The short-handed Brooklyn Nets slumped to their 13th defeat from their past 15 games as Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a 129-106 victory on Thursday.
Tatum scored 30 points including four three-pointers along with seven rebounds and four assists for the Celtics who have won 10 of their past 11 games.
The Celtics' hot form is in contrast to the Nets, who have slumped to a 31-29 record in the absence of the injured Kevin Durant, unavailable Kyrie Irving and unfit Ben Simmons.
Boston led from start to finish, opening up a 35-22 quarter-time lead, with good support from big men Robert Williams III (12 points and 11 rebounds) and Al Horford (11 points and 13 rebounds).
Seth Curry top scored for the Nets with 22 points but only made two-of-seven from beyond the arc, while Patty Mills struggled with one point from 28 minutes, shooting none-of-nine from the field.
Morant hurt in tight loss
Ja Morant airballed a game-tying three-point attempt in the dying seconds and had a third-quarter injury scare as the Memphis Grizzlies lost 119-114 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Morant finished with 20 points and eight rebounds but seemed to pick up a leg injury on a drive which impacted his final quarter. D'Angelo Russell scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Timberwolves.
The ladder-leading Phoenix Suns had no issues without Chris Paul as they extended their winning streak to eight games with a 124-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Devin Booker scored 25 points with five rebounds, 12 assists and a career-high six steals.
Stephen Curry was benched late after 18 points and 14 assists as the Golden State Warriors won 132-95 over the Portland Trail Blazers, while Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in the Denver Nuggets' 128-110 triumph over the Sacramento Kings.
Trae wayward in Hawks loss
Trae Young struggled as the Atlanta Hawks went down 112-108 to the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks guard made three-of-17 from the field in his 14 points for the game. For the Bulls, who have won six in a row, in-form DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points while Zach LaVine returned from injury with 20 points.
Tottenham 2-1 Burnley: Clarets down as Van de Ven boosts Spurs' top-four hopes
Burnley's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed as a late Micky van de Ven winner clinched a 2-1 home win for Tottenham on Saturday.
Vincent Kompany's men had to win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to keep their survival hopes alive, and it looked possible when Jacob Bruun Larsen fired the Clarets ahead in the first half.
However, Pedro Porro struck to level, before Van de Ven rifled home with eight minutes to play to condemn Burnley to the second tier and boost Spurs' Champions League hopes.
It's a result that ends Spurs' run of four straight defeats and leaves them four points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with two games to play.
Burnley nearly got their noses in front after just five minutes, though Guglielmo Vicario was equal to Vitinho's header, while Brennan Johnson saw an effort well-saved by Arijanet Muric up the other end in a frenzied start.
The Clarets took the lead with 25 minutes played, persistent work from Sander Berge allowing Bruun Larsen to latch onto the Norway international's throughball before slotting past Vicario.
Burnley's lead didn't last long, though, Porro driving into the box before unleashing a powerful finish into the back of the net.
Wilson Odobert nearly restored his side's advantage after the break as his thunderous effort was tipped over by Vicario as Burnley looked for a lifeline.
Muric kept out James Maddison at the other end with a brilliant stop, before also denying Kulusevski with Spurs looking to turn up the heat.
The hosts did find a winner late on, Van de Ven taking the ball into the penalty area before coolly slotting home to send Burnley down and keep his side's slender top-four chances alive.
Burnley down despite late surge
A run of just one Premier League defeat in nine games across March and April had given Burnley some slender hopes of survival, but they were simply left with too much to do as defeat at Spurs ensured they would be playing second-tier football next season.
After romping to the Championship title last term, some had lofty pre-season hopes for Burnley, but the Clarets have won just five league games all season, not enough to keep them in the division.
Burnley's relegation is their fifth from the Premier League, and Kompany has work to do if they are to bounce back in similar one-season fashion as they did so impressively last term.
