BOSTON – The Celtics don’t want to rely solely on Isaiah Thomas to win.
But on some nights, putting the ball in the All-Star guard’s hands is simply the best option.
Thomas scored 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter in Boston’s 90-83 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
He scored 20 of Boston’s final 24 points to help the Celtics beat back a late Mavericks’ surge.
Avery Bradley added 18 points and 13 rebounds.
After the Mavericks took a 70-66 lead, Thomas scored Boston’s next 13 points to put the Celtics back in front 79-76. They never trailed again.
After one of the baskets late in the run Thomas ran down the court and flashed two thumbs up.
“I guess I just like that quarter,” Thomas said. “Sometimes guys get a little tighter, and then the pressure gets a little tougher for them. I guess I like the pressure.”
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 28 points. Wesley Matthews added 22.
Dallas, which was already missing several players because of injuries, lost two more. Starter Deron Williams exited in the second quarter with a left calf injury, and J.J. Barea was helped off the court in the fourth quarter after straining his left calf as well.
Coach Rick Carlisle said it appears Barea will “be out for a while”, but added that he didn’t think it was real serious. He said it’s his understanding that Williams just experienced some tightness.
The Celtics outrebounded Dallas 53-32, which coach Brad Stevens said is a welcomed sign for a team that struggled in that department early in the season.
“Maybe it’s the law of averages, and some just bounced our way,” Stevens said. “But we’re defending at a better rate than we were.”
Russell Westbrook scored 30 points, including a left-handed hammer dunk over Clint Capela in the closing seconds, to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 105-103 on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City led by three when Westbrook dunked over the 6-foot-10 Capela with 5.5 seconds left to put the Thunder up five.
Westbrook, the NBA No. 2 scorer, also had nine assists and seven rebounds. Victor Oladipo had season highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder. They snapped a four-game losing streak.
James Harden had 13 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He made just 4 of 16 shots while being harassed by Andre Roberson. Capela added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
Stephen Curry had 35 points, Kevin Durant added 30 and Golden State beat Toronto for its fifth straight victory.
The Warriors also have won five in a row against the Raptors, three in Toronto.
NBA scoring leader DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 34 points, and Kyle Lowry had 24. DeRozan was 17 of 17 from the free-throw line, and had his ninth 30-plus-point game in 11 games this season.
Paul George scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers took advantage off the resting LeBron James’ absence to beat Cleveland.
Jeff Teague added 20 points and eight assists, and Thaddeus Young had 16 points to help the Pacers improve to 6-1 at home and 6-6 overall.
James sat out for the first time this season. Averaging 23.4 points and 8.9 rebounds, he rested after playing Tuesday night in a home victory over Toronto. Guard J.R. Smith also missed the game because of a sprained right ankle.
Kevin Love led Cleveland with 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Kyrie Irving had 24 points and seven assists. The Cavaliers dropped to 9-2 after matching the best start in franchise history with the victory over Toronto on Tuesday night.
Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 35 points and New York held off Detroit.
The 7-foot-3 forward from Latvia hit three 3-pointers and converted a dazzling three-point play in the first half after dunking a lob pass on the break in the first 30-point game of his two-year career.
Carmelo Anthony added 22 points to help the Knicks win their second straight. Joakim Noah bounced back nicely with seven points and 15 rebounds after he was benched in the second half of the Knicks’ victory over Dallas on Monday night. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 21 points.
Paul Millsap scored 21 points, Mike Muscala added 16 and Atlanta won its sixth straight game, beating Milwaukee.
Muscala started in place of star center Dwight Howard, who was sidelined with a left quadriceps contusion. Atlanta improved to 6-1 at home and tied Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-2.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee, and Jabari Parker scored 15 of his 23 points in the third quarter.
Serge Ibaka scored 16 points and Nikola Vucevic broke out of his shooting slump with 10 points and 14 rebounds in Orlando’s victory over New Orleans,
Evan Fournier also finished with 16 points,
Terrence Jones led New Orleans with 26 points. He started at power forward in place of Anthony Davis, sidelined by a thigh injury.
Jahlil Okafor scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead struggling Philadelphia past Washington.
Ersan Ilyasova added 16 points to help the 76ers win for just the second time in 11 games this season. John Wall scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half for Washington.