San Francisco (AFP) – The NBA-best Boston Celtics imposed one of their most lopsided romps over Brooklyn on Wednesday, while Golden State three-point sharpshooter Stephen Curry made history in defeat.
Curry’s nine three-pointers made him the first player in NBA history to sink at least seven shots from behind the arc in four consecutive games, but the Warriors squandered a 15-point lead at home and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Boston’s Derrick White scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 20 to propel the Celtics over the Nets 136-86, the fifth-largest victory in club history dating to 1946.
It was the Celtics’ sixth consecutive win, with Kristaps Porzingis scoring all 15 of his points in the first half. “This game said a lot about us,” Porzingis said.
Boston, which had beaten Indiana 155-104 in November, became only the third club in NBA history with two or more 50-point or better wins in a season, joining Milwaukee in 1978-79 and Sacramento in 1992-93.
“It’s a good treat going into All-Star break, winning this big,” Boston forward Sam Hauser said. “It has been a good season so far. Get some time to rest up, get our minds and bodies right. Definitely still some areas to get better at.”
It was also coach Joe Mazzulla’s 100th career triumph over two seasons guiding the Celtics, who improved to 43-12. “It’s something to be proud of, to be grateful for, just a testament to the people you have around you,” Mazzulla said.
Also stretching their win streak to six games were the Dallas Mavericks, who ripped visiting San Antonio 116-93. Kyrie Irving had 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic added 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Mavs. Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs.
At San Francisco, NBA all-time three-pointers leader Curry scored 41 points, shooting nine-of-19 from three-point range, but a fourth-quarter fightback brought the Clippers a 130-125 triumph. James Harden hit for 26 points, Paul George added 24 and Norman Powell had 21, hitting five out of seven three-pointers for the Clippers.
Four-time NBA champion Curry, 35, also made 11 three-pointers in a win over Indiana last Thursday, nine in a triumph over Phoenix on Saturday and seven more last Monday in a victory over Utah.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, powered by Donovan Mitchell’s 30 points, won for the 17th time in 19 games, rallying from 17 points down to edge visiting Chicago 108-105 despite Coby White’s 32 points for the Bulls. “That’s a playoff-type basketball game. We physically gutted it out,” Mitchell said. “For us to lock in in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, it was big time.” The Cavs, who first led 80 seconds into the fourth quarter, stayed six games behind Boston in the Eastern Conference. “We’re a tough