The Memphis Grizzlies (16-8) stormed the TD Garden on a great night from Ja Morant, who was on the verge of a triple-double with 32 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Memphis was ahead during the first three quarters, but the Boston Celtics (19-5) took the lead at the beginning of the fourth, without being able to shore up the comeback.
Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 27 points and 9 rebounds, while Canarian Santi Aldama, who had few minutes, scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. For Celtics with little success (40% in field goals and 30% in triples), Jrue Holiday scored 23 points, Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown 22 each, while Jayson Tatum signed a double-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists.
Hornets, 102 – Cavaliers, 116
Evan Mobley exploded in Charlotte with 41 points and 10 rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers (21-3) who have returned to the path of victory with their fourth consecutive victory after their double defeat with the Atlanta Hawks. Mobley was accompanied with 18 points each by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Jarrett Allen also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers were up 22, but the Charlotte Hornets (6-17) did not give up and cut the deficit until they were only 4 down (100-104) in the fourth quarter with 5:05 remaining. But Cleveland took back the reins of the game in those final moments with a 2-12 run for the final 102-116. The best of the Hornets was Brandon Miller with 25 points.
Wizards, 122 – Nuggets, 113
Nikola Jokic had to do it all in the game that the Denver Nuggets (11-10) played against the Washington Wizards (3-18). He scored 56 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and distributed 8 assists, but it was still not enough for his Nuggets to win on the Wizards’ court.
The Wizards, who had before them the possibility of overcoming the worst streak in the history of the franchise after losing 16 games in a row, appealed to pride and put together a remarkable game. Jordan Poole led Washington with 39 points, Julian Champagnie contributed 23, while Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas, in charge of the difficult task of marking Jokic, signed a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, in addition to 5 assists and 5 blocks .
The Wizards outscored the Nuggets 48-15 in points from the 3-point line, after finishing 16 of 41 (39%), 9 of them from Poole, to a poor 5 of 24 (20.8%) from Denver.
Pelicans, 109 – Thunder, 119
The Oklahoma City Thunder (18-5) continue to lead the West with their victory in New Orleans led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points and Jalen Williams’ 27. Oklahoma City went up by 30 in the second quarter, but relaxed and allowed the New Orleans Pelicans (5-19) to cut it to just 9 during the fourth quarter. Dejounte Murray with 26 points and Herb Jones with 24 led the local comeback attempt.
Raptors, 118 – Mavericks, 125
Luka Doncic had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the victory, the seventh in a row, for his Dallas Mavericks (16-8), who are second in the West. The Mavericks were up 24 shortly after the end of the third quarter but they played with fire and the Toronto Raptors (7-17) were only 5 points away with 1:35 left. Kyre Irving scored 29 points and Klay Thompson, 20. For the Raptors, Gradey Dick had 27 points, Jakob Poeltl, 20 and Scottie Barnes had a double-double with 19 points and 14 assists.
Knicks, 111 – Pistons, 120
Cade Cunningham also had a triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists), in this case for the Detroit Pistons (10-15), who stormed Madison Square Garden. After Detroit was up 17, the New York Knicks (14-9) got to within just 2 points in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons left New York with no options with a 2-12 run in response. Malik Beasley scored 23 points for Detroit. For the Knicks without Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson had 31 points and 10 assists, while Mikal Bridges scored 20.
Heat, 121 – Suns, 111
The Phoenix Suns (12-10) are a different team when they don’t have Kevin Durant. Royce O’Neale’s 23 points and Devin Booker’s 21 were not enough on Saturday night in Miami. The Miami Heat (11-10), led by Bam Adebayo’s 25 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, only lost the initiative in the game during the second quarter. Jimmy Butler contributed 24 points to Miami’s score and Duncan Robinson, 19.
#Grizzlies #surprise #beat #Celtics #stellar #Morant
