Celtics smash Clippers to snap LA’s winning streak
Jayson Tatum has scored 20 points and Boston made 22 three-pointers in a 126-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Payton Pritchard added 20 points for the Celtics (15-3), who extended their season-high winning streak to six games.
Kristaps Porzingis finished with 16 points on six-of-12 shooting for the defending NBA champions, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks in his season debut following off-season ankle surgery.
Ivica Zubac led the Clippers (11-8) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. James Harden added 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for LA.
The Celtics went four-for-17 from outside in the first quarter, then opened the second by connecting on 10 of their first 13 attempts from beyond the arc. It helped stretch what had been a seven-point lead after the opening 12 minutes to 19 points.
In Atlanta, Kyrie Irving had 32 points, six assists and seven rebounds as Dallas beat the Hawks 129-119 without star Luka Doncic (wrist).
Irving had 10 points at halftime after being stifled by Atlanta’s Australian guard Dyson Daniels, but got hot in the second half, including a stretch where he hit five consecutive field goals.
Jalen Johnson compiled 28 points and 10 rebounds, Trae Young had 18 points and 16 assists, while Daniels registered 17 points, one rebound and two assists.
Fellow Boomer Josh Green had two points and three boards in Charlotte’s 95-84 loss to Orlando.
Franz Wagner scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic withstood a 44-point performance by the Hornets’ LaMelo Ball.
Ball, coming off a career-high 50-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
Elsewhere, the Pistons beat Toronto 102-100 in Detroit thanks to a Jaden Ivey buzzer-beating jumper, and Tyrese Haliburton finished with 34 points and 13 assists and made a season-best nine three-pointers to lead the Indiana Pacers past New Orleans, 114-100.
Trey Murphy III led the Pelicans with 24 points, matching his season high. CJ McCollum added 23 points in his first action in nearly a month, and Elfrid Payton dished out a career-high 21 assists – the most in an NBA game this season.
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