Jaylen Brown had 36 points and 10 rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis returned to the game after getting a bloody gash to the forehead and finished with 20 points, and the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 109-100 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night in Boston.

Boston took a 2-0 series lead while playing without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who has a bone bruise in his right wrist and missed a playoff game for the first time in his career.

Boston led by 15 points in the second half, then held off a late push by Orlando. The Celtics hit 12 3-pointers and went 25 of 33 from the free-throw line. Derrick White and Brown had 17 of Boston’s 28 points in the final period; White finished with 17.

Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 32 points and nine rebounds. Franz Wagner scored 25 points.

Game 3 is Friday night at Orlando.

Tatum had not missed a playoff game in his eight seasons with Boston. He injured his wrist in Game 1 after landing awkwardly following a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla characterized Tatum’s status as day to day.

Cavaliers 121, Heat 112: Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and the Cavaliers held on in Cleveland for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The top-seeded Cavaliers set an NBA playoff record with 11 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 22 for the game. However, Cleveland had to hold off a second-half charge by Miami.

Tyler Herro scored 33 points for Miami, which hosts Game 3 on Saturday.

The Cavaliers had a 19-point lead with less than 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Heat made their run to get within 105-103 lead with 3:11 left.

Mitchell put the game on his shoulders. He scored Cleveland’s next eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, during an 8-2 run to give them breathing room.

Evan Mobley had 20 points and Darius Garland 19 for the Cavaliers.

Nuggets’ Porter hopeful for today: Michael Porter Jr. participated in the Denver Nuggets’ practice and interim coach David Adelman said he was hopeful Porter would play in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.

Porter sprained his left shoulder late in the Nuggets’ 105-102 loss in Game 2 and wasn’t on the floor when Denver missed desperation 3-pointers in the final seconds. He got hurt when Kris Dunn fell on him while the two scrambled for a loose ball.

Adelman also said a stomach bug that had swept through the team earlier in the week, one that had him doubting if Jamal Murray would even play Monday night, was abating.

The best-of-7 first-round series is tied 1-1.

Judge throws out suit against Grizzlies’ Morant: A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a teenager who accused two-time NBA All-Star Ja Morant of punching him during a pickup game at the home of the Memphis guard’s parents in 2022.

Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney issued an order dismissing the lawsuit, saying in her ruling that Morant was immune from civil liability in the lawsuit filed by Joshua Holloway, who plays basketball for Samford University.

Holloway was 17 and in high school when he was invited to play pickup basketball with other people at the home of Morant’s parents in July 2022. The daylong series of games ended when Morant punched Holloway once in the face. Holloway then sued Morant, alleging the NBA player had assaulted him.

Morant claimed he acted in self-defense after Holloway aggressively threw the basketball at him with a one-handed, baseball-style pass that hit him in the face.

Chumney ruled in April 2024 that Morant “enjoys a presumption of civil immunity” from liability under Tennessee’s “stand your ground” law.

Fredette retires: Jimmer Fredette, the 2011 AP men’s college basketball player of the year at BYU who went on to become an NBA lottery pick and then played for the U.S. in 3x3 at last year’s Paris Olympics, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Fredette, 36, was the No. 10 pick by Milwaukee in that 2011 draft. He spent parts of six seasons in the NBA with Sacramento, New Orleans, Chicago, Phoenix and New York. He also played professionally in China and Greece, winning the MVP award in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2017.