Zion Williamson scored 24 points off the bench, rookie Derik Queen had another double-double and the New Orleans Pelicans earned their fifth straight win by beating the Dallas Mavericks 119-113 on Monday night.

Williamson, who is still on a minutes restriction as he returns from an adductor injury, was 10 of 14 from the field and added nine rebounds, including four offensive boards.

Queen recorded his third consecutive double-double, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes. Saddiq Bey also had 19 points despite shooting 0 for 6 from 3-point range.

The Pelicans’ five-game run has come immediately following a 1-16 stretch from Nov. 8 to Dec. 8.

Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds in the loss, shooting 28 times for the short-handed Mavs.

Klay Thompson made five 3-pointers to finish with 20 points off the bench, and top overall pick Cooper Flagg had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.

 

Brown rallies Celtics past Pacers

Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Boston Celtics rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-95.

Boston trailed 69-49 three minutes into the second half but outscored Indiana 54-26 the rest of the way for their third straight win.

Brown was 11 for 25 from the field and added nine rebounds, while Derrick White added 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting.

The Celtics (18-11) were led by their defense, which held the Pacers to under 40-percent shooting for the game and 1 of 20 from 3-point range in the second half.

Pascal Siakam led the way for Indiana with 25 points, while Andrew Nembhard finished with 20 points and seven assists. The Pacers (6-23) dropped their fifth straight game.

 

Curry, Butler get Warriors back to .500

Stephen Curry finished with 26 points and six assists, Jimmy Butler added 21 points and the Golden State Warriors pulled away from the Orlando Magic in the second half, winning 120-97.

The victory was Golden State’s second straight after a three-game losing streak and got them back to .500 at 15-15.

Butler needed just nine shot attempts to score his 21 points and was 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Moses Moody added 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

Paolo Banchero led the way for the Magic (16-13) with 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Desmond Bane added 20 points.

The Magic, who remain without key players Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, allowed Golden State to shoot 51.7% from the field.

Orlando entered play on Monday allowing 115.0 points per game after allowing 105.5 per game last season. That 9.5-point decline is by far the worst in the league this season.