Summary
Jayson Tatum seemed inspired by LeBron James’ spectacular performance on Saturday night. Tatum took it easy against the Brooklyn Nets and provided 54 points as the Celtics won 126-120.
This is Tatum’s second career-best performance, following his 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs on April 30, 2021. It’s also the 4th time in his career that he’s scored at least 50 points in a game, which ties Larry Bird’s franchise record. Tatum had eight shots from downtown against the Nets. He added five rebounds and three assists.
“I am very confident. I still have a long road ahead of me to accomplish what I want to accomplish, but I want to enjoy the moment, I have fun. I do what I love every day,” Tatum said after the encounter.
Jaylen Brown contributed in the win with 21 points.
Despite his performance, Tatum wasn’t the only one in great form on Sunday afternoon. In the Brooklyn camp, Kevin Durant had 37 points in addition to adding six rebounds and eight assists.
This performance by Durant also allowed him to become the 23rd player in NBA history to reach the milestone of 25,000 career points.
Kyrie Irving contributed with 19 points and Bruce Brown added 16.
Boston wins a third straight game and has now won 14 of its last 16 games.
Middleton and Holiday take over
Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday made sure the Milwaukee Bucks survive Giannis Antetokounmpo’s troubles.
Middleton had a season-high 44 points, Holiday had 24 and the Bucks rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 132-122 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory.
Holiday scored 17 points and Middleton had 16 in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks edge the Suns 12-1 in the final three minutes. They are the first Bucks teammates to each score at least 15 points in a fourth quarter of a single game in the past 25 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Bucks won their fourth straight game and their third in the past five days. Milwaukee beat the East-leading Miami Heat 120-119 on Wednesday and Chicago 118-112 on Friday before overcoming the NBA-leading Suns.
It was the Suns’ first visit since Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in a 105-98 Game 6 victory that gave the Bucks their first NBA title in 50 years. In their only previous game this season, the Suns won 131-107 at Phoenix on Feb. 10.
This time, Antetokounmpo had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes before committing a foul with 1:12 to go.
The Suns were playing without Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Booker, who missed his third straight game due to NBA health and safety protocol. Paul fractured his right thumb on February 16.
Phoenix was also without Cam Johnson, two days after scoring 38 points in a 115-114 win over the New York Knicks.
Deandre Ayton led the Suns with 30 points. Cam Payne got 23, Landry Shamet 17 and Mikal Bridges 14.
Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks. Jordan Nwora had 12 points and Grayson Allen added 10.
The Suns were leading 107-102 when Antetokounmpo was benched after picking up his fifth foul with 7:40 to go.
Jokic and the Nuggets too strong
The Nuggets needed overtime, but with Nikola Jokic in their ranks, they controlled the Pelicans to win 138-130.
Jokic was intractable in all facets of the game Sunday night with a hat-trick of 46 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He also added three steals and four blocks.
It’s the second time this season that Jokic has scored a hat-trick of more than 40 points. In the history of the Nuggets, Michael Adams has succeeded only once, in 1991. No one but Jokic and Adams have managed to achieve such a performance.
In the win, Jokic was backed up by Aaron Gordon’s 28 points. Monte Morris added 18 points.
In the Pelicans camp, Brandon Ingram fought well with a performance of 38 points and nine assists.
CJ McCollum added 24 points for New Orleans.
Trailing 130-126 in overtime, the Nuggets led a 12-game point streak to clear the Pelicans.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Indiana 123 – Washington 133
IND : Malcolm Brogdon a obtenu 27 points
WAS : Kristaps Porzingis totaled 25 points
Memphis 112 – Houston 123
MEM : Desmond Bane got 28 points
HOU : Kevin Porter Jr. had 29 points and five assists
Utah 116 – Oklahoma City 103
UTA: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 35 points
OKC : Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and eight assists
New York – Clippers de Los Angeles
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