HOUSTON (AP) — Alperen Sengun had 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

The Rockets improved to 7-1, moving into first place in the Western Conference after the previously undefeated Memphis Grizzlies (6-1) lost to New Orleans in overtime. The Celtics lost for the first time since their season opener at Detroit, ending a five-game streak.

Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson each scored 14 points for Houston. Tari Eason added 13, and Kevin Durant scored 12 on 5-of-6 shooting.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Neemias Queta had 16 points, and reserve Luka Garza made four 3s and scored 14 points.

Boston was frequently flustered by former Celtic Marcus Smart, who had eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Rockets never trailed and outscored the Celtics 18-2 on the fast break and 50-34 in the paint. The game was tied at 29 at the end of the first quarter, and Houston led 57-50 at halftime.

Paul George (rest) was sidelined for Boston after scoring 17 points in 33 minutes of the Celtics’ 108-97 win at Orlando on Sunday. Clint Capela (right ankle sprain) sat for Houston.

The Rockets are off to their best start since the 2014-15 season.

THUNDER 117, CAVALIERS 112

CLEVELAND (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-high 43 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds remaining as Oklahoma City defeated Cleveland in the first of a two-game set.

Gilgeous-Alexander attempted 35 shots, the most in the NBA during the first two weeks of the season, and made 14. He was 11 of 12 from the free-throw line in 38 minutes as the injury-depleted Thunder bounced back after two straight road losses by 20-plus points.

The fourth quarter saw eight ties and eight lead changes before Gilgeous-Alexander drilled his fourth 3-pointer. Cleveland’s Sam Merrill missed a perimeter shot from the corner before Ajay Mitchell made it a two-possession game by sinking two free throws with 15.4 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma City has been reeling since the loss of three starters to long-term injuries. Mitchell scored 20 and Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 14 rebounds.

Gilgeous-Alexander matched his highest scoring total in 17 games against the Cavaliers.

Rookie Meleek Thomas, making his first NBA start, and Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 17 points apiece. Mitchell also had 11 assists and Evan Mobley had 16 points.

It was the Cavaliers’ first loss at home in four games this season.

76ERS 126, BULLS 107

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, LeBron James had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Philadelphia won its fourth in a row, beating Chicago.

The 76ers’ star-studded starting lineup of James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe was together after the quintet didn’t play in back-to-back weekend wins over the Knicks on Friday and at Charlotte on Saturday.

Embiid, who was questionable entering the contest due to a foot injury, had 15 points and eight rebounds but wasn’t needed in the fourth quarter. Brown had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Edgecombe netted 21 points. Maxey added 11 assists as Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia improved to 7-1.

Rookie Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick in the draft, scored 24 points to pace the Bulls, who have lost five straight. Norman Powell contributed 18 points.

The 76ers took control in the third quarter, extending their five-point halftime lead to 17, 85-68, on James’ layup with just under five minutes left in the period. James wowed the crowd throughout the night, including when he converted a three-point play to give Philadelphia a 16-point cushion with 5:40 remaining.

PISTONS 124, HORNETS 91

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored a season-high 33 points, Duncan Robinson added 24 behind six 3-pointers and Detroit beat Charlotte for its third straight victory.

Cunningham shot 13 of 20 from the field and had seven assists, five steals and five rebounds in three quarters. He did not play in the fourth.

Brandon Miller finished with 17 points for the Hornets, and Naz Reid added 13.

The Pistons led most of the game and extended an 11-point halftime lead to 98-75 at the end of the third quarter after making 13 of their first 24 3-pointers. Detroit didn’t slow down in the fourth as Robinson and Kevin Huerter hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 29 prompting Hornets coach Charles Lee to empty his bench.

Cunningham hurt the Hornets in a number of ways — on transition drives, 3-pointers, turnaround jumpers and crosscourt passes to set up his teammates for easy buckets.

The Hornets could never find a rhythm offensively despite the season debut of point guard Coby White.

White, pegged as the replacement for LaMelo Ball earlier this offseason, missed the first seven games with a calf strain. He finished seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes. Lee said before the game White will be on a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future.

HAWKS 108, PACERS 104

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jay Huff scored 22 points for Indiana, down to six players because of injuries and rest, put a scare into Atlanta Hawks before losing.

Quenton Jackson added 20 points and Braden Smith had 19 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, who dropped their fifth straight game — a result that might have been considered inevitable before tipoff. But Indiana had reasonable hopes of ending the skid when Jackson stole the ball from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and converted a layup to get the Pacers within 106-104 with 1:36 left.

Jackson missed a 3-pointer with 43.1 seconds remaining that would have given Indiana the lead, and Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu converted a jumper with 10.2 seconds left for the final margin.

Alexander-Walker scored 34 points to lead the Hawks, who avoided the embarrassment of losing to a severely undermanned team.

Atlanta was missing Jalen Johnson because of a sprained left ankle, but the Hawks could hardly use injuries as an excuse, given what the Pacers were going through.

WIZARDS 103, MAGIC 94

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Davis had 29 points and eight rebounds, AJ Dybantsa added 21 points in his third NBA game and Washington beat Orlando.

Kyshawn George added 22 points and Trae Young added 15 points and nine assists for the Wizards, who shot 53% overall in handing the Magic a fourth straight loss on their home court.

Franz Wagner led the Magic with 24 points. Desmond Bane added 20 and Jamal Cain and Tristan da Silva each scored 10 points.

Young scored 10 points in a 13-2 Washington run after Orlando had taken a nine-point lead early in the second quarter.

