Boston dominates, Chicago surges and Miami responds: Four keys from Friday's NBA action

The Boston Celtics earned their fourth straight victory Friday by defeating the Indiana Pacers, 140-122. It was a day of streaks, negative, positive and reversed: The Chicago Bulls extended their winning streak to five, the Atlanta Hawks their losing streak to five, and the Miami Heat began to reverse theirs.

 The four main takeaways from Friday's NBA slate:

Dream night for Celtics: comeback, win and streak continues

The Boston Celtics had plenty to celebrate at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Not only did they recover from an early deficit, overcoming a 15-point hole to win by 18, but they also enjoyed a stellar performance from Jaylen Brown, who finished with 30 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds.

The forward, a Georgia native, has now scored 30 or more points in eight consecutive games, according to official NBA data. With this streak, he matches a franchise record set by Larry Bird, becoming just the second player in Celtics history to achieve the feat.

Although Brown stood out, he was not the only protagonist. Payton Pritchard delivered an equally effective performance with 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Sam Hauser added 23 points off the bench, hitting seven of his eight three-point attempts. Overall, the Celtics were highly efficient from beyond the arc, shooting 51.3% (20 of 39) as a team.

"We put in a strong physical effort, and a lot of good things happened," Hauser said. "The credit goes to my teammates for finding me in the right spots."

The Pacers, who continue to suffer the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, had six players score in double figures but none above the 20-point mark.

Fifth straight win for the Bulls

The Chicago Bulls completed a run of ten consecutive points down the stretch to win 109-102 over the Philadelphia 76ers.

It was just the fourth game of the season for the Sixers in which they could count on their main stars: Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. All four performances have ended in defeat for a Sixers that sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Coby White scored a key three-pointer in front of Embiid's mark and then completed an assist to solidify the lead in the final minutes. The Bulls bench contributed 59 points, including 30 between Zach Collins (15) and Tre Jones (15) who were the top scorers for Chicago.

The Chicago Bulls won their fifth consecutive victory.

Miami is reborn against Atlanta

Miami Heat won 126-111 over the Atlanta Hawks and took the first step on the road to recovery; the Florida came into the game having lost nine of its last 11 games.

Forward Norman Powell was the top scorer with 25 points while center Kel'el Ware added a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.

On the other hand, Mexico's Jaime Jaquez Jr. played 28 minutes in which he scored 16 points, recovered five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Tyler Herro was out of the game due to discomfort in his right foot, while Bam Adebayo reported back problems, both are key players for the three-time NBA champions.

For the Hawks, the streak of consecutive losses reaches five and they fall to tenth place with 15 wins and 17 losses.

Booker leads Suns in win over New Orleans

The Phoenix Suns earned their sixth win away from home with a 115-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Devin Booker scored nine of his 11 attempts from the free-throw line en route to a night with 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Booker, 29, reached 700 career NBA games, averaging 24.5 points, four rebounds and 5.2 assists.

The Suns have had an up-and-down season but their 16 wins and 13 losses are good enough for a seventh-place finish that so far would leave them in playoff spots.