NBA: Celtics down Magic for third straight win, Spurs shock Sixers

LOS ANGELES -- Boston forward Jayson Tatum poured in 40 points as the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 126-120 on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in the fledgling NBA season while the Philadelphia 76ers fell to 0-3.

The rebuilding San Antonio Spurs stunned the Sixers 114-105 in Philadelphia, where frustrated 76ers coach Doc Rivers said after the game his team was "not ready" to win yet.

In Orlando, Tatum's exploits and a 27-point contribution from guard Derrick White helped the Celtics notch another win in a game that featured 21 lead changes with neither team able to build a double-digit advantage.

Orlando big man Wendell Carter knotted the score at 111-111 with a put-back dunk with 4:23 to play.

Carter then fouled Tatum and Tatum's two free throws ignited a 10-2 scoring run that put Boston up for good.

Terrence Ross led the Magic with 29 points and top draft pick Paolo Banchero added 23, but Orlando fell to 0-3.

That's also where the 76ers found themselves after the inexperienced Spurs -- whose championship chances were downplayed by none other than coach Gregg Popovich before the season -- drained 16 three-pointers on the way to their second straight win.

Devin Vassell scored 22 points, Keldon Johnson added 21 and Tre Jones chipped in 17 for San Antonio while Doug McDermott made four three-pointers on the way to 14 points.

San Antonio's top-scoring trio all have less than three years experience in the league, and Popovich said he was impressed with the young team's performance on the second night of a road back-to-back.

"What it showed me was they are serious about getting better and knowing what the league is like," Popovich said.

The Spurs withstood a 40-point performance from Philadelphia's star big man Joel Embiid but held James Harden to 12.

"We're not ready yet," Rivers said. "Honestly, we're just not. We're not ready to win yet. You can feel that and so we've got a lot of work to do.

"It's almost like we played these first two games hard, competed, and then felt like 'OK, now we can win some games' -- you've still got to go out and earn the game."

- Mavs rout Grizzlies -

In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 32 points in the first quarter and the Mavericks steamrolled the Memphis Grizzlies 137-96 in their home opener.

Ja Morant, coming off a 49-point display against the Houston Rockets, finished with 20 points for the Grizzlies, who were on the back foot from the opening tip-off.

Dallas led by as many as 25 points in the first period and, with the game well in hand, Doncic sat out the fourth quarter.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points as the Bucks launched a six-game homestand with a dominant 125-105 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was frighteningly efficient in less than 28 minutes on the court, connecting on 17 of his 21 shots from the field, including two of three from three-point range.

The Greek superstar also pulled down 12 rebounds and made eight of 13 free throw attempts, and with 3,508 career free throws overtook Sidney Moncrief (3,505) as the Bucks' all-time leader from the foul line.

Milwaukee opened the game on an 11-0 run and never trailed against a flat Rockets team that fell to 0-3.

In Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 24 points and Max Strus added 20 off the bench as the Heat held off the Toronto Raptors 112-109 in a game that saw a player from each team ejected.

The Heat led by 19 when Toronto's Christian Koloko and Miami's Caleb Martin were ejected with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

They tangled after fighting for a rebound and ended up scuffling in the courtside seats.

The fired-up Raptors then went on a 17-2 scoring run, but Miami held on down the stretch.

Agence France-Presse

NBA Playoffs: Tatum beats buzzer, as Celtics escape Nets in Game 1

Jayson Tatum spun in for a buzzer-beating layup to give the Boston Celtics a dramatic 115-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in the first game of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series.

Tatum scored 31 points to lead the Celtics, who thwarted a fourth-quarter comeback bid by the Nets to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Tatum added eight assists and two blocked shots, Jaylen Brown added 23 points and Al Horford and Marcus Smart scored 20 apiece for Boston, who took a 96-85 lead into the fourth quarter but trailed 114-111 with less than a minute to play.

Former Celtic Kyrie Irving, booed throughout by Boston fans who still resent his departure for Brooklyn, led the Nets with 39 points. Kevin Durant was the only other Nets starter in double figures with 23.

Irving will no doubt hear from the NBA after a middle-finger salute to heckling fans in the third quarter, but he saved his best gesture for the fourth period, when he scored 18 points to key the Nets' comeback bid.

Irving's long three-pointer over Smart put Brooklyn up 114-111 with 1:04 to play.

