MEXICO — Boston guard Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and added nine assists as the Celtics made it a miserable trip to Mexico for the Sacramento Kings with a 114-97 whipping at Mexico City Arena Thursday.
Thomas ripped apart his former team from the beginning, scoring 19 points in the opening half and 12 in the first 12 minutes as Boston ran to leads of 32-17 after one period and 51-36 at halftime.
Kelly Olynyk came off the bench to add 21 points for the Celtics (11-8), who won for the fourth time in five games and made the annual NBA Global Game a dull one on the scoreboard.
On the court, it was not so calm.
Rajon Rondo, who played his first eight-plus seasons with Boston and is in his first campaign with the Kings, shouted several times at referee Bill Kennedy in the third quarter and was ejected with 6:30 to go. He finished with only five points and eight assists in 24 minutes.
In Rondo’s only previous performance against his former team, he scored 29 points for the Dallas Mavericks, and made five three-pointers in a 109-91 win on Jan. 2.
Rondo played 48 games for Dallas after being dealt by the Celtics last season, then signed a one-year, $10 million free-agent contract with Sacramento.
Nuggets 106, Raptors 105
Guard Will Barton scored 22 points and forward Danilo Gallinari added 21 as the Denver Nuggets held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 106-105 and end an eight-game losing streak.
Forward Darrell Arthur added 19 points for the Nuggets, while center Joffrey Lauvergne scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Heat 97, Thunder 95
Guard Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, including two game-winning free throws with 1.5 seconds left, to lead the Miami Heat to a 97-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wade scored Miami’s final eight points to overshadow Oklahoma duo Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, both of whom had 25 points for the Thunder.
Magic 103, Jazz 94
Forward Tobias Harris led six players in double figures and the Orlando Magic took advantage of center Rudy Gobert’s absence to beat the Utah Jazz.
Harris scored 17 points and Nikola Vucevic added 16 points for Orlando, who won their fifth successive game.
Andrew Nicholson, Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier all contributed 14 points each.
Forward Gordon Hayward scored 24 points and guard Alec Burks totaled 21 for the Jazz.
Spurs 103, Grizzlies 83
San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard made a career-best seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points as the Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 103-83 at FedExForum.
Trail Blazers 123, Pacers 111
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 47 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 123-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the Moda Center. — Agencies
