Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The NBA champion Boston Celtics, fueled by 32 points from Jayson Tatum, bounced back from an overtime defeat with a gritty 124-109 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday. Tatum added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists in a physical game that saw tensions erupt in the fourth quarter when former Celtic Grant Williams sent Tatum sprawling with a shoulder-to-shoulder check. Williams was ejected, but Brown and others were clearly angered.
Less than a minute later, LaMelo Ball was assessed a flagrant foul for crowding in under Tatum as the Celtics star attempted a three-pointer, and Charlotte’s Miles Bridges was ejected in the final minutes for punching the ball. It all could make for fireworks when the teams face off again on Saturday, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wasn’t fazed. “I loved it,” said Mazzulla, who received a technical foul as did his Hornets counterpart Charles Lee. “It was tremendous.”
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“Physical game, guys handled it well, great poise, great execution,” added Mazzulla, who was particularly pleased with Tatum’s response to the foul by Williams. “I’m glad he’s fine,” Mazzulla said. “What I liked most is how he jumped right up, didn’t lay around … went to the free-throw line and did his business.”
In Toronto, the Los Angeles Lakers let a 26-point lead dwindle to single digits but held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 131-125 victory over the Raptors. LeBron James set the tone early, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the first quarter. Anthony Davis poured in 38 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in another monster offensive effort. However, he was more concerned that the Lakers, up 76-51 at halftime, let the Raptors back into the game. That lead was halved with 1:02 remaining before the Lakers closed it out. “Unacceptable,” Davis said. “We won, and we’ll take the win for sure because it’s hard to win in this league, especially on the road. But we’re a long way from where we want to be,” he added. “If we’re going to have any goals and aspirations to do anything this season, we can’t allow that on the defensive end.”
– Cavs, Thunder unbeaten –
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City remained the league’s only unbeaten teams. The Cavs improved to 6-0 with a wire-to-wire 120-109 victory over the injury-hit Orlando Magic. Darius Garland scored 25 points and Donovan Mitchell added 22 for the Cavs. Jalen Suggs scored 28 to lead Orlando, who learned Thursday that top forward Paolo Banchero would be sidelined indefinitely with a torn right oblique muscle. The Thunder beat Portland 137-114 to improve to 5-0.
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Timberwolves surged home to beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 119-116 after a roller-coaster fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards scored 29 points, Julius Randle added 23, and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds, drilling a pair of free throws to seal it in the waning seconds. Gobert got into it earlier in the fourth with Denver’s Christian Braun, who dunked over the French veteran then yelled in his face, prompting Gobert to grab him. Both players were slapped with technical fouls.
The Timberwolves had led by 12 early in the final period only to find themselves down by 10 with less than four minutes to play. Nickeil Alexander-Walker boosted the Timberwolves’ late comeback, scoring all eight of his points in the fourth quarter and forcing two turnovers. Aaron Gordon’s 31 points and 11 rebounds led the Nuggets. Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. had 26 points each in defeat. Denver’s Jamal Murray was limited to six points before departing in the third quarter after an on-court collision sent him into concussion protocol.
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