Jayson Tatum had 51 points, including seven triples, and the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets for the second time in three days, 130-118 for their seventh straight victory.
Derrick White added 19 points and eight assists and Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 on Monday for the Celtics, who improved to 33-12 on the season — maintaining the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Tatum was 15 of 23 from the field and 14 of 14 from the foul line.
‘He makes me look like a better coach,’ Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Jayson Tatum scored 51 points to help the Boston Celtic win their seventh straight game
Tatum had seven triples for Boston as they won on the road at the Charlotte Hornets
Jalen McDaniels led the Hornets with a career-high 26 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range. LaMelo Ball finished with 25 points on 8-of-23 shooting. Mason Plumlee had perhaps his best all-around game of the season, with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets (11-34), who’ve lost eight of their last nine games.
The Celtics set the tone early, jumping out to a 35-22 lead in the first quarter after holding the Hornets to 28.6 per cent shooting from the floor. The Celtics, meanwhile, hit six of 13 threes in the first quarter. Boston finished with 20 from outside the arc.
Charlotte cut the lead to 100-98 early in the fourth quarter, but White was fouled by Dennis Smith Jr. on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws.
Tatum took over in the final period with 17 points.
He drilled a step-back three from the top of the key to push the lead to 10 and put away the game with a long triple with 1:02 left. Then, at the crowd’s urging for him to get to 50 points, Tatum canned a three from left wing with 38 seconds left and the crowd erupted into chants of ‘MVP! MVP!’
‘I hear them and just being in North Carolina, it all feels a little more special, having gone to school two hours away,’ Tatum, who spent one season at Duke before entering the NBA draft, said.
‘Coming here feels like I’m back home a little bit.’
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla heaped praise on Tatum and joked he ‘makes him look better’
Houston Rockets 132, Los Angeles Lakers 140
LeBron James scored a season-high 48 points, the fifth time he has produced at least 35 in his past seven games, and the Los Angeles Lakers ended a three-game losing streak with a 140-132 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and Kendrick Nunn added 15 as the Lakers won for the first time since their five-game winning streak ended Jan. 9. Los Angeles has six wins in its past nine games and is 8-8 since Anthony Davis has been sidelined due to a stress reaction in his right foot.
The Lakers committed a franchise-low two turnovers.
James added nine assists and eight rebounds. He moved to 38,072 points for his career, 315 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time NBA scoring lead.
Alperen Sengun had 33 points, 15 rebounds and six assists and Jalen Green added 23 points for the Rockets, who saw their season-worst losing streak extend to 11 games. Houston has lost 16 of its last 17 games.
LeBron James sends Los Angeles Lakers fans wild after putting on a show against the Rockets
Eric Gordon scored 19 points for the Rockets, who last won a game on Dec. 26.
The Lakers led 37-35 after one quarter and went up 73-61 heading into halftime after shooting 54.2 percent in the first half. Los Angeles tied its highest scoring first half of the season and then led 102-98 after three quarters.
A 13-4 burst to open the fourth quarter pushed the Lakers’ advantage to 13 points with 9:24 remaining. However, a 9-0 run got Houston within 119-116 with 5:06 remaining after a dunk by Kenyon Martin Jr.
The Rockets remained close, pulling within 133-131 on a layup by Gordon with 1:11 left before James banked in a jumper for a 135-131 advantage with 50.1 seconds remaining. James then added two free throws with 40.3 seconds left for a 137-131 lead.
Patrick Beverley scored 11 points for the Lakers after missing the previous two games with a non-COVID illness.
Golden State Warriors 127, Washington Wizards 118
Steph Curry scored 41 points and Jordan Poole added 32 points to help the wobbling Golden State Warriors to a 127-118 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday.
Golden State had lost four of five coming into the game. Draymond Green had 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Kristaps Porzingis led Washington with 32 points. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but struggled from the field, where he was only 5 for 20.
The Warriors trailed 106-105 when Curry made a fallaway 3-pointer against a double team. He made another basket, assisted on the next, and hit a 3-pointer to put the Warriors in front, 115-111 with 3:58 to play. Curry made another stepback 3-pointer with 2:01 to play and Poole hit one with 1:29 to play to vault Golden State in front 123-114.
