The New York Knicks rode terrific performances from the dynamic duo of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson to a 120-117 overtime victory on the road against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Randle, who is on track to make his second All-Star team, scored a game-high 37 points on 13-of-25 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds. His partner-in-crime, Brunson, led both teams with seven assists to go with 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had a team-high 35 points on 12-of-26 shooting, including the game-tying basket with 48 seconds remaining to force overtime at 110-110.
Randle and team-mate R.J. Barrett scored five points each in the extra session to pull away for the win, improving to 27-23 overall, which includes the league's second-best road record (15-10). The only team with a better record away from home this season is the Celtics (17-9).
In his fifth start of the season, second-year Knicks center Jericho Sims grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds as he continues to fill-in for the injured Mitchell Robinson, while Immanuel Quickley chipped in 17 points (seven-of-12 shooting) off the bench.
Pistons ruin Kyrie's big night
Kyrie Irving's 40 points were not enough to prevent his Brooklyn Nets from going down 130-122 at home against the Detroit Pistons.
After being named an All-Star starter earlier in the day, Irving shot 14-of-27 from the field while adding six assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
But the Pistons had eight of their nine players reach double-figures in a well-rounded display, led by Saddiq Bey with a team-high 25 points (10-of-19 shooting), while highly rated rookie point guard Jaden Ivey had a game-high eight assists with his 16 points and two steals.
The Nets have now lost six of their past eight fixtures to slip to 29-19 as they desperately await the return of Kevin Durant from injury.
Cavs pile on the punishment
The Houston Rockets were relegated to their 20th loss from their past 22 outings as the Cleveland Cavaliers came into town and left 113-95 victors.
Darius Garland scored a game-high 26 points (nine-of-16 shooting) with nine assists and four steals to lead the Cavs, while their star defensive duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley both collected double-doubles.
On the bright side for the Rockets – who own the NBA's worst record at 11-38 – it was the ninth game in a row exciting young center Alperen Sengun has tallied at least six assists. Over that span, the only centers averaging more than his 6.8 assists are Draymond Green (7.0), Domantas Sabonis (10.0) and Nikola Jokic (11.2).
Mitchell's poster dunk over Watanabe 'up there' with his best
Donovan Mitchell says his dunk on Brooklyn Nets wing Yuta Watanabe is up there with his best, and that it also sparked the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 115-109 win on Tuesday.
Mitchell, who finished with 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting and five rebounds, slammed over Watanabe early in the fourth quarter as the Cavs looked to repel the Nets' rally.
The Cavs were up 96-80 with 10:55 remaining when Mitchell received the ball on a fast break from Caris LeVert, taking four steps before dunking over Watanabe who contested the attempt.
"Everyone's reaction was like 'that's your best one'," Mitchell told reporters after the game.
"It's up there. I don’t know if it's my best one, but it's definitely up there."
In a moment of celebration, Mitchell was caught out of position, allowing Mikal Bridges to score down the other end, before glancing up to the Barclays Center screens for a replay.
"I was trying to see it but I forgot we're on the road," Mitchell said. "They’re definitely not going to show it.
"First time I saw it was when we went back in the locker room. It was not bad."
The poster dunk sent social media into a frenzy but it also "sparked" the Cavs according to Mitchell, pulling ahead to a 22-point lead which put the game to bed.
"It really sparked us," he said. "It gave us a little bit of a boost. Those are defining plays. Different plays for different moments to continue to push us going forward.
"It's not like I go into a game thinking 'alright, I'm going to try get a dunk on somebody', but sometimes that's what's needed.
"I felt good enough to try get up there and dunk it. I figured I'd try use my body and finish. It worked out."
The result saw the Cavs firm up their grip on the four seed in the East with a 46-28 record ahead of the 42-31 New York Knicks, while the Nets are sixth at 39-33.
Tatum and Brown shine as Celtics blow out Kings, Mitchell dunks all over Nets
In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blow-out win against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
It was shaping up as a shoot-out as both teams started red hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.
Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.
The win improved the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).
Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.
Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.
After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.
Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double
Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.
The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.
Tatum and Brown shine as Celtics blowout the Kings, Mitchell dunks all over the Nets
In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blowout against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
It was shaping up as a shootout as both teams started red-hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.
Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.
The win improves the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).
Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.
Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.
After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.
Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double
Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.
The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.
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