But the Celtics clamped down defensively and pulled within one on Brown's driving layup. After Durant missed a three-pointer, Tatum, fed by Smart from across the lane, willed his way through traffic for the game-winner.

A first half that featured 17 lead changes ended with the score knotted at 61-61, but the Celtics, who had been idle since their last regular-season game as the Nets battled through the play-in tournament, pulled away with a 39-24 third quarter.

"Our aggressiveness was great," Celtics coach Ime Udoka said of his team's third-quarter performance. "It was different from the first half. I felt like, offensively, we got going as well, knocked a little bit of the rust off in the first half."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Celtics roll past Jazz for 5th straight victory

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 26 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 125-97 win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Boston (46-28) led by as many as 32 points on the way to its fifth consecutive win and snapped a four-game losing streak against Utah (45-28).

Robert Williams III added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead four other Celtics in double figures. Marcus Smart fired off nine of his career-high 13 assists in the first quarter.

Donovan Mitchell had 37 points to lead the Jazz, who have lost back-to-back games after a three-game winning streak.

Boston's lead was cut to 18 on Mitchell's 3-pointer with 6:41 to go in the third quarter, but 12 of the next 15 points went the hosts' way and made it a 27-point edge again. Derrick White ended that stretch with a corner 3-pointer at the 3:32 mark.

The Celtics hit three of their first four field goals in the fourth quarter, capped by a Payton Pritchard trey with 9:49 left. With the starters out, a Luke Kornet turnaround hook shot with 1:12 left gave Boston its largest lead at 123-91.

The teams put on an offensive clinic in the first half, combining for 26 points over the opening four minutes. But it didn't take long for the Celtics to start coasting.

Boston jumped out to a six-point lead in that initial span and extended it throughout the first quarter. At the buzzer, it was a 39-24 game and the Celtics had shot 15-for-19 from the field.

The hosts hit 10 straight field goals and six from 3-point range to start before missing their first shot at the 4:05 mark. Tatum canned three of the team's six first-quarter threes, while Brown was 5-for-6 inside the arc and hit his only triple for a game-high 13 points.

In the second quarter, Pritchard hit a hook shot that gave Boston a 30-point lead with 5:54 left.

Utah ended the opening half with six straight points. Mitchell led the Jazz with 19 in the first half, shooting 7-for-13 from the field.

-reuters

NBA: Jayson Tatum, Celtics knock off Detroit

Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 102-93 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

Jaylen Brown had 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Josh Richardson added 12 points for Boston, which won its 4th straight.

Hamidou Diallo had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Saddiq Bey scored 21 points and Isaiah Stewart had 17 rebounds in defeat for Detroit, which has lost 7 of its last 8.

After building a 46-31 lead at halftime, Boston added to Detroit's deficit in the 3rd, going up by 19 at 52-33 with 9:13 remaining in the quarter.

Detroit mounted a minor rally, going on a 14-5 run to cut Boston's lead to 57-47 with 6:26 remaining in the 3rd, but Boston answered with a 9-2 run to take a 66-49 lead with 3:47 left in the quarter.

Boston eventually took a 78-56 lead into the 4th quarter.

In the 4th, Detroit put a dent into Boston's lead, pulling to within 96-84 with 1:52 remaining following a 10-0 run.

The Pistons eventually cut Boston's lead to 100-93 with 20.6 seconds remaining after a 3-pointer by Killian Hayes.

But that was as close as the Pistons would get.

Detroit was playing without star rookie Cade Cunningham, who sat out the game with a hip pointer.

With Boston nursing a 13-11 lead in the 1st quarter, the Celtics separated themselves by going on a 15-5 run over the final 6:12 of the quarter to take a 28-16 lead going into the 2nd quarter.

Boston continued to build on its lead in the 2nd quarter, taking a 37-22 lead with 6:31 remaining until halftime.

Detroit couldn't cut its deficit to single digits the rest of the quarter and the Celtics took a 46-31 lead into the halftime break.

-reuters

NBA: Nurkic, Trail Blazers power past Celtics

Jusuf Nurkic had 29 points and 17 rebounds as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers held the Boston Celtics without a field goal for the final 7:19 of the game in a 109-105 victory Friday night.

Robert Covington hit a 3-pointer to give Portland a 103-102 lead with 32 seconds left before Jayson Tatum made 2 foul shots 6 seconds later to put Boston ahead.

