Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points and the NBA-best Cavaliers rallied from 22 points down for a 123-116 victory over the Celtics
Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 on Friday night in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.
Darius Garland added 20 points and seven assists. Evan Mobley finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 27th double-double to give Cleveland a split in the four-game series with the playoffs just over two months away.
Cleveland has won nine straight and improved the NBA’s best record to 49-10.
Jayson Tatum finished with a season-high 46 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. Jaylen Brown added 37 points, marking the first time Boston’s top stars both posted 30-point games this season.
The Cavaliers had all their players available, while the Celtics played without starters Jrue Holiday (finger) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).
It did nothing to stymie the Celtics early as they sprinted out to a 25-3 lead. But after a cold start, the Cavs responded, going on a 41-22 run to get back into the game.
Trailing 114-110, the Celtics got back-to-back stops, each followed by buckets by Brown to tie the game. Mitchell scored on a floater to put the Cavaliers back in front. Then, following a miss by Brown on Boston’s next possession, Mitchell hit a driving layup and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to put the Cavs in front 119-114 with 1:57 remaining.
Nuggets cool Pistons behind Jokic, Murray
Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists in his latest triple-double and Jamal Murray scored 31 points as the Denver Nuggets ended the Detroit Pistons' eight-game winning streak with a 134-119 win.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points and Christian Braun matched Jokic with 23 for Denver, which has won 11 of its last 13 games.
Jokic’s triple-double was his third in four games and league-leading 28th of the season.
Malik Beasley had 16 points as Detroit's sixth man, but the Pistons' starters were outscored 113-54. Cade Cunningham finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting.
The Nuggets led 107-87 going into the fourth quarter and Detroit never made a significant run, although they cut the deficit from 25 to 15 in garbage time.
The Pistons went 9-3 in February after going 10-6 in January. Before that, they had gone an NBA-record 37 straight months without a winning record.
Denver opened the third quarter with a 27-9 run to erase a 68-63 halftime deficit. Murray scored 12 points while Jokic had four assists and six rebounds. The Nuggets shot 71.4% (10 for 14) during the run while Detroit was at 21.4% (3 for 14).
Doncic lifts surging Lakers on birthday
Luka Doncic scored 31 points on his 26th birthday and LeBron James had 28 points and 13 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' fifth straight victory, 106-102 over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Doncic scored 10 points in the fourth quarter of a gritty performance by the Lakers, who were missing two injured starters on the second night of a back-to-back home set. They still won their city rivalry game with strong defence and Doncic's playmaking, finally holding on for their 11th win in 13 games.
Ivica Zubac had a season-high 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost four of five since the All-Star break. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, and James Harden had 18 in a 5-for-22 shooting performance, including 1-for-10 on 3-pointers.
After struggling with his shot again for three quarters, Doncic hit consecutive 3-pointers midway through the fourth to stretch the lead to 10 points.
The Lakers' lead was only four when Doncic hit James for a layup with 2:14 left. After Harden missed two clean 3-point attempts, Doncic found Jaxson Hayes for a dunk and a 106-98 lead.