The Cleveland Cavaliers got 33 points from Donovan Mitchell and a big lift late off the bench from Ty Jerome to extend their winning streak to seven games with Sunday's 129-123 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jerome scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the NBA leaders turned back a challenge from a Grizzlies team that entered the day in sole possession of second place in the Western Conference. Evan Mobley added 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to help the Cavaliers prevail after Memphis got within three points in the game's final minute.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 22 points and Ja Morant had 21 along with 10 assists. The Grizzlies' other backcourt standout struggled, however, as Desmond Bane missed 11 of 13 shots while being held to seven points in 35 minutes.

The Grizzlies have now lost three of four since an 11-2 stretch from Jan. 15-Feb. 11.

Cleveland never trailed after Mitchell followed Mobley's tie-breaking dunk with a three-pointer that put his team up 71-66 with 8:35 left in the third quarter, though the Grizzlies refused to go away despite the Cavs later pushing their lead to double digits.

Five straight points from Jerome gave Cleveland some separation with a 106-95 advantage with 7 1/2 minutes to go, and the Cavaliers led by 10 at 116-106 with 3:27 remaining before the Grizzlies put forth a late push.

23 points in 18 minutes. #LetEmKnow https://t.co/S2lx1o7xZY

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 24, 2025

Memphis went on an 8-3 run to cut its deficit in half, then later closed within 124-121 when Jackson converted a three-point play with 42.4 seconds left.

The Grizzlies did not get another basket the rest of the way, however, as Cleveland sealed the outcome by making 5 of 6 free-throw attempts in the closing stages.

Streaking Celtics down Knicks to pad lead in Atlantic Division

Jayson Tatum finished just short of a second straight triple-double and the Boston Celtics led from nearly start to finish in a 118-105 win over the rival New York Knicks.

Tatum amassed 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in this clash between two of the Eastern Conference's top three teams, one the defending NBA champion Celtics dominated for much of the afternoon en route to a fifth consecutive victory. 

Boston also received 24 points and eight rebounds from Jaylen Brown and 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Derrick White, who went 5 of 6 from 3-point range and 7 of 10 overall from the field.

The Knicks got 24 points and 18 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, but couldn't overcome a slow start and dropped to four games behind the first-place Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

No place like home#DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/95ZYiAe84H

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 23, 2025

Jalen Brunson added 22 points for New York, while Josh Hart just missed a triple-double after compiling 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Boston opened the game on a 13-3 run and never looked back, as it shot nearly 61 per cent in the first quarter to build a comfortable 38-19 lead entering the second.

The Celtics cruised into half-time owning a 64-43 advantage and were up by as many as 27 points in the third quarter, though the Knicks fought back to close within 89-82 at the period's end following a Brunson 3-pointer.

Towns then opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to narrow the gap further, but White answered with a pair of treys to ignite a 16-4 run that stretched Boston's lead to 105-89 with seven minutes left.

Cunningham powers rising Pistons to sixth straight win

Another hot team in the East continued its recent roll as well, as the Detroit Pistons edged past the Atlanta Hawks in the final minute to pull out a 148-143 victory that extended their winning streak to a season-high six games.

Detroit scored nine of the game's final 12 points to secure its longest unbeaten run since winning seven in a row from Dec. 26, 2014-Jan. 7, 2015.

Cade Cunningham led the way with 38 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds while recording seven of the Pistons' 20 makes from 3-point range, tying a season high.

Cunningham finished 7 of 10 from beyond the arc while Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. were each 6 of 10. Beasley contributed 24 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Hardaway had 18 points. 

Dennis Schröder added 16 points and seven assists for the Pistons and delivered the game's go-ahead basket, a layup with 33.2 seconds left in which he was fouled. The veteran guard hit the ensuing bonus shot to give Detroit a 142-140 edge.

After Atlanta's Trae Young missed a jumper on the following possession, Beasley made two free throws after being fouled to extend the margin. Young was again off the mark on the Hawks' next trip down the court, which allowed Schroder to seal the outcome by sinking two more foul shots with 13.3 seconds to play.

LET'S KEEP WORKING pic.twitter.com/5zEMZIGN5S

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 24, 2025

Young still racked up 38 points and 13 assists despite the two late misses, while Georges Niang recorded a season-high 27 points off the bench for the Hawks. The pair combined to make 13 of Atlanta's season-best 21 3-pointers for the game.

Down 76-68 at half-time after Cunningham poured in 29 points over the first two quarters, the Hawks also trailed for most of the second half before rallying to take a brief late lead.

Atlanta strung together an 8-0 run to tie the contest at 135-135 with 2 1/2 minutes left, then went in front shortly afterward when Young countered a basket by Detroit's Ausar Thompson with a 3-pointer that put his team up 138-137 with 2:03 to go.

The teams then traded baskets down the stretch before Detroit's late surge sent the Hawks to a third consecutive loss.