Nurkic's hook shot gave the Blazers the lead with 13 seconds left, and he sealed the victory with 2 free throws with 0.8 seconds left.

CJ McCollum contributed 24 points, Anfernee Simons added 21, and Ben McLemore had 12 for Portland, which avenged a 145-117 loss to the Celtics on December 4.

Tatum scored 27 to pace Boston, which lost its 2nd straight and fell 1 game under .500 at 23-24. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Grant Williams added 13 and Romeo Langford had 12.

Boston took its biggest lead of the game at 100-89 with 7:19 to play after Langford and Payton Pritchard hit consecutive 3-pointers and Williams scored on a layup.

Portland answered with 11 straight points and tied the game at 100 on Nassir Little's dunk with 1:37 remaining.

Brown made 2 foul shots with 41.5 seconds left to break a Celtics' scoring drought that lasted nearly 7 minutes.

Portland made 6 of its first 8 3-point attempts and took a 30-25 lead into the 2nd quarter. The Blazers extended their lead to 15 before Boston responded with a 22-5 run.

Brown drilled a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Celtics a 58-54 advantage at the half.

Robert Williams III returned following a 2-game absence and had 5 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which shot 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) from 3-point range.

Tatum was 0-for-6 from 3-point range and has missed his last 20 shots from beyond the arc.

Boston played its sixth straight game without forward Marcus Smart, who is working on his conditioning following a stint in the health and safety protocol.

-reuters

NBA: Celtics hold on to beat Clippers, Raptors edge Nets with Durant out

Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 34 points and Kemba Walker delivered a late surge as the Boston Celtics rallied from a first-half deficit to hold on and edge the Los Angeles Clippers 119-115 on Friday.

Walker tallied 24 points and Carsen Edwards came off the bench to score 16 as the Celtics took over in the third quarter, setting the stage for a thrilling back and forth final quarter.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and Lou Williams added 18 for Los Angeles, who saw its six-game win streak at Staples Center arena halted.

Both teams were without key starters. Boston was missing Jaylen Brown who sat out with a sore knee and the Clippers, were minus Paul George because of a toe injury and Patrick Beverley (knee). 

The Clippers led by as many as 16 points late in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 62-51 lead.

In Brooklyn, Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 33 points as the Toronto Raptors recorded a 123-117 win over the Brooklyn Nets, who lost forward Kevin Durant twice in the same game due to Covid-19 contact tracing protocols. 

Siakam added 11 rebounds and six assists while shooting 12 of 23 from the floor and Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 30 points for the Raptors, who won for the eighth time in 12 games. 

Lowry tied a season-best with a half dozen threes and helped clinch the victory by scoring on a layup with 35 seconds left to give Toronto a 121-113 lead.

"We missed some open looks and Lowry made some big shots," Nets coach Steve Nash said. "You add it all up and they found separation in the last couple of minutes."

The Raptors also took advantage of the loss off Durant who was held out of the starting lineup. 

Durant was pulled from the starting lineup shortly before the opening tipoff and then allowed to come into the game in the first quarter. He scored eight points in 19 minutes before he was told by Nets officials to leave the bench and return to the dressing room midway through the third. 

- Durant pulled in third -

It was the first time in his 867-game career that Durant entered a game as a reserve.

In Florida, Nikola Vucevic scored a career-high 43 points and added 19 rebounds as the Orlando Magic held off the Chicago Bulls for a 123-119 victory. 

Vucevic's hot start included scoring 13 points in the game's first three minutes. 

Vucevic set his career high with two free throws with two seconds left in the game. He surpassed his previous high of 41 points, which he scored in 2017 against Brooklyn. 

"It felt great to have a career high in a win because the last one was a loss," Vucevic said. "It's much better when you win because you can enjoy these things more when you win. I'm most happy about the win because I thought we had great effort from the beginning."

Chicago's Zach LaVine took over late, scoring 24 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to get Chicago the win.

Also, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points as the Milwaukee Bucks opened a six-game road trip with a 123-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Antetokounmpo echoed the comments from LeBron James a day earlier that the 2021 all-star game should not go ahead because of the short off season due to the global pandemic.

"The big dog says he has zero excitement and zero energy for the all-star game, and I'm the same way. I really right now don't care about the all-star game. We cannot see our families," he said.

