Jayson Tatum racks up 30 points as Boston Celtics avenge their In-Season Tournament loss to Indiana Pacers
Jayson Tatum has scored 30 points and had two blocks in the final 30 seconds to help Boston hold off Indiana 129-124.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points and Derrick White 24 at TD Garden on Wednesday (AEDT) to help the Celtics win their season series with the Pacers, 3-2. Indiana eliminated Boston in the quarter-final round of the In-Season Tournament in December.
The Celtics, who improved to 37-11 to top the Eastern Conference standings, led by 20 points late in the first half, but the Pacers rallied and trailed 127-124 when White blocked a tying three-point attempt by Aaron Nesmith. Tatum then denied an attempt by Myles Turner at the rim, leading to a shot-clock violation.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“You have to be able to win games with your defence,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said.
“We had really good defence down the stretch and made some winning plays.”
In San Francisco, Golden State recorded a 119-107 win over Philadelphia.
Stephen Curry had 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his third straight 30-point game for the Warriors, while Joel Embiid scored 14 points for the 76ers before limping to the locker room with 4:04 left to a standing ovation.
At Madison Square Garden, Donte DiVincenzo made a career-high nine triples and scored 33 points, Jalen Brunson had 29 points and nine assists, and New York wrapped up one of the best months in franchise history with a 118-103 win over Utah.
The Knicks (31-17) finished 14-2 in January after their eighth straight victory. That was their most wins in a month since going 14-0 in March 1994 and just one shy of their most ever, when they were 15-3 in December 1968.
“I’d be lying if I said I saw this coming, but I think one thing I do know is that we’re going to continue to get better every single day and that’s what we’ve been able to do,” Brunson said.
In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 26 points, knocking down his first six attempts from three-point range, and the Hawks handed the Los Angeles Lakers their second double-digit loss in as many nights, 138-122.
Playing without Anthony Davis, LA slipped back to 24-25. Austin Reaves scored 28 points and LeBron James added 20 in a lackluster performance before a standing-room-only crowd.
“We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA,” James said.
“But, on any given night, we can get our (butt) kicked by any team in the NBA. What’s our record? Under .500? There you go.”
Elsewhere, the Toronto Raptors beat the Bulls 118-107 in Chicago.
