The Boston Celtics secured their ninth consecutive victory within the NBA by defeating the Chicago Bulls 124-113 on Saturday, whereas the Rockets received their eighth straight.
Sam Hauser made seven of the Celtics’ 21 3-pointers, lacking simply as soon as from past the arc on the way in which to 23 factors.
Al Horford additionally scored 23 whereas Jayson Tatum – again after sitting out a victory over the Pistons in Detroit on Friday – led the way in which with 26.
With Tatum again, it was the flip of Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis to relaxation nagging accidents, however the Celtics did not miss a beat.
Horford drilled 5 3-pointers and the Celtics, who led 95-92 going into the fourth quarter relentlessly pulled away.
They took a 10-point lead on Tatum’s finger roll layup with simply over three minutes remaining and a Hauser 3-pointer pushed the result in 13 with 1:29 to play.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 28 factors, however the Bulls dropped their second straight.
“Playing teams like Chicago is a great test for the playoffs because of their ability to go on runs, their ability to impact the game on turnovers, points off turnovers, offensive rebounds, free throws,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned. “They test you on the margins.”
Mazzulla mentioned Boston’s 12-3 benefit in offensive rebounds and their capacity to restrict the Bulls to 11 free-throw makes an attempt was a “recipe for success.”
The Celtics are actually two wins away from equaling their season-best 11-game successful streak.
They pushed their league-best document to 57-14 and lead the Eastern Conference by 11.5 video games over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Rockets, in the meantime, are combating for his or her post-season lives. At eleventh within the West, they’re one place outdoors the play-in match, 1.5 video games behind Tenth-placed Golden State.
Their eight-game successful streak is their longest since 2019 and it owes loads to Jalen Green, who scored 41 factors lower than per week after posting 42 in a win over Washington.
“It won’t really mean anything if we don’t make the playoffs,” Green mentioned of his run of kind.
Green drained seven 3-pointers and Fred VanVleet hit 10 treys because the Rockets made 27 from past the arc within the dominant victory.
VanVleet, who tied James Harden and Chandler Parsons for the Rockets’ document for 3-pointers in a recreation, completed with 34 factors.
“I felt good after the first shot,” VanVleet mentioned. “When it’s going in like that, and you get good looks, teammates find you in good spots.”
The Rockets had been already up 47-23 within the first minute of the second quarter when Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. and Utah’s Kris Dunn traded punches after tangling up on court docket and had been ejected
Houston coach Ime Udokoa mentioned he thought the altercation was a hangover from an ill-tempered trade between the identical two gamers in a January recreation.
Suns rout Spurs
Elsewhere, Devin Booker scored 32 factors to tempo the Phoenix Suns in a wire-to-wire 131-106 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio.
Kevin Durant added 25 factors and Bradley Beal added 13 factors and 12 assists for Phoenix, who’re only a half-game forward of the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks for the sixth and closing automated playoff berth within the West.
The Kings eked out a 109-107 victory over the Magic in Orlando, the place De’Aaron Fox’s 31 factors included two free-throws that put Sacramento up by one with 21.2 seconds remaining.
Keon Ellis added one other free throw and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero missed a three-pointer on the buzzer.
Domantas Sabonis had 21 factors and 14 rebounds for Sacramento, his 53rd straight double-double equaling Kevin Love for the longest such streak for the reason that ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
In New York, Donte DiVincenzo’s 31 factors powered the Knicks to a 105-93 victory over crosstown rivals the Brooklyn Nets.
Miles McBride added 26 factors for the Knicks, who pulled away within the fourth quarter handy the Nets a sixth straight defeat.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
