Depleted Celtics edge Raptors

LOS ANGELES

The Boston Celtics shook off the absence of injured Jayson Tatum and the early exits of Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to beat the Toronto Raptors 106-104 on Jan. 21 and push their NBA winning streak to nine games.

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Grant Williams added a career-high 25 for the Celtics, who improved their league-best record to 35-12.

Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points off the bench for Boston, whose top scorer Tatum was sidelined with a sore left wrist.

Grant Williams said Tatum’s absence was no reason for the Celtics to surrender the mindset of an elite team gunning to get back to the NBA Finals for a second straight year after falling to Golden State in the title series.

“You can’t back down from any challenge, no matter if you’re down 12 guys, no matter if you’re down four, no matter if you’re down two, no matter if you’re a full team,” he said. “You have to do your job.”

Smart rolled his right ankle in the second quarter and left the game while Robert Williams hurt his left knee.

The Philadelphia 76ers, playing without star center Joel Embiid and playmaker James Harden because of injury management, completed a perfect 5-0 road trip against Western Conference teams with a 129-127 victory over the Kings in Sacramento.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 32 points and six assists.

In Cleveland, Evan Mobley scored a career-high 38 points in a 114-102 victory over a Milwaukee Bucks team missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

In Minneapolis, Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 113-104 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Elsewhere, the lowly Charlotte Hornets claimed back-to-back games for just the second time this season as they eked out a 122-118 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta.