Jayson Tatum on Wednesday scored 31 points as the Boston Celtics held off a late fightback from the Milwaukee Bucks to win 122-119 in their top-of-table Eastern Conference clash.
Boston had looked to be cruising toward their seventh straight victory after dominating Milwaukee for long periods at TD Garden.
Exploiting the absence of injured Bucks talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Celtics surged into a 21-point lead late in the third quarter after Milwaukee had closed to within five just after halftime.
Photo: AFP
However, a blistering fourth-quarter performance by Milwaukee — who outscored the Celtics 36-21 in the final frame — set up a nerve-shredding finale before Boston squeaked home.
“It was ugly,” Tatum said. “We didn’t play the way we wanted to in the fourth quarter and they went on a run. No lead is safe in the NBA, but a win is a win and we’ll take it.”
Boston improved to 55-14 with the victory, leaving them a hefty 11 games clear of the second-placed Bucks. The Celtics now need just three more wins to be assured of top seeding and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Photo: AFP
Even allowing for the fourth-quarter wobble, few would bet against them returning to the NBA Finals in June after a performance that once again showcased their balanced offense.
Five Boston players finished with double-digit points tallies, including Derrick White (23), Jaylen Brown (21) and Kristaps Porzingis (17). Payton Pritchard added 19 off the bench.
“We’ve just got a really complete team,” Tatum told ESPN. “We’ve been playing great all season, but we’ve still got a long way to go. I like the way that we’re trending, but we’re just focused on getting better every single day.”
Photo: Winslow Townson-USA Today
“We’re not looking to the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve got a game [tomorrow Taiwan time] against [the] Detroit [Pistons] — and that’s the mindset that we’ve got to have.”
With Antetokounmpo absent, Milwaukee’s challenge was spearheaded by Damian Lillard, who finished with 32 points, while Bobby Portis added 24 off the bench.
In other games on Wednesday, Kevin Durant surpassed Shaquille O’Neal to move into eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list as the Phoenix Suns eased past the Philadelphia 76ers 115-102.
Photo: AP
Durant, eight points behind O’Neal’s tally of 28,596 points before the game, drained a jump shot in the third quarter to move past the former Los Angeles Lakers icon.
“Well deserved,” O’Neal said in a video message to Durant. “It doesn’t stop here... If anybody was gonna pass me, it was definitely gonna be you.”
Durant finished the night with 22 points, while Grayson Allen led the Suns scoring with 32 points, including nine three-pointers.
Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA Today
In San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors bounced back from Monday’s defeat to the New York Knicks to hand the Memphis Grizzlies a 137-116 drubbing.
The Warriors improved to 36-32 and remain 10th in the West.
In Cleveland, the Miami Heat produced a barnstorming finale to pip the Cavaliers 107-104, while the Sacramento Kings eased past the Toronto Raptors 123-89 and the Indiana Pacers swatted aside Detroit 122-103.
Photo: AP
Western Conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder breezed past the Utah Jazz 119-107, while the LA Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 116-103.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
FINAL WEEK LOOMS: PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed Stuttgart, while Man City require victory against Club Brugge Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg. Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week. Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge. “We will
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
RSS