Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The NBA champion Boston Celtics crushed the Golden State Warriors 125-85 on Monday as current league leaders Cleveland romped past the Phoenix Suns. Jayson Tatum scored 22 points with nine rebounds and seven assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter for the Celtics, who handed the Warriors their worst home defeat since a 149-104 loss to Dallas in 1985. Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and Jaylen Brown chipped in 17 for Boston, who took full advantage of the absence of Draymond Green, the latest Warriors injury victim after he strained his left calf on Saturday.
“Those are some of the tricky games in the NBA, when (teams) have some star players out, other guys get a different role,” Tatum said. “We fell victim to that a couple of times this year, so (we were) just trying to lock in from the beginning.” Up by 15 at halftime, the Celtics erupted for 43 points in the third quarter. Stephen Curry scored 18 points to lead the Warriors and Moses Moody added 13 off the bench — the only Golden State players to score in double figures. “We’ve got to flush this one down the toilet,” head coach Steve Kerr said, calling the blowout “demoralizing”.
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It was just one of the lopsided results as the NBA marked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a day-long slate of games. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points to fuel the Cavaliers in a 118-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Injury absences of Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Caris LeVert did nothing to slow the Cavs, who led by as many as 32 on the way to boosting their league-best record to 36-6. Kevin Durant scored 33 points with seven rebounds to lead the Suns, but Devin Booker — who had scored at least 30 points in the Suns’ last five games — was held to 15 points on six-of-14 shooting.
– Pelicans rally –
In New Orleans, the Pelicans authored the biggest comeback in franchise history, erasing a 25-point deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 123-119 in overtime. CJ McCollum scored 24 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Dejounte Murray added 26 points and 11 assists for the Pelicans. They notched their fifth win in their last six games despite the absence of ailing star Zion Williamson.
In Memphis, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Grizzlies fight back from a 16-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-106. Desmond Bane added 22 points and Ja Morant scored 19 for Memphis, who took their first lead of the second half on Bane’s floater in the lane with 3:21 remaining. “It was ugly from the start, but we kept competing and found a way down the stretch,” Bane said.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points to lead the Timberwolves, but missed a potential game-winning three-pointer as time expired. New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 34 points to propel the Knicks to a 119-110 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young scored 27 points, leading seven Hawks players to score in double figures, but Atlanta saw their three-game winning streak end. The Detroit Pistons shook off back-to-back home losses with a 107-96 victory over the Rockets in Houston. Cade Cunningham scored 32 points with nine rebounds and seven assists, and Jalen Duren added a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds with four steals and two blocked shots.
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