Veteran Al Horford turned again the clock, main the NBA champion Boston Celtics to a 117-103 win over the Grizzlies in Memphis on Monday, marking their ninth straight victory and securing a franchise first.
Horford, 38, was the Celtics’ prime scorer with 26 factors off the bench, whereas Jayson Tatum added 25 factors and 14 rebounds.
Boston’s protection stifled Memphis within the second half, capping an ideal 6-0 street journey – the longest unbeaten street swing within the membership’s historical past.
The Celtics, presently second within the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, received all six video games by double digits. Horford set a season-high, hitting six of Boston’s 21 three-pointers.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Horford mentioned. “It’s pretty amazing for me to be in this position, and I’m just trying to have fun with it and enjoy it with my team.”
Ja Morant scored 26 factors for the Grizzlies, who led by as many as 11 within the first half and regained the lead early within the third.
However, they could not preserve tempo and misplaced floor of their combat with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth place within the West.
The Lakers beat the second-place Houston Rockets 104-98 in a tense duel at Crypto.com Arena. Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent scored 20 factors apiece for the Lakers, and LeBron James added 16.
James drained a pair of free throws to push the Lakers’ result in 102-98 with 11.1 seconds left, then got here up with a large block as Los Angeles held on for the victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, already assured of the Western Conference prime seed, racked up their tenth straight victory with a 145-117 pounding of the Chicago Bulls.
Struggling video games
Isaiah Joe got here off the bench to attain 31 factors, main seven Thunder gamers to attain in double figures.
“We all have the same goal in mind,” mentioned Joe, who made eight of the Thunder’s 23 three-pointers. “We know what we want to do at the end of the day, and we know how to get there. We’ve just got to keep stacking days, stacking games.”
The Indiana Pacers rallied from 16 factors down within the third quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 111-109 and keep their grip on fourth place within the East. Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 factors and handed out 11 assists, drilling a three-pointer with 1:17 remaining that gave Indiana the lead for good.
The Los Angeles Clippers, eighth within the West however locked in a battle with Golden State and Minnesota for sixth place and direct entry to the playoffs, clawed out a gritty 96-87 victory over the Magic in Orlando.
Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell scored 21 factors every, and Ivica Zubac added 18 factors and 20 rebounds – 9 on the offensive finish – to assist the Clippers lastly seize management in a recreation that featured 15 lead modifications within the first three quarters.
Paolo Banchero scored 26 factors, and Franz Wagner added 21 for the Magic, who remained in eighth place within the East.
The prime six groups in every convention advance to the playoffs, whereas groups ranked from seventh to tenth play a mini-tournament to find out the ultimate two playoff spots.
The Miami Heat climbed to ninth – forward of the Bulls – with a fifth straight victory, beating the Wizards 120-94 in Washington.
Bam Adebayo scored 28 factors and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Tyler Herro added 27 factors for the Heat, whose present profitable streak comes on the heels of a 10-game skid.
Source: www.dailysabah.com