Elsewhere, Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Lonzo Ball added 20 as the New Orleans Pelicans held off the Indiana Pacers for a 114-113 victory in Indianapolis. 

Zion Williamson scored 18, Steven Adams had 12 points and 12 rebounds, JJ Redick scored 12 and Josh Hart scored 11 for New Orleans.

Agence France-Presse

Tatum, Walker lead Celtics over Hornets

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics found a game plan that worked in crunch time against the Charlotte Hornets.

They got the ball to Jayson Tatum and got out of the way.


Tatum scored 22 of his career-high 39 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds as Boston pulled away and beat Charlotte 119-93 on Sunday night.

“I was really happy with our team for finding him,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “As he got hot, they were locked into him.”

Tatum eclipsed his previous high of 34 points against Brooklyn on Jan. 14. The promising 21-year-old forward didn’t have a 30-point game before that but has now had four.

“I just try to stay aggressive no matter what,” Tatum said. “I feel like we’ve done a good job this year with (finding) different guys. Just trying to continue to make the right play but find the guy that’s hot.”

Kemba Walker added 23 points against his former team. Jaylen Brown had 16 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Grant Williams added 12 points off the bench for the Celtics. Boston has won three straight and seven of nine.


Devonte’ Graham had 23 points and 10 assists, Bismack Biyombo scored 18 and Miles Bridges 15 to lead the Hornets. Charlotte has dropped three straight and four of five.

Terry Rozier scored 14 for the Hornets in his return to Boston. He left the team in free agency last summer. Rozier finished with three points on 1-of-11 shooting in a 108-87 home loss to Boston on Nov. 7.

Rozier didn’t get a video tribute as some ex-Celtics do in their return, but a small picture of him with the caption “welcome back” was hung outside the Hornets’ locker room.

“Yeah, I think I need a bigger sign,” Rozier said with a laugh.


Walker had 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting in his return to Charlotte in November. Walker left the Hornets in July after eight seasons, joining the Celtics on a four-year, $141 million deal in free agency.

Boston opened the game’s first double-digit lead at 72-62 on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Semi Ojeleye with 7:24 left in the third quarter.

Charlotte pulled within 75-73 after Biyombo’s floater with 4:30 left capped an 11-3 run.

Malik Monk’s three-point play 13 seconds into the fourth cut the Celtics’ lead to 84-80, but Tatum scored 17 of the Celtics’ next 19 points to blow the game open.

“You know he’s going to score at some point,” Charlotte’s Marvin Williams said of Tatum. “You just hope he doesn’t get 40 like he did tonight. He’s good enough to get 40. It’s just one of those nights for him.”

Tatum’s step-back 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining gave him a career high.

Tatum’s late surge reminded Rozier of what it felt like to go on a run in front of the Boston crowd.

“There’s nothing better than these fans. They make you feel like you can touch the sky. He did just that,” Rozier said. “He’s a superstar in the making and just killed us tonight.”

Boston led by as many as 26 points in the closing minutes.

Graham scored 17 points as Charlotte led 37-30 after one quarter, but the second-year guard was held to two in the second and Boston took a 59-56 lead into halftime.


KEMBA-LIKE

Graham was hot in the first quarter, going 5 for 6 from beyond the arc. Graham tied a franchise record for 3-pointers in a quarter, a record shared by ex-Hornet Walker. Graham’s 17 first-quarter points also matched Walker for the most by a Hornets player in the last two seasons.

NOT SO SCARY

Rozier, nicknamed “Scary Terry” during his tenure in Boston, is a combined 7 for 28 in two games against his former team.

TACKO TIME II

For the second straight game, the crowd erupted when Celtics’ 7-foot-5 reserve Tacko Fall stood up to check in with three and a half minutes remaining. The crowd again chanted “MVP!” and cheered wildly for every play Fall was involved in. Fall finished with four points, two rebounds, and a block.

TIP-INS

Hornets: Rookie F P.J. Washington was sidelined for a fifth straight game after fracturing his right pinkie finger on Dec. 13 at Chicago. Washington, the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft, is averaging 12.3 points through 28 games.

Celtics: F Gordon Hayward (sore left foot) sat out a third straight game, but coach Brad Stevens said he “felt better” after a morning workout. “I would guess he’ll be bumped up to probable after today,” Stevens said. … G Marcus Smart (eye infection) has been cleared to work out at the team’s facilities. Stevens said he expects Smart to return shortly after a six-game absence. … G Carsen Edwards was available after being considered probable with a right quad contusion. Edwards was recalled from Maine of the NBA G-League before the game.

