Jayson Tatum snapped out of a 3-point shooting slump with a flourish, hitting 9 of 14 from distance en route to a season-high 51 points, and the Boston Celtics cruised past the Washington Wizards 116-87 Sunday in Washington, D.C.
Tatum came into Sunday’s matchup having missed his previous 20 3-point attempts and going 0-for in each of Boston’s previous three games. But he hit his first four attempts against the Wizards and went 6 of 7 in the first half — the last of which came just seconds before halftime.
Sunday marked the fifth 50-point-plus game of Tatum’s career. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished seven assists, while teammate Jaylen Brown finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Bradley Beal led Washington with 19 points and seven assists, but Beal, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 0-for-14 from beyond the arc. Deni Avdija scored 13 points, and Kyle Kuzma finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Knicks 110, Clippers 102
RJ Barrett collected 28 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as host New York snapped a three-game losing streak with a wire-to-wire win over Los Angeles.
Barrett hit 9 of 24 shots from the field and posted his third double-double of the season. He also hit all seven of his free throws in 43 stellar minutes. Julius Randle totaled 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists and bounced back nicely from being held to four points in Thursday’s 102-91 loss to New Orleans.
Reggie Jackson scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting as the Clippers dropped to 1-2 on their eight-game trip. Ivica Zubac totaled 17 and 14 rebounds. The Clippers shot 43 percent from the field and were 14 of 41 from 3-point range.
Heat 113, Lakers 107
Jimmy Butler recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, leading host Miami to a win over struggling Los Angeles.
The Lakers, who trailed by 26 points in the second quarter, cut their deficit to 111-107 with 1:07 left. But Talen Horton-Tucker’s poor in-bounds pass with seven seconds left led to a Caleb Martin steal and layup, ending the Lakers’ final chance.
Duncan Robinson led Miami with 25 points (6 of 11 on 3-pointers) as the Heat improved to 16-5 at home, the best home record in the Eastern Conference. Now with the Lakers, James scored a game-high 33 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished four assists Sunday. He has scored at least 26 points in 17 straight games.
Hawks 113, Hornets 91
Trae Young pumped in 30 points and visiting Atlanta controlled most of the game in defeating cold-shooting Charlotte.
Young connected on eight of his 15 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. De’Andre Hunter posted 20 points, Kevin Huerter added 11 points and reserve Danilo Gallinari scored 10.
Charlotte, which lost for just the second time in its last nine games, missed its first 19 attempts from 3-point range and finished 4-for-36 from deep. Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball both racked up 19 points for the Hornets.
Magic 114, Bulls 95
Moe Wagner came off the bench to score 15 of his 23 points in the first half, Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and host Orlando ended a nine-game home losing streak with a win over undermanned Chicago.
Franz Wagner added 18 points, while Jalen Suggs scored 15 points, 11 in the fourth quarter. Cole Anthony and Chuma Okeke each had 11 points for Orlando, which went 12-for-26 from 3-point range.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan netted 21 of his season-high 41 points in the second half, making 15-of-21 field goals for the game and 11-of-13 free throws. It marked DeRozan’s third straight game with 30-plus points, but the Bulls continued to feel the effects of a limited roster as they lost for the seventh time in nine games.
76ers 115, Spurs 109
Joel Embiid scored 38 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Tobias Harris added 18 points and 11 rebounds as visiting Philadelphia took charge early and just enough to hold on for a win over San Antonio.
Embiid, who added six assists, has racked up at least 30 points in 12 straight road games. Maxey hit for 18 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 17 for the 76ers, who have won seven straight games against the Spurs dating to December 2018.
Jakob Poeltl led San Antonio with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Murray added 19 points and 12 assists, with Keldon Johnson scoring 17 points, Devin Vassell 15, Lonnie Walker IV 14 and White 10.
Mavericks 104, Grizzlies 91
Luka Doncic had 37 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as Dallas cruised to a win over visiting Memphis.
Kristaps Porzingis had 15 points, eight rebounds and a season-high six blocks for Dallas, which led wire-to-wire and won for the 11th time in its last 13 games.
Ja Morant paced Memphis with 35 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. De’Anthony Melton scored 12 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 10.
Nuggets 117, Pistons 111
Nikola Jokic had 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Will Barton scored 14, and host Denver beat Detroit.
Aaron Gordon scored 13, Bryn Forbes and Zeke Nnaji finished with 12 apiece and Austin Rivers scored 11 for the Nuggets. DeMarcus Cousins scored two points in his Denver debut.
Cade Cunningham had 18 points and eight assists, Isaiah Stewart, Cory Joseph and Trey Lyles also scored 18 and Saddiq Bey finished with 11 for Detroit.
Trail Blazers 114, Raptors 105
CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little each scored 19 points and Portland, which led by 34 points in the first half, held on to defeat host Toronto.
McCollum added 10 rebounds and Ben McLemore had 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who completed their road trip with a 4-2 record. Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Pascal Siakam scored 28 points for Toronto, Fred VanVleet added 19 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 13, and OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher had 11 points each.
Timberwolves 136, Nets 125
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as Minnesota pulled away down the stretch for a victory over Brooklyn in Minneapolis.
Towns was 2-of-11 from the field through three quarters as Minnesota held a 102-95 lead. After Brooklyn was within 111-105 on a 3-point play by Kyrie Irving with 7:04 left, Towns hit a variety of shots to help Minnesota clinch its seventh win in 10 games.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting but was helped back to the locker room with an apparent right leg injury late in the fourth. Irving led all scorers with 30 points as the Nets finished a 2-2 road trip in their fourth game since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Warriors 94, Jazz 92
Kevon Looney’s three-point play with 1:48 remaining enabled Golden State to survive a late flurry by Utah to hold on for a victory in San Francisco.
After leading by 13 with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors not only had their entire lead disappear in the next seven minutes, but saw the Jazz go up 86-83 at the end of a 20-4 run.
Jordan Poole, who paced the Warriors with 20 points, gave Golden State the lead for good at 91-89 on a jumper with 3:55 to go, which was the game’s last scoring before Looney turned an offensive rebound into a follow shot and a key three-point play more than two minutes later.
–Field Level Media
