Jaylen Brown scored 37 points and the Boston Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 127-112, extending their winning streak to four games.
Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and Al Horford added 24 points, and the home win moved the Celtics closer to the top seed in the NBA Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs.
The Suns' leading scorers were Devin Booker with 23 points and Bradley Beal with 22 points.
The Celtics are the clear leader in the Eastern Conference with a record of 52 wins and 14 losses.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said: [Brown] It starts with his defensive strength. He got off to a great start defensively and that's a big thing for the team.
“And he can score from anyone at any time. He plays very balanced basketball on both sides of the ball. It's fun to watch.”
The Suns lost 38-28, leaving them seventh in the Western Conference and out of the top six for an automatic playoff spot.
In other places, oklahoma city thunder They narrowly defeated the Dallas Mavericks 126-119 and returned to first place in the Western Conference.
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 36 points for Dallas, but Oklahoma City pulled away in the second half with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 points and Jaylen Williams' 27 points.
Oklahoma is tied with the Denver Nuggets at 42-20 in the conference, but their 3-1 record against this season's NBA champions puts them in first place.
Also on Thursday, milwaukee bucks They came back in the fourth quarter and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 114-105.
Philadelphia, whose NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid was still injured, led by 10 points in the third quarter, but that advantage disappeared.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 32 points, Brook Lopez had 19 points and Damian Lillard added 17 points.
The Bucks are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 43 wins and 24 losses.
on the other hand, Los Angeles Clippers They won easily 126-111 against the Chicago Bulls.
Paul George scored 28 points and Kawhi Leonard added 27 points for the Clippers, who remain in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 42-23 record, 3.5 points behind Denver and Oklahoma City.