Van de Ven secures much-needed three points
Villa are floundering, winless in four in all competitions and losing three of those outings. However, Spurs had previously been unable to put any kind of pressure on Unai Emery's men as they endured a run of four straight defeats at an inopportune junction in the season.
It appeared Spurs would stumble further with a home draw against a bottom-three side, but Van de Ven's crucial late winner has somewhat turned the heat up on Villa ahead of their games against Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
Ange Postecoglou's men accumulated 2.5 xG (expected goals) to Burnley's 0.75, and Van de Ven's strike means Spurs have now won eight of their nine Premier League home meetings with Burnley. The result also ensures Postecoglou avoids becoming the first Spurs manager to lose five top-flight outings in a row since Osvaldo Ardiles in 1994 (seven).
NBA: Nuggets end Timberwolves' perfect postseason with rout, Pacers edge Knicks
Nikola Jokić had 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists and Jamal Murray bounced back with 24 points as the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 117-90 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 21 points and Aaron Gordon had 13 for the Nuggets, who cruised to an easy win on the road after dropping the first two games at home.
They are the 30th team in the history of the NBA playoffs to lose the first two games at home in a best-of-seven series. Five of them have rallied to win, most recently the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round in 2021.
Game 4 is Sunday in Minneapolis.
Murray totalled just 25 points on 9-of-32 shooting over the first two games but was 11 of 21 in this one.
Denver shot 14 of 29 from 3-point range with Gordon and Porter combining to hit 7 of 9.
Anthony Edwards was held in check with 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 for a Wolves team that suffered its first loss in seven playoff games.
Minnesota shot 10 of 33 from long range and fell behind by as many as 34 points down the stretch.
Pacers rally to cut deficit to 2-1
Andrew Nembhard drilled a 31-foot, tiebreaking 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and Tyrese Haliburton had 35 points with six 3-pointers as the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 111-106 win over the banged-up New York Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. New York held a nine-point lead with 9:45 remaining but was unable to hold the lead with star guard Jalen Brunson slowed by a right foot injury.
Nembhard scored all five of his points in the final minute, connecting on a long 3 as the shot clock expired to give the Pacers a 109-106 lead.
Brunson missed a potential tying 3 with 14 seconds left and finished with 26 points on 10-of-26 shooting.
Donte DiVincenzo scored 35 points and was 7 for 11 on 3s, while Alec Burks, who came in having played just 1 minute in the playoffs, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Knicks, who played without starting forward OG Anunoby.
It’s unclear whether Anunoby can recover from his injured left hamstring to play Sunday.,
Haliburton triggered Indiana’s comeback in the fourth quarter. He completed a three-point play and then made back-to-back layups to make it 98-96. After Brunson made a free throw, Pascal Siakam tied the score with a three-point play.
The teams traded the lead four more times, with Brunson’s 3 tying it at 106 with 42 seconds remaining.
Budenholzer agrees to five-year contract to coach Suns
The Phoenix Suns are making Mike Budenholzer their next head coach with the sides agreeing to a five-year contract, according to reports.
A formal announcement is expected to come Saturday.
Budenholzer, 54, last coached the Milwaukee Bucks before he was let go after they were upset by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2022-23 season.
He led the Bucks to the 2020-21 NBA title in his third season with the team and began his coaching career with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013-14, compiling a 213-197 record in five seasons.
Budenholzer is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, winning with Atlanta in 2014-15 and 2018-19 with Milwaukee.
He replaces Frank Vogel, who was fired on Thursday after one season with the Suns. Phoenix went 49-33 in the regular season but was swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Vogel was unable to fulfil lofty expectations after injuries limited the number of games the star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal could play together. His dismissal came after reports surfaced that Vogel had lost the locker room and Durant was unhappy with his role in the offense.
Budenholzer becomes the third Suns’ coach in three years under new owner Mat Ishbia, who inherited Monty Williams as the team’s leader when he took over the franchise in February 2023.
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