Steph Curry drives to the basket during the Warriors’ much-needed win over the Wizards
The Wizards reached their biggest lead of the night 89-80, following a Deni Avdija layup with 4:33 to play in the third quarter. But the Warriors quickly closed back to within two points at 93-91 on a Curry 3-pointer, then tied the game on an Anthony Lamb layup. Neither team maintained a lead for more than a spurt through the first three quarters, which had 12 ties, 12 lead changes, and finished tied, 93-93.
Three players dominated the first half. Poole scored 26 points on 10 for 13 shooting, Curry added 21, and Porzingis scored 25 points, his most for a game in January, in the first two quarters. Only Porzingis reached double figures for the Wizards in the first half.
Washington led by six at one point, Golden State by seven, before the first half ended with the Warriors ahead, 69-64.
Before the game, the players honored Martin Luther King Day at the Capital One Arena
Toronto Raptors 123, New York Knicks 121
Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Scottie Barnes had 26 points and the Toronto Raptors recovered in overtime after RJ Barrett’s tying slam with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to beat the New York Knicks 123-121 on Monday.
Pascal Siakam had 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Raptors, but he was on the bench after fouling out when Toronto had to wait out Jalen Brunson’s missed 3-pointer in the final second before emerging with the victory.
O.G. Anunoby hit two 3-pointers in overtime as Toronto built a six-point lead, but New York nearly erased that in the final minute.
Barrett, who is from Toronto, scored 32 points and Brunson had 26 for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Julius Randle finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
RJ Barrett tied the game with a slam with 0.6 seconds left but the Knicks lost in overtime
The Knicks led 101-92 with 5 1/2 minutes to play in regulation before Toronto surged back with a 12-3 run, capped by five straight points from VanVleet to tie it at 104 with 1:30 remaining.
Barnes hit two free throws for a 109-108 lead with 12 seconds left, but when he hit only one with 6.6 seconds to go, Barrett went all the way up the middle of the floor and no Raptors stepped in to stop him before his dunk made it 110-all.
Anunoby hit a couple 3s early in the extra period before Siakam, who scored a career-high 52 points in Toronto’s victory here last month, converted a three-point play that made it 121-115 with 1:23 remaining.
Indiana Pacers 119, Milwaukee Bucks 132
Jrue Holiday scored 35 points and dished out 11 assists, Bobby Portis went for 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers 132-119 on Monday.
The Bucks, playing without two-time MVP and 31-point-per-game scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo for a third consecutive game due to knee soreness, used a dominant fourth quarter to avoid a three-game losing streak.
Milwaukee outscored Indiana 39-21 in the final period thanks to a 14-of-18 shooting effort over the final 12 minutes.
Holiday scored 11 points of his game-high total in the fourth quarter, while Grayson Allen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the period en route to eight of his 17 points during the stanza.
Jrue Holiday scored 35 points as the Bucks rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit vs Pacers
Allen’s performance, which also included five rebounds, four assists and two steals, was part of an all-around balanced effort for Milwaukee. Five Bucks scored in double figures, with Brook Lopez adding 19 points and Jordan Nwora coming off the bench to shoot 4 of 4 from 3-point range and finish with 14 points.
George Hill returned for his first appearance since Jan. 6 and shot 4-for-6 from the floor for nine points. Hill also distributed six assists, with 32 of Milwaukee’s 48 made field goals coming off assists.
The Bucks shot 48 of 91 from the field overall, including 23 of 46 from beyond the arc. Holiday, who went 5-for-8 from deep, led seven Milwaukee shooters connecting on at least two treys. Allen, Lopez and Portis each made three 3-point attempts.
Indiana — playing its third consecutive game without NBA assists leader Tyrese Haliburton — dropped its fourth straight, marking the Pacers’ longest losing skid of the season.
Myles Turner returned to the lineup after a three-game hiatus due to back issues and scored a team-high 30 points. He also matched Bennedict Mathurin’s team high with eight rebounds and blocked a game-high four shots.
