth quarter, cutting the Grizzlies’ lead to six on Caleb Houstan’s 3-pointers with 1:53 remaining. But Morant drew a sixth foul on magic center Wendell Carter Jr., with 1:21 remaining, and scored Memphis’ last three points from the foul line.

Carter finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

UTAH JAZZ 131-114 HOUSTON ROCKETS

Lauri Markkanen posted a career-high 49 points and led the Utah Jazz to a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night that slipped in five games.

Markkanen got off to a quick start with 18 points in the first quarter, helping the Jazz take an early lead. Houston took the lead late in the third quarter, but Utah ended that quarter on a 10-0 run to finally take the lead.

An 8-2 run reduced Utah’s lead to five with about 5 minutes left. Jordan Clarkson hit a 3-pointer shortly after, before a tip shot from Markkanen extended the lead to 117-107.

Lauri Markkanen posted a career-high 49 points and led the Utah Jazz to a win over Houston

Jalen Green added a basket for Houston before Markkanen scored the next four points to start a 14-0 run from the Jazz that made it 131-109 and fans flocked to the exits.

After scoring the first four points of the run, Markkanen added back-to-back 3 points at the end. The players on the Utah bench stood and cheered when he hit them both, and they were disappointed when a final 3-point try that would have given him 50 points missed.

Green had 30 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 23 for the Rockets, who lost their sixth straight.

Markkanen’s most successful game on Thursday was 38, which he had twice, most recently against Detroit on December 20. He made six 3-pointers and all 13 of his Thursday night free throws to eclipse his best games to date.