Kristaps Porziņģis had 16 points in 23 minutes in a successful season debut as the Boston Celtics stayed hot with Monday's 126-94 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Porzingis' return from offseason ankle surgery helped turn this clash of teams that came in each owning five-game winning streaks into a laugher. Three-point shooting turned out to be the biggest factor, however, as the defending NBA champion Celtics hit 22 shots from beyond the arc while holding Los Angeles to a 7-of-26 effort (26.9 per cent) on such tries.
Payton Pritchard went 6 of 10 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points off the bench for Boston. Jayson Tatum also had 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Derrick White added 19 points and seven assists while going 5 of 9 on 3-point attempts.
Ivica Zubac led Los Angeles, which was coming off a win in Philadelphia on Sunday, with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting as well as 10 rebounds. James Harden flirted with a triple-double in defeat by tallying 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
After taking a 27-20 lead after one quarter, the Celtics overwhelmed the Clippers from the perimeter in the second. Boston hit 12 shots from beyond the arc for the period and shot 70.8 per cent overall while outscoring Los Angeles by a 51-29 margin during the quarter.
The scoring barrage sent Boston into the break owning a commanding 78-49 advantage.
Los Angeles never seriously threatened in the second half, as the Celtics never held a lead smaller than 15 points over the final two quarters.
Nets overcome 18-point deficit to stun Warriors
Dennis Schröder scored 23 of his 31 points in the second half to spark the Brooklyn Nets to a surprising 128-120 comeback road win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Nets handed the Warriors a second straight loss after a 12-3 start to the season despite trailing by 18 points midway through the third quarter. Brooklyn was able to rally for its second win in as many nights behind big efforts from Schroder and Ziaire Williams, who had 13 of his 19 points after half-time and finished with 10 rebounds.
Cam Thomas added 23 points for Brooklyn, which was coming off a 108-103 road victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Golden State received 28 points and seven assists from Stephen Curry and 18 points from Andrew Wiggins, but failed to get late stops on defence while being outscored 41-28 in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors appeared to have the game in control after Curry tallied seven points during an 11-0 run that gave them an 86-68 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Brooklyn answered with 11 straight points of its own, however, and later got to within 92-87 after Trendon Watford sank a 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
Schroder then scored the first eight points of the fourth, with his 3-ball with 9:43 to go breaking a 92-92 tie.
The Warriors were never able to get the lead back, with the Nets putting the game out of reach with a late 7-2 spurt that put them up 126-115 in the final minute.
Anunoby's 40 points leads Knicks' blowout of Nuggets
OG Anunoby racked up a career-high 40 points and the New York Knicks tied a franchise record with 45 assists to hand the scuffling Denver Nuggets a 145-118 loss.
Jalen Brunson also set a career best by dishing out 17 of New York's 45 assists, which matched a team single-game high set in 1979. The Knicks also shot a season-high 60.9 per cent from the field to win for the fifth time in six games, with Anunoby hitting 16 of 23 shots and Karl-Anthony Towns going 12 of 15 while adding 30 points and 15 rebounds.
New York held Nikola Jokić to a season-low seven rebounds as well as they dealt Denver a fourth defeat in six games. The reigning NBA MVP did manage 22 points and seven assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 27 points off the bench and Jamal Murray had 20 along with seven assists.
The Nuggets also received their second straight loss at home, where they're 5-4 so far this season after producing a 33-8 record at Ball Arena in 2023-24.
Brunson had nine of his 23 points during an 11-4 run to close out the first quarter that staked New York to a 36-24 lead after 12 minutes of play. Towns then put up 15 points in the second quarter as the Knicks stretched the margin to 23 points by half-time, as they entered the break with a 76-53 advantage.
The Knicks continued to pour it on in the second half, as their lead never got under 17 points and reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.
Clippers now 'understanding who they are', says Harden
James Harden says the Los Angeles Clippers are "understanding who they are" after their emphatic 125-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Harden returned to Philadelphia and delivered game-highs of 23 points and eight assists as the Clippers cruised to their fifth consecutive win in the NBA.
The 76ers were without the injured Paul George, who left LA in the offseason, and Joel Embiid and struggled as the Clippers built a lead as large as 33 points in the third quarter.
Harden, who moved from Philadelphia to the Clippers just over a year ago, is enjoying the progress his team are making.
"We're coming around, and we're understanding who we are," Harden said. "Understanding that in order for us to have a chance at anything, we know we have to do it every single night. And that's the most exciting part.
"One thing about this team: we're all happy for each other. Literally, it can be anybody's night, on any given night.
"Nobody's going to be upset; everybody's going to be happy for each other. And things aren't always going to be perfect to win games. But even when we lose, we're still happy for each other. Good things will happen most of the time."
The Clippers are still without Kawhi Leonard, who has been out since April with a knee injury, and he is not expected to return in the near future.
However, head coach Tyronn Lue has used the opportunity to set his team up in a different way, something they have benefitted from as the season has gone on.
"It's tough anytime you lose your best player — we all know that," said Lue.
"But going into camp and knowing that we weren't going to have Kawhi for a strong amount of the beginning of the season, we just knew what our team was going to be.
"After the first five, six games, we understood what our rotation was going to be, how we wanted to play, what guys fit well with who. And so, it has been good for us — like, you know, not guys being in and out, in and out."