T.J. McConnell came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor while going 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Buddy Hield shot 5 of 10 from deep en route to 18 points.
Bobby Portis (right) was another standout star for the Bucks in their 132-119 win Monday
New Orleans Pelicans 103, Cleveland Cavaliers 113
Darius Garland scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied in the fourth quarter with star Donovan Mitchell injured on the bench to beat the road-weary New Orleans Pelicans 113-103 on Monday.
Mitchell scored 11 points in 22 minutes before sitting out the fourth with a strained left groin.
The Cavs were down 81-78 entering the final 12 minutes before Garland made a 3-pointer and fed Allen for a dunk as Cleveland blitzed New Orleans 16-2 to start the period and open an 11-point lead.
The Pelicans were still within striking distance when Garland dropped a pair of 3s in the final two minutes to put them away. Garland scored 25 and added eight of his 11 assists in the second half.
Evan Mobley added 19 points as Cleveland improved to 19-4 at home.
Darius Garland celebrates during his 30-point performance as the Cavaliers beat the Pelicans
The Pelicans were once again without stars Zion Williamson (strained hamstring) and Brandon Ingram (bruised toe) due to injuries. New Orleans has managed to stay competitive despite missing 46 points per game from those two.
C,J. McCollum scored 25 and and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who went 2-3 on a five-game, 10-day trip.
McCollum has had to carry the scoring load with Williamson and Ingram out. He only had four points at half before scoring 14 in the third quarter to help the Pelicans carry a lead into the fourth.
That’s when the Cavs buckled down on defense and Garland went to work.
Mitchell started slowly before asserting himself late in the first half, scoring nine points and making a 3-pointer in the final second to pull the Cavs within 50-47 at the break.
Star man Donovan Mitchell ended the night back on the bench with a strained left groin
Miami Heat 113, Atlanta Hawks 121
Dejounte Murray scored 12 of his 28 points in the final period as Atlanta held off Miami´s comeback attempt.
Trae Young added 24 points as the Hawks, who never trailed, moved back to .500 with the win.
Miami had its three-game winning streak end despite Jimmy Butler´s 34 points. Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Dejounte Murray shoots a three-point basket over Max Strus of the Miami Heat late on
Utah Jazz 126, Minnesota Timberwolves 125
Walker Kessler had career-highs of 20 points and 21 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 21 points and the Utah Jazz rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-125 on Monday.
Collin Sexton added 19 points off the bench for Utah, which had seven players score in double-digits in its third win in four games.
‘I was only here for like two days, but those guys were nothing but polite to me,’ Kessler said of being traded from the Timberwolves to the Jazz in July. ‘My grandad and my dad are from Minnesota. I´ve got some extended family here I´m going to go say hey to, but it was fun. It was a lot of fun to play here.’
Walker Kessler had a career-high 20 points and 21 rebounds as Utah won by a single point
Anthony Edwards scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and D´Angelo Russell added 21 points for Minnesota, which struggled inside against Kessler, the 7-foot-1, 245-pound rookie center.
Kyle Anderson had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost Rudy Gobert to lingering groin soreness early in the game.
‘The story of the game was on offense and ability to finish around the paint,’ Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. ‘I think we were, let’s see here, 28 for 52 in the paint. That’s a lot of misses in the paint. And not all of them were because of great defense. We missed a lot of easy ones.’
Phoenix Suns 106, Memphis Grizzlies 136
The Memphis Grizzlies are making lengthy winning streaks an annual occurrence.
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Ja Morant scored 29 points, Desmond Bane added 28 and the Grizzlies extended their season-high winning streak to 10 games with a 136-106 win over the injury-depleted Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Memphis set a franchise record last season by winning 11 in a row.
Despite another double-digit win streak, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins sees room for improvement.
‘There´s no finished product whatsoever, we´re just trying to find different ways to win ball games, especially at this juncture of the season,’ Jenkins said.
The Suns played without starters Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Paul missed his fifth straight game with a right hip injury. Booker has not played since Christmas Day because of a groin injury.
Ja Morant shone once again for the Memphis Grizzlies as they dispatched with the Suns
