Jayson Tatum had a game-high 34 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Golden State Warriors 121-118 in overtime Thursday night in a matchup of teams that met in last year’s NBA Finals.
Al Horford added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which outscored Golden State 15-12 in OT to extend its winning streak to eight games. Marcus Smart (18), Jaylen Brown (16), Robert Williams (14) and Malcolm Brogdon (14) also scored in double figures for Boston. Williams added 11 rebounds.
Steph Curry had 29 points and seven assists for Golden State, which won last year’s title by beating Boston in six games. Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole each tossed in 24 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 20 for the Warriors, who received 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists from Draymond Green.
Brown returned to action after missing Boston’s last three games because of groin tightness and made a 3-pointer that tied the game at 106-106 with 18.1 seconds remaining in regulation. The game went to OT after Curry missed a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds on the clock, and, following a timeout, Brown’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Suns 117, Nets 112
Mikal Bridges recorded 28 points and nine assists and Deandre Ayton had 24 points and 14 rebounds to help Phoenix top visiting Brooklyn.
Cameron Johnson contributed 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench in his first game for the Suns since sustaining a knee injury on Nov. 4. Damion Lee added 16 points and reserve Saben Lee had a season-best 15 as Phoenix won for just the third time in its past 15 games.
Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving scored 21 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter while playing through a calf injury. He also had seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals but couldn’t prevent the Nets from matching their season worst of four straight setbacks. Nic Claxton had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Joe Harris and Seth Curry scored 16 points apiece and Cam Thomas added 15.
Timberwolves 128, Raptors 126
D’Angelo Russell scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Minnesota rallied from an early 18-point deficit to beat Toronto in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves closed the game on an 18-4 run and completed the comeback when Russell converted two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining. The Raptors’ O.G. Anunoby’s 3-point attempt missed the mark with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Anthony Edwards had 23 points and Kyle Anderson added 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Minnesota. Scottie Barnes led Toronto with a season-high 29 points, while Fred VanVleet had 25 points and 10 assists.
76ers 105, Blazers 95
Joel Embiid dominated a matchup with Jusuf Nurkic, the Philadelphia defense harassed Damian Lillard into 6-for-21 shooting and the visitors staved off a late Portland rally.
Embiid led all scorers with 32 points, and James Harden aided the Philadelphia cause with 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, his fourth triple-double of the season. The 76ers won for the fourth straight time on an eight-day, five-game trip that ends Saturday in Sacramento. Tyrese Maxey added 15 points, Tobias Harris 11 and Shake Milton 10.
Bouncing back from a brutal first half, Lillard had a team-high 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their second in a row. Jerami Grant chipped in with 24 points for the Trail Blazers, while Nurkic managed a game-high 11 rebounds but just four points on 2-for-10 shooting in 24 foul-plagued minutes.
Bulls 126, Pistons 108
Chicago extended its dominance of Detroit to two continents as it never trailed in a victory in Paris, France, the first NBA game in Europe since 2020.
Zach LaVine poured in 30 points as the Bulls defeated their Central Division rival for the 13th consecutive time. DeMar DeRozan racked up 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists as seven Bulls scored in double figures.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 25 points. Hamidou Diallo tossed in 17 points, while Saddiq Bey and Jaden Ivey had 16 points apiece. Jalen Duren added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
—Field Level Media
