NBA Scores: Jimmy Butler blocks out the Suns, Celtics stay white hot

Plus: The Bucks drop their third in four games.

Not everyone can drop 50-plus points every night in the NBA. And honestly, that’s probably for the best. On Sunday, we saw two players — Joel Embiid (59, NBA-high so far this season) and Darius Garland (51) — erupt for their respective squads, one of them winning, the other wishing Donovan Mitchell wasn’t sitting out with an ankle injury. (In other words: losing.)

Nevertheless, epic nights like these are far from a dime a dozen. Sometimes, we need four games to be decided by seven points or fewer. Honestly, nights like those might be preferable. Like Monday, an evening light on games but hardly on the action.

Let’s recap Monday’s NBA scores, beginning with the game (and ending) of the night.

Heat stave of Suns, 113-112, behind epic run, defensive prowess

When fans and analysts alike opine that the Miami Heat will find themselves in contention once the playoffs roll around, no matter their struggles during the regular season, it’s games like these that will be their primary point of reference. The Heat won their third straight game thanks to a late 24-10 run, Bam Adebayo’s best game of the season (30 points, 10 rebounds), and a defensive stand in final moments highlighted by Jimmy Butler blocking Devin Booker’s game-winning attempt with just six seconds remaining. It was a statement win for a team that always seems to rack up just enough statements to finish the season atop the East, or close to it.

Celtics outlast Thunder, 126-122, keep winning streak alive

Speaking of statements: The Celtics look like the best team in the NBA. Even with the Thunder maintaining a lead for much of the game — like, literally from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the fourth — the reining Eastern Conference champs found a way, outscoring Oklahoma City 37-26 in the final frame to win their seventh straight game. Jayson Tatum bolstered his MVP candidacy with 27 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals; he has yet to score fewer than 23 points this season, and averages 31.9 per contest.

(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 in the loss. He’s been ridiculous so far this season.)

Hawks blow out Bucks in one-sided affair, 121-106

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will be fine. Despite their current slump — they’ve lost three out of their last four games, two of them to the Hawks, after a 9-0 start — Milwaukee has yet to play a single game at full-strength, and not every outing can be a cakewalk for the world’s best player. He missed three out of the last four with left knee soreness, and looked a bit rusty in his return to action. Antetokounmpo scored 27 in 31 minutes, but shot just eight-for-21 from the field and had eight turnovers.

Atlanta, meanwhile, looks to have figured out a winning formula. Trae Young still shoots too much, but there’s more of a balance to this iteration of the Hawks than there has ever been on a Young-led team. All five starters finished in double-figures on Monday, and the team led from the 4:25 mark in the first quarter on.

Siakam-less Raptors squeak past Cade-less Pistons, 115-111

Dalano Banton?!?!

Sloppy Hornets snap eight-game skid against sloppier Magic, 112-105

LaMelo Ball is back, shooting 32 percent from the floor, playing errantly, yet helping a winning effort for a middling team. The Hornets are far from good, but as long as their opponents turn in efforts like Orlando did on Monday, they’ll pass for decent, no matter how poor they play.

Clippers roll Rockets behind balanced effort, 122-106

Paul George, Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, Marcus Morris Sr., Terance Mann, and Nicolas Batum all finished in double figures, with George producing the team-high 22. But this is a far more balanced attack than the Clippers have put forth in the past. Usually, it’s George leading the way with 27 or 30 or so. Efforts like these — where multiple players are scoring 15-plus and the ball is whipping around as though on a string — might be the saving grace for a team with such heavy expectations holding them down.

Warriors wallop Spurs to continue dominance at home, 132-95

Jordan Poole, like, every seventh game.