ShareLOS ANGELES: Jayson Tatum scored 41 points to propel the Boston Celtics to a 127-116 NBA victory over Charlotte on Friday as Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to a 10th straight win. Tatum posted his eighth 40-point game of the season. But even with Jaylen Brown sidelined by a facial fracture and Al Horford out with a sore knee, he did not have to carry the offensive load alone.
Derrick White scored a career-high 33 points and handed out 10 assists. His output included eight of the Celtics' 25 three-pointers, which came on 55 attempts. "Shot was feeling good," White said. "I was getting some good looks and just letting it fly." The Celtics had a franchise-record 16 three-pointers in the first half, and even when the Hornets put together a 15-0 scoring run in the third quarter Boston's lead remained in double digits.
Tatum, 24, drained five from beyond the arc, and became the first NBA player to make 1,000 three-pointers before his 25th birthday. The Celtics improved their league-best record to 40-16 and remained one game ahead of the Bucks atop the Eastern Conference. For the second straight night Antetokounmpo put on a show in Los Angeles, following up his 38-point performance against the Lakers with 35 points in a 119-106 victory over the Clippers.
Brook Lopez added 22 points and 15 rebounds and Jrue Holiday added 19 points for the Bucks, who have their first double-digit winning streak since they won 18 in a row in the 2019-20 season. The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard due to injury management while the Bucks were missing Khris Middleton. An aggressive Antetokounmpo set an early tone, dominating in the paint and connecting on 13 of his 25 shots from the field. The attention he forced from the Clippers defense allowed his teammates opportunities from outside, and the Bucks finished with 17 three-pointers.
The Philadelphia 76ers, third in the East, avenged a humbling Sunday defeat in New York City with a 119-108 home triumph over the Knicks. Philadelphia's star center Joel Embiid scored 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tyrese Maxey added 27 points off the bench as the Sixers rallied from 13 down to win. Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson scored 30 points apiece for the Knicks, Brunson pouring in 20 in the first quarter alone. But the 76ers turned the tide in the third quarter and trailed by just one going into the final period, when they out-scored the Knicks 27-15.
Things were close in Miami, where Jimmy Butler jammed home the game-winner with three-tenths of a second remaining in the Heat's 97-95 victory over the Houston Rockets. Tyler Herro led the Heat with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and Butler scored 16 - but the Heat looked in danger of losing to the league-worst Rockets when they trailed by five with 3:40 remaining. Houston guard Jalen Green's driving layup with seven-tenths of a second left knotted the score at 95-95, but on Miami's ensuing inbounds Gabe Vincent found Butler for the alley-oop dunk.
Irving shines for Mavs
Elsewhere, Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler scored 23 points apiece to help the Utah Jazz erase a 12-point deficit with 4:53 remaining in a 122-116 victory over the Raptors in Toronto. In Memphis, Ja Morant scored 32 points with nine rebounds and nine assists and Desmond Bane added 20 in the Grizzlies' comfortable 128-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kyrie Irving, in his second game since the trade that took him from Brooklyn to Dallas, scored 25 points and handed out 10 assists to lead the Mavs to a 122-114 victory over the Kings in Sacramento.
Luka Doncic remained sidelined by a bruised heel, but the Mavs hoped he could team up with Irving for the first time when they play the Kings again on Saturday. Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another big night, scoring 44 points in the Thunder's 138-129 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland. The Canadian's efforts saw the Thunder withstand a 38-point performance from Portland star Damian Lillard. Phoenix downed Indiana 117-104, fueled by 22 points and 11 rebounds from Deandre Ayton and 21 points from Devin Booker. - AFP
