BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Jayson Tatum had 27 on his 26th birthday and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics had the third-largest winning margin in franchise history, drubbing the weary Golden State Warriors 140-88 on Sunday.
Payton Pritchard added 19 points to help Boston extend its season-best winning streak to 11. The Celtics who set an NBA record with their third win this season by 50 points or more. They led by a franchise-record 44 points at halftime and pushed it to 51 early in the third quarter before coach Joe Mazzulla went to his reserves.
The Celtics led by a franchise-record 44 points at halftime and pushed it to 51 early in the third quarter before coach Joe Mazzulla went to his reserves.
Stephen Curry didn’t play the second half and finished with a season-low four points for Golden State, his fewest since he had three points in 16 minutes on March 16, 2022 at Boston - a game he departed with a foot injury.
Curry was 2 of 13 from the field Sunday and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts, including consecutive airballs in the opening quarter.
The Warriors had won 11 of 13, including the first three of their East Coast trip that included three games in four days and a difficult trip to Toronto in which they sat on a tarmac for hours overnight.
KNICKS 107, CAVALIERS 98
CLEVELAND (AP) - Josh Hart had a triple-double, Donte DiVincenzo scored 28 points and New York regrouped to beat Cleveland after losing All-Star guard Jalen Brunson in the first minute with a left knee injury.
Hart finished with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in helping the Knicks cope for one night without Brunson, their latest starter to get hurt.
Brunson was hurt on New York’s first possession. Coming off a screen on the left side, Brunson rose for a jump shot near the foul line when he appeared to feel pain on lift off. He shot an air ball and landed before stumbling and dropping to the floor near the 3-point line in obvious discomfort.
Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen scored 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (sore knee) and top sub Caris LeVert (elbow).
THUNDER 118, SUNS 110
PHOENIX (AP) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points and Oklahoma City beat Phoenix to take the Western Conference lead, rebounding after blowing a 24-point lead.
Jusuf Nurkic broke the Suns’ franchise record with 31 rebounds, the most in an NBA game in 14 years. He also had 14 points - and five of Phoenix’s 21 turnovers. The Suns played without star guard Devin Booker after he sprained his right ankle late in a loss to Houston on Saturday night.
Oklahoma City improved to 42-18 to take a half-game lead over Northwest Division rivals Denver and Minnesota in the Western Conference. The Thunder had won six in a row before losing Thursday night at San Antonio.
Bradley Beal scored 31 points for Phoenix.
CLIPPERS 89, TIMBERWOLVES 88
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Kawhi Leonard had 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Minnesota in a physical and defensive game between two of the top four teams in the Western Conference.
Norman Powell matched a season-high with 24 points, and Paul George added 15 points, but shot just 5 of 16 from the field and was 3 of 11 from 3-point range.
The Clippers played without Russell Westbrook after he fractured his left hand in a home victory over Washington on Friday night. Ivica Zubac returned after missing two games with an illness.
Anthony Edwards scored 27 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves lost back-to-back games for just the third time this season.
76ERS 120, MAVERICKS 116
DALLAS (AP) - Tobias Harris scored 28 points, Tyrese Maxey added 24 and Philadelphia beat Dallas Mavericks 120-116 on Sunday.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 of his 21 points after the four-minute mark of the third quarter to help the 76ers win consecutive games for the second time in the 14 straight games Joel Embiid has missed. There is no timetable for the reigning MVP’s return after surgery on his left knee.
Luka Doncic had 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Dallas his third consecutive triple-double. He also had seven of 17 turnovers for the sloppy Mavericks.
SPURS 117, PACERS 105
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Victor Wembanyama had 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead San Antonio Spurs past Indiana.
Wembanyama added six blocks, six assists and a steal while going 3 for 4 on 3-pointers. Malaki Branham had 18 points, and Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each had 17.
T.J. McConnell had 26 points for Indiana. The Pacers have lost three of four.
MAGIC 113, PISTONS 91
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Paolo Banchero scored 29 points for a second straight game and Orlando beat Detroit for a four-game season sweep.
At 35-26, the Magic surpassed last season’s victory total with 21 games left. Orlando has won 11 of 14 games.
Evan Fournier led Detroit with 17 points. The Pistons are 9-51.
RAPTORS 111, HORNETS 106
TORONTO (AP) - Immanuel Quickley scored 22 points and matched his season high with 11 assists, RJ Barrett had 23 points and Toronto beat Charlotte,
Gary Trent Jr. added 17 points and Ochai Agbaji had 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds as the Raptors overcame the absence of All-Star Scottie Barnes after he broke a bone in his left hand Friday night.
Brandon Miller had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Please read our comment policy before commenting.