NBA roundup: Celtics beat Raptors in Al Horford’s return for 12th win in a row

Al Horford had 21 points in his return from a two-game absence for a concussion and the Boston Celtics hung on to beat the Toronto Raptors 95-94 on Sunday in Boston for their 12th straight victory.

Boston (12-2) was playing without Kyrie Irving after he took an inadvertent elbow to the face from teammate Aron Baynes on Friday night against Charlotte. Irving has a minor facial fracture but has not been diagnosed with a concussion as initially feared.

Jaylen Brown added 18 points, and Terry Rozier helped fill in for Irving with 16 points off the bench. Boston shot just 40.2 percent from the field.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, and Kyle Lowry had 19 points and seven assists for Toronto. The Raptors dropped to 7-5 after winning two straight.

Jayson Tatum’s acrobatic layup with 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter put the Celtics up 95-90.

DeRozan missed a potential go-ahead stepback jumper with 19 seconds remaining. Tatum got the rebound, but elbowed Fred VanVleet in the face for an offensive foul that was confirmed by video review.

DeRozan had another look to give Toronto the win, but missed a turnaround jumper with 2 seconds left. Serge Ibaka scooped up the rebound, but lost the ball as time expired.

at Oklahoma City 112, Dallas 99: Paul George scored 37 points, Russell Westbrook added 27 and the Thunder overcame the absence of two regular starters to beat Dallas.

Carmelo Anthony was ruled out about an hour before tipoff because of a sore lower back, and starting center Steven Adams sat out with a right calf contusion.

Without Anthony, the Thunder’s other two superstars carried the offensive load, fueling a 26-10 run in the third quarter that broke open what had been a tight game. Oklahoma City improved to 6-7, missing its second straight after four consecutive losses.

Harrison Barnes had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks. They have dropped nine of their last 10 games to fall to 2-12.

Houston 118, at Indiana: James Harden had 26 points and 15 assists while Indianapolis native Eric Gordon added 21 points for the Rockets.

Clint Capela contributed 20 points and 17 rebounds for Houston, which overwhelmed the Pacers from the start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead. Houston continued to pile it on early and often, outscoring the Pacers 24-9 during the first 6 minutes. Victor Oladipo had 28 points for Indiana.

at Detroit 112, Miami 103: Tobias Harris scored 25 points and Avery Bradley added 24 points in to help the Pistons improve to 10-3 and second in the Eastern Conference.

Reggie Jackson scored 17 points, rookie Luke Kennard had 14 and Andre Drummond added eight points and 17 rebounds for Detroit. Hassan Whiteside had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Miami.