Young’s layup completed an 8-0 outburst that left the Wizards with a 79-68 lead, the largest of the game, after three quarters.

Davis made 12 of 17 shots and had three steals.

The Magic shot (11 for 39) 28.2% from 3-point range after making four of their first five.

KNICKS 103, NETS 90

NEW YORK (AP) — Landry Shamet scored a season-high 22 points and New York beat Brooklyn for its 15th straight victory over their city rival.

The Knicks were in danger of losing to the Nets for the first time in nearly four years before outscoring Brooklyn 25-5 to begin the fourth quarter, turning a four-point deficit after three into a 100-84 cushion.

Jalen Brunson had 19 points and OG Anunoby added 18 for the Knicks, who have won three of four after an 0-3 start. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points — all in the second half — and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Julius Randle had 21 points and 11 rebounds against his former team for the Nets (1-6), who earned their lone victory Sunday at Indiana and made a good push for two in a row before faltering in the fourth.

Brooklyn hasn’t beaten New York since Jan. 28, 2023, shortly before trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The Nets had won nine straight meetings when those two were Nets.

Brooklyn led 79-75 after three before Josh Hart opened the fourth with a 3-pointer and Anunoby made two in a row to give the Knicks an 84-79 lead. Randle scored before New York ran off another seven in a row, making it 91-81 on Jordan Clarkson’s 3-pointer.

KINGS 115, MAVERICKS 100

DALLAS (AP) — Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. scored 25 points and Sacramento won for the first time in seven games this season, beating Dallas.

Malik Monk added 24 points and Zach LaVine had 23 for the Kings, the last NBA team this season to win.

Daniel Gafford and Walter Clayton Jr. each had 20 points for Dallas. Cooper Flagg added 17 on 3-of-19 shooting. He did make all 11 of his free throws.

Dallas guard Kyrie Irving sat out to rest his left knee. The Mavericks dropped to 4-3. They had won three in a row.

The Kings led 54-53 at the half.

TIMBERWOLVES 112, BUCKS 100

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LaMelo Ball scored a season-high 34 points to lead six players in double figures and Minnesota pulled away early in the fourth quarter in a win over Milwaukee.

Ayo Dosunmu added 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels had 13 points for Minnesota, which finished with season lows in points and shooting percentage at 42.7%.

Each of Minnesota’s four previous victories were by more than 20 points.

Tyler Herro led Milwaukee with 21 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 and AJ Green and Myles Turner each had 13. Brayden Burries, the 10th overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, made his first start for Milwaukee and finished with nine points on 4-for-15 shooting.

Milwaukee shot a season-worst 38.4% and lost for the sixth time in seven games to start the season. However, this was the first defeat in which the Bucks did not give up at least 127 points.

Six points by McDaniels started an 11-3 Timberwolves run to open the fourth quarter. It pushed Minnesota’s lead to 91-79, its first double-digit lead since a 29-18 advantage after the opening quarter.

A 3-pointer by Ball — his sixth of the game — midway through the quarter put Minnesota in front 96-81.

PELICANS 135, GRIZZLIES 134, OT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Zion Williamson scored 25 points including nine in overtime, Jeremiah Fears hit two free throws with 7.3 seconds left, and New Orleans handed Memphis its first loss of the season.

The Pelicans’ third straight win snapped the Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak to open the season. Memphis was the NBA’s last undefeated team, its 6-0 start matching the best season-opening streak in franchise history.

Ty Jerome had 40 for Memphis, but his last-second 15-footer missed.

Karlo Matkovic scored a career high 25 to match Williamson, and Derik Queen finished with 20 for New Orleans.

Cameron Boozer finished with 18 for Memphis, while Jaylen Wells scored 16 points.

Jerome helped the Grizzlies send the game into overtime, scoring nine straight points in the final 1:43 to tie the game at 124 at the end of regulation.

The Pelicans were without starting guard Dejounte Murray, who missed his third game for personal reasons. Fellow starter Yves Missi and reserve Jordan Poole were out with injuries.

SPURS 119, JAZZ 97

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Dylan Harper scored 17 points, Victor Wembanyama added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and San Antonio rolled to its fifth straight victory, topping Utah.

Stephon Castle added 16 points and Keldon Johnson had 15 points as San Antonio won the first two of a three-game homestand.

Lauri Markkanen had 22 points and eight rebounds for Utah, which lost its fifth straight.

Wembanyama has averaged 28.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.0 blocks during the winning streak, but his scoring wasn’t as critical with a balanced attack against the Jazz. San Antonio had seven players score in double figures and held an opponent to less than 100 points for the first time this season.

San Antonio shot 60% from the field while outscoring Utah 35-20 in the third quarter. Wembanyama, Harper, Castle and De’Aaron Fox had six points apiece in the quarter as the Spurs extended their lead to 25 points.

Fox finished with 12 points and Devin Vassell had 11 as San Antonio’s starters combined to score 68 points.

TRAIL BLAZERS 118, NUGGETS 110

DENVER (AP) — Deni Avdija scored nine of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Portland beat Denver, extending its road winning streak to begin the season.

Donovan Clingan had 17 points and 18 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday had a near triple-double off the bench to help Portland improve to 4-0 on the road. Holiday had 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Damian Lillard scored 20 points.

The Trail Blazers are in a stretch of playing six of seven games on the road after opening the season with a home win over Phoenix.

Denver has lost two of its first three at home and its only victory came in overtime over New Orleans after rallying from 23 down.

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 35 points, and Nikola Jokic had 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jokic entered the he fourth quarter on the verge of his 201st career triple-double but didn’t have an assist or rebound in the final period.