Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 129-123 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in a testy cross-conference NBA clash on Sunday. Ty Jerome scored 26 points off the bench, Evan Mobley added 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Jarrett Allen scored 13 points with 10 rebounds for Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland. Their seventh straight win improved their league-best record to 47-10.
The Grizzlies, second in the Western Conference and coming off a come-from-behind victory in Orlando on Friday, were led by Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 22 points. Ja Morant added 21 points and 10 assists for Memphis, who trailed 62-56 at half-time but briefly seized a one-point lead early in the third quarter. Cleveland were back on top, and both coaches had already received technical fouls when a scuffle erupted midway through the third quarter, where Mitchell and Desmond Bane got into a scuffle chasing a loose ball and ended up wrestling on the court. Players from each team got involved, with both Mitchell and Bane receiving technical fouls along with Morant and Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson.
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Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he was only sorry that multiple players got involved. “Stay out of the way and let the two guys tussle, everybody else stay out of it,” he said. The Grizzlies kept clawing until the end, slicing an 11-point deficit with 5:54 to play to three with 42.4 seconds on the clock, but the Cavs closed it out at the free-throw line.
Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City also had to battle, finally beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-123 in a game that featured 18 lead changes. League scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points with eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and three blocked shots for the Thunder, who improved to 46-10.
– Tatum fuels Celtics –
The reigning champion Boston Celtics, fueled by a near-triple-double from Jayson Tatum, cruised to a 118-105 victory over the New York Knicks. Tatum scored 25 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the Celtics, who led by as many as 27, thwarted a Knicks comeback bid to post a fifth straight victory. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who trailed 77-50 early in the third quarter but cut the deficit to four points early in the fourth. Back-to-back three-pointers from Derrick White launched a Celtics surge, with the Knicks’ cause further hurt by a right leg injury to Towns, who limped to the bench after a drive to the basket and appeared to be hindered when he returned to the game. “Second half of the season, we all know it’s time to lock in,” Tatum said.
In San Francisco, Stephen Curry poured in 30 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 126-102 victory over Dallas. Jimmy Butler, acquired at the trade deadline, scored 18 points for the Warriors in his home debut. The win was part of a celebratory afternoon on which the Warriors retired the jersey of Andre Iguodala, a four-time champion with the team.
The Detroit Pistons pushed their winning streak to six games with a 148-143 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta. Cade Cunningham scored 38 points with 12 assists and seven rebounds, and the Pistons turned back a Hawks rally that saw Atlanta take a one-point lead with 1:38 remaining. Dennis Schroder scored 16 points, including a driving layup that put the Pistons up for good with 33.2 seconds left.
Elsewhere, Damian Lillard scored 28 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 23 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Milwaukee Bucks in a 120-113 victory over the Miami Heat. Six Bucks players scored in double figures as Milwaukee withstood a 40-point performance from Miami’s Tyler Herro.
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