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Jayson Tatum scored 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Wednesday to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to a 125-112 victory over visiting Dallas despite Luka Doncic’s 42 points.
The Celtics, whose nine-game hitting streak was ended in Chicago on Monday, bounced back to dominate the Mavericks, improving to 7-1 in Boston and an NBA best 14-4 overall.
Tatum’s remarks
“I think we were stuck from the start,” Tatum said. “Losing to Chicago made us regroup and refocus.
“We just knew they were a really talented team. Luka is the head of the snake. It was nice to come home and get back in the win column.”
It was Tatum’s 10th career game with 35 points and 10 rebounds. He went 11 of 24 from the field and 13 of 15 from the free throw line.
In an early season showdown of the NBA Most Valuable Player nominees, leading scorer Doncic responded with career-high point totals on 17-of-28 shooting and 5=of-9 from the line. The Slovenian guard also had nine assists and eight rebounds.
“Everyone knows how talented and special he is,” Tatum said. “He can do many things on the pitch. He’s someone I respect and enjoy competing against.”
The Celtics led 70-49 at halftime and by double digits from the end of the first quarter until Doncic sparked a late rally to put Dallas up 114-105 with 3:43 left.
Al Horford hit back with a 3-pointer to spark a 10-2 run in Boston, and Dallas was never to 13 again.
The Sacramento Kings had their seven-game hitting streak snapped when Trae Young scored 35 points to lead the host Atlanta Hawks to a 115-106 victory.
Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to power on Sacramento (10-7). Clint Capela grabbed 14 rebounds for the Hawks (11-7).
Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers over Portland 114-96 and extend their streak to four games.
The Cavs improved to 8-1 at home and 12-6 overall with Darius Garland posting 24 points and 12 assists while Jarrett Allen added 24 points and 13 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and added eight assists to lead the Chicago Bulls lead host Milwaukee 118-113, putting the Bucks to 12-5 despite 36 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists by Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Colby White and Nikola Vucevic hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Chicago a 115-109 lead, and DeRozan and Patrick Williams hit late free throws to seal the triumph.
The T-Wolves defeat the Pacers
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Frenchman Rudy Gobert contributed 21 points and 16 rebounds in Minnesota’s 115-101 victory at Indiana.
Myles Turner scored a career-high 31 points for the Pacers, whose five-game hitting streak has ended.
Zion Williamson scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 129-110 victory in San Antonio. He shot 14 of 18 from the floor and 4 of 8 from the free throw line.
In Miami, Kyle Lowry scored 28 points and Caleb Martin had 24 to power the host Heat up Washington 113-105. Kyle Kuzman had a Wizards-high 33 points.
The Brooklyn Nets, humbled by Tuesday’s loss to a Philadelphia team lacking three top starters, bounced back to win in Toronto 112-98.
Kyrie Irving had 29 points, Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton each added 14 points and Kevin Durant had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Nets.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points and PJ Washington added 19 to spark the Charlotte Hornets against visiting Philadelphia 107-101.
Shake Milton led the 76ers with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Mason Plumlee and Nick Richards each had 13 rebounds for the Hornets.
The Denver Nuggets rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to win in overtime at Oklahoma City 131-126.
Nikola Jokic had 39 points plus 10 rebounds and nine assists for Denver and hit two game-winning free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining in overtime.
Bruce Brown had a triple double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets while Aaron Gordon had 30 points for Denver. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points.
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