The Boston Celtics, fueled by a near triple-double from Jayson Tatum, on Sunday held off the short-handed, but determined Miami Heat 110-106 in an NBA clash that turned testy in a tense fourth quarter.
NBA leaders Boston, who blew out the Heat last month, found the going tougher this time as the Heat cut a 15-point third-quarter deficit to two with less than two minutes remaining.
Boston star Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Duncan Robinson exchanged heated words after tangling early in the final period, with Brown assessed a flagrant foul, but the Celtics — stunned by the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season — kept their heads down and polished off Miami.
Photo: Jim Rassol-USA Today
Tatum scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points, Brown scored 20 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 15 for the Celtics, who made 16 of 39 three-point attempts.
Tyler Herro scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half. His three-pointer with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining pulled the Heat within 106-104, but Porzingis and Tatum sealed the win at the free-throw line.
“They’re a good team, they’re going to go on runs,” Tatum said. “You’ve just got to withstand it and answer.”
Tatum said the Celtics are “better than we were last year at this point,” but cautioned that the pressure “really kicks up” after next week’s NBA All-Star Game break.
“We’re playing good basketball, but we’ve still got some ways to go,” he said. “But I think we’re on the right direction.”
The Heat were without their scoring and assists leader Jimmy Butler, who was absent from the team after a death in his family.
They also lost Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson to injuries. Rozier made an awkward landing on his right leg on a drive to the basket in the third quarter. Richardson departed in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
In Sunday’s only other game, Western Conference contenders Oklahoma City snapped a two-game skid with a 127-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and Jalen Williams added 32 for the Thunder, who bounced back from a lopsided loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
The Thunder have not lost three straight all season and they looked determined to keep it that way, jumping to an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter.
“Usually when we lose and we lose big it’s because of our first quarter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We set the tone early and that gave us the edge the rest of the game.”
Oklahoma City led by 17 going into the fourth quarter and Sacramento could not get the deficit below seven points in the final period.
Kings center Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, while Malik Monk scored 26 points off the bench.
De’Aaron Fox, who was averaging almost 27 points per game, was held to 15 as the Thunder scored 30 points off 18 Kings turnovers.
“We got into a good rhythm,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We were playing fast, we were getting stops and when we get out in transition we’re the best version of ourselves.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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