New York (AFP) – Jaylen Brown rattled in 29 points as the Boston Celtics got back to winning ways with a 108-89 rout of the Miami Heat on Monday. Brown, who missed Boston’s 115-111 home defeat to Cleveland on Sunday due to illness, spearheaded a potent Celtics offensive effort against a depleted Miami line-up at TD Garden. The 28-year-old shooting guard finished with seven rebounds and four assists as Boston improved to 17-4 to remain second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavaliers.
Payton Pritchard once again caught the eye with a sharpshooting performance off the bench, knocking down five three-pointers from 12 attempts to finish with 25 points. Derrick White, who also missed Sunday’s defeat to Cleveland, also impressed for the NBA champions with 19 points including five three-pointers. Jayson Tatum added 18 points as Boston kept the scoreboard ticking over, establishing a hefty double-digit lead midway through the third quarter before cruising to victory. The Celtics’ prowess from outside the arc was decisive, with Boston making 19-of-55 attempts from three-point range, in sharp contrast to Miami, who finished with only 8-of-35. Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. led Miami’s scorers with 19 points apiece.
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In Minneapolis, the Timberwolves blew past an anemic Los Angeles Lakers offensive performance to romp to a 109-80 victory. The Lakers led fleetingly in the first quarter but were never in the contest thereafter, making just 32-of-79 attempts from the court and converting just six three-pointers from 31 attempts throughout. Julius Randle led Minnesota with 18 points while Rudy Gobert finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard D’Angelo Russell topped the Lakers scorers with 20 points while Anthony Davis added 12 points. LeBron James finished with just 10 points from 4-of-16 shooting.
In Atlanta, De’Andre Hunter bagged 22 points while Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels added 19 points each to give the Hawks a comfortable 124-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Atlanta’s fourth straight victory helped them improve to 11-11 for the season. The Pelicans meanwhile remain bottom of the Western Conference after stumbling to their ninth consecutive defeat.
In Chicago, the Bulls powered to a 128-102 drubbing of the Brooklyn Nets thanks to 21 points from Nikola Vucevic and a triple double from Australian star Josh Giddey, who posted 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.
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