UP NEXT

Hornets: Host Thunder on Friday night.

Celtics: Visit defending champion Raptors at noon on Christmas Day.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Tatum shines, Brown returns as Celtics beat 76ers for 2-0 lead

BOSTON — The youth movement is alive and thriving for the Boston Celtics.

And for the second straight game it was enough to upend a Philadelphia 76ers team that still has much to figure out as it heads home trailing 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, helping the Celtics rally from a 22-point deficit to beat the 76ers 108-103 on Thursday night.

Terry Rozier added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and five rebounds as the Celtics improved to 6-0 at TD Garden this postseason. They have never blown a 2-0 lead.

“Coach was saying whoever is the tougher team is going to win,” Rozier said. “They definitely punched us in the mouth at the beginning of the game. We just had to bounce back and get things together.”

Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.

J.J. Redick had 23 points for the 76ers, making five 3-pointers. Robert Covington added 22 points and nine rebounds. Joel Embiid finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but rookie star Ben Simmons missed all four shots and had just one point.

“Mentally, just thinking too much,” Simmons said of his tough night. “I’m going to have bad games. It happens. Obviously, it’s bad timing.”

Philadelphia recovered after squandering its big lead to nudge back in front 93-88 midway through the fourth quarter.

But an 11-4 run put Boston back in the lead 99-95 with less than four minutes to play.

It was 101-97 when a missed Philadelphia jumper led to a 2-on-1 fast break and alley-oop dunk from Rozier to Tatum with 2:23 left.

A layup by Dario Saric cut it to 104-101. But Al Horford was able to drive past Embiid for a layup with 8.3 seconds left.

Saric scored out of a timeout to make it 106-103. The Sixers quickly fouled Tatum, who calmly hit a pair of free throws.

Following an anemic offensive effort in Game 1, the Sixers looked rejuvenated early in Game 2, using a 14-2 run to begin the second quarter on their way to building a 48-26 lead.

It didn’t last.

The Celtics responded by ending the half on a 25-8 run. It included three straight 3-pointers and a tip-dunk by Jaylen Brown, who returned to action after sitting out the series opener with a strained right hamstring. He came off the bench and played 25 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.

The Sixers’ lead was completely erased midway through the third quarter, when Aron Baynes got a 3-pointer to bounce in and put Boston in front for the first time.

The lead grew to 76-68 on a baseline dunk by Tatum that capped a 50-20 Celtics run.

“Once we got on that run we never looked back,” Rozier said.

Brown entered the game for the first time at the 7:14 mark of first quarter. It took less than a minute to make an impact. He missed his first shot attempt before chasing down a loose ball and sprinting ahead for a one-handed dunk .

Prior to Thursday, Brown had started every game he’d appeared in this season. It was his first time off the bench since Game 5 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.

“They won two games at home and we have to reciprocate,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “There’s not going to be a pity party.”

TIP-INS

76ers: Outrebounded the Celtics 49-41. … Went 13 of 33 from the 3-point line.

Celtics: The 22-point comeback victory represents their largest come-from-behind playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals (24 pts). … Went 15 of 36 from the 3-point line.

HE SAID IT

“It’s like a movie. You only see these type of comebacks in movies.” — Celtics guard Marcus Smart.

SLOW START

Despite Brown’s early highlight, the Celtics were sluggish early.

They started off the game 0 for 5 and didn’t score until Smart’s 3-pointer at the 8:37 mark of the first quarter.

Horford (1 for 3), Rozier (0 for 4), Brown (1 for 4) and Marcus Morris (0 for 3) were a combined 2 for 14 in the period, allowing Philadelphia to build a 31-22.

CELEB SIGHTINGS

Philadelphia-born rapper Meek Mill sat courtside for Game 2. Mill was released from jail last week after spending nearly five months behind bars on a probation violation. Rapper Gucci Mane sat across from the 76ers bench wearing a Brown jersey. The two met last year when Brown attended one of his concerts.

Another Philly native, actor Kevin Hart, sat a few seats down from Gucci. Hart at times antagonized the TD Garden fans, drawing boos.

source:sports.inquirer.net