Depleted Celtics comfortably beat Pistons

The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics didn't feel the absence of star Jayson Tatum at all, making 20 3-pointers in a resounding 123-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in NBA action.

With Tatum out of action due to right knee discomfort, reserve Payton Pritchard came up big, leading the Celtics in scoring with 27 points and 10 assists, as they earned their 12th straight win over the Pistons.

Pritchard took seven 3-pointers and reached 500 for his career, becoming the 10th Celtics player to reach that mark.

"Payton has been unbelievable," Jaylen Brown, the NBA Finals MVP, said of Pritchard's contribution off the bench all season, putting him in the conversation for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

"We all saw it coming," Brown said. "We have a lot of talent on this team, and he's capable of doing that every night."

Derrick White also made seven 3-pointers, totaling 23 points.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 19 points, and Brown chipped in 14, as six Celtics players reached double figures in scoring.

Backup Luke Kornet had a perfect performance as he made all five of his field goal attempts, scoring 12 points to help the Celtics bounce back from a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Celtics improved their record to 20-5, just one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4) atop the Eastern Conference.

In Miami, Tyler Herro scored 23 points and Bam Adebayo added 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Heat in a 114-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Miami extended its winning streak to four games, rallying from a 16-point deficit early in the second quarter to lead 58-51 at halftime, and they never trailed again.

R.J. Barrett had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Toronto, while Gradey Dick contributed 22 points.

Jimmy Butler, who has been at the center of trade speculation in the media this week, added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra commented before the game that trade rumors surrounding Butler would not be a distraction for either the player or the team.

"That's the way this profession is," Spoelstra said. "You can't get dizzy at sea over some narratives that are floating around."

The Sacramento Kings, powered by 32 points and 21 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis, held off the Pelicans 111-109 in New Orleans.

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for Sacramento, which led by 14 points midway through the final quarter, only for New Orleans to cut the deficit to two on a 3-point play by CJ McCollum with 1:24 left.

The Pelicans, led by McCollum's 36 points, failed to score on the next two possessions as the Kings managed to hang on to their lead.