Brown 'set the tone' for Celtics defense, says Mazzulla
Joe Mazzulla hailed Jaylen Brown's defensive work after the Boston Celtics fended off the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
The Celtics made it five straight wins as they triumphed 107-105, with Brown playing a key role at both ends of the court.
Brown finished with 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, while he also made a vital intervention to deny Anthony Edwards, who finished with 28 points for Minnesota, the chance to send the game to overtime with just seven seconds left on the clock.
"It's great to have a player of his calibre take defense to another level and take matchups personally," said Mazzulla.
"When your best players are the best defenders it sets a tone for your team and your locker room defensively. He takes pride in individual matchups, and I thought he did a great job of that tonight."
As reported by CLNS Media, Brown reflected: "He's good going to his left hand, but I just wanted to crowd him a little bit, make it tough for him, and waste some time.
"If he did go up to score, I was going to be able to challenge him at the rim.
"I think it was a good defensive possession."
Brown became the second-quickest player in the play-by-play era to sink five 3-pointers in a game, doing so after just three minutes and 34 seconds.
"I feel like I haven't shot the ball to start off the season as well as I would have liked," Brown said. "I feel like I'm due for a lot of makes."
Brown was backed up offensively by Jayson Tatum's 26 points, while Derrick White added 19 as the Celtics improved to 14-3 for the season.
NBA: Celtics run winning streak to five games
Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and the Boston Celtics withstood a late charge from the Minnesota Timberwolves to hold on for a 107-105 win on Sunday.
Brown had seven of Boston's 21 makes from 3-point range to complement Jayson Tatum's 26 points and eight rebounds as the Celtics extended their winning streak to five games. Derrick White added 19 points and nine rebounds for the defending NBA champions, who at 14-3 trail only the 17-1 Cleveland Cavaliers for the league's best record.
Anthony Edwards compiled 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to nearly lead the Timberwolves back from an 84-73 deficit after three quarters. Minnesota could not get a shot off in the final seconds, however, and was dealt a second straight loss and fifth defeat in seven games.
Julius Randle chipped in 23 points for the Timberwolves, who also received 20 rebounds and 10 points from Rudy Gobert.
The Celtics hit four 3-pointers, including a pair from Tatum, during a 14-0 run that extended a one-point lead into a 69-54 advantage with 7:20 left in the third quarter. The margin was still double digits with eight minutes to go before Minnesota began cutting into its deficit.
A 9-3 spurt capped by Jaden McDaniels' dunk with 2:04 left pulled the Timberwolves within 104-102, and Minnesota had a chance at the victory after Brown's miss on a late 3-point try followed Randle's inside layup that trimmed Boston's lead to 107-105 with 33.6 seconds to play.
Brown cut off Edwards trying to drive to the basket, however, and Naz Reid's 3-point attempt came just after the final buzzer as the Celtics hung on.
Butler comes up big as Heat outlast Mavericks in overtime
Jimmy Butler recorded a season-high 33 points and the Miami Heat closed out overtime on a 6-0 run to come away with a hard-fought 123-118 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Miami also got 19 points and 11 rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 18 points and 10 rebounds from Tyler Herro to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since Oct. 26-28.
Butler added nine boards and six assists while finishing 11 of 17 from the field in his second game back from a sprained ankle. The six-time All-Star forced overtime with a dunk off a Duncan Robinson feed that tied the game at 114-114 with 4.3 seconds left in regulation.
Playing its second straight game without Luka Dončić, Dallas had a season-high four-game winning streak halted. Kyrie Irving paced the Mavericks with 27 points, but went 3 of 12 from 3-point range on a night Dallas shot just 25 per cent from beyond the arc.
P.J. Washington chipped in 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, while Dereck Lively amassed 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Lively's dunk off Washington's missed shot gave Dallas a 118-117 lead with 3:21 remaining in overtime, but the Mavericks were held scoreless the rest of the way. Adebayo drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the Heat back in front, and Butler later drove the lane and scored to give Miami a 122-118 edge with 1:38 to go.
The Heat owned an 87-77 advantage late in the third quarter, but Dallas finished out the period on a 7-2 run to get within five. Spencer Dinwiddie then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 89-89, and neither team led by more than four points over the remainder of regulation.
Harden helps Clippers extend 76ers' woes
James Harden returned to Philadelphia to deliver 23 points and eight assists and help the Los Angeles Clippers continue the host 76ers' season-long struggles with Sunday's 125-99 rout.
The Clippers cruised to their fifth straight victory and dropped the injury-plagued 76ers to 3-13 by dominating from start to finish. Los Angeles shot 58 per cent from the field and built a lead as large as 33 points in the third quarter.
Los Angeles also received 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from Derrick Jones and a 16-point, 12-rebound effort from Ivica Zubac, who missed just two of 10 field goal attempts.
The short-handed 76ers were again without former Clipper Paul George as well as 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid, both of whom continue to be sidelined with knee injuries.
Rookie Jared McCain led Philadelphia with 18 points but missed 12 of his 15 shot attempts. Backcourt mate Tyrese Maxey wasn't much more accurate, as he was held to 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Harden, making his second appearance in Philadelphia since forcing a trade from the 76ers to the Clippers just over a year ago, tallied 12 first-quarter points as Los Angeles opened up a 39-27 advantage after 12 minutes.
The Clippers never trailed thereafter, as they outscored the 76ers by a 33-12 margin over the first nine minutes of the third quarter to take a commanding 95-62 lead. Jones had nine points for the period and Harden eight to go along with four assists.
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