San Francisco (AFP) – Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis and Ja Morant of Memphis made triumphant and long-awaited NBA returns from injuries on Monday, while Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to spark a Dallas victory at Atlanta. Porzingis had 16 points, hitting five-of-six from inside three-point range, with six rebounds, two blocks, and two assists in 23 minutes for the reigning champion Celtics in a 126-94 home rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. “Good to go and looking forward to many, many great wins,” Porzingis said.
Latvian center Porzingis had been sidelined for five months following left ankle surgery last June after being injured in the NBA Finals. “It has been killing me inside not to be able to be out there,” said Porzingis. “But it was worth the wait to come back now and finally be with my guys. It has been maybe a couple weeks I’ve been nearing the finish line of starting to play and as I was ramping up I was getting more and more antsy to be out there finally. And here it is.”
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Asked about his ankle, Porzingis said: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I did have a couple flat tires on some lobs but I was still able to finish it and I’m happy with the game, happy with the win and with each game I’m only going to find my rhythm more and more.”
**Morant sparks Grizzlies**
Jayson Tatum and reserve Payton Pritchard each scored 20 points to lead the Celtics while Derrick White had 19 and Jaylen Brown added 17. “No matter who is in or out on this team, we’re an unbelievably built team,” Porzingis said. “It’s like nothing, whoever is out, we can still win any game.” Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with 23 points and 10 rebounds while James Harden had 19 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists.
At Memphis, Morant was back to his fast-breaking, slam-dunking top form to spark the Grizzlies over Portland 123-98. Morant scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half and added 11 assists while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points for Memphis. Morant has missed the past eight games for the Grizzlies after suffering a hip injury in a fall against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 6.
In Atlanta, Irving scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half to lead the Dallas Mavericks over the host Hawks 129-119. Jaden Hardy added 23 points while Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie each added 22 for the Mavs. Jalen Johnson scored 28 for Atlanta, who have lost three in a row.
**Thunder alone atop West**
Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed sole possession of the Western Conference lead at 13-4 after their 130-109 victory at the Sacramento Kings and Golden State’s 128-120 home defeat to the Brooklyn Nets. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and 11 assists and Jalen Williams scored 28 points for the Thunder, who were coming off a four-day break, while DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 30 points.
At San Francisco, Brooklyn’s Dennis Schroder scored 31 points and Cam Thomas had 23. Stephen Curry top scored with 28 for the Warriors, who fell to 12-5 and host the Thunder on Wednesday.
Detroit’s Jaden Ivey scored the last of his team-high 25 points on a floater at the final buzzer to give the Pistons a 102-100 victory over visiting Toronto. O.G. Anunoby scored 40 points to lead New York’s 145-118 rout at Denver. Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 15 rebounds while Jalen Brunson had 23 points and 17 assists for the Knicks.
Russell Westbrook led the Nuggets with 27 points off the bench. Tyrese Haliburton scored 34 points and passed off 13 assists to lead the host Indiana Pacers over New Orleans 114-110. Germany’s Franz Wagner scored 21 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 95-84 victory at Charlotte despite LaMelo Ball’s game-high 44 points for the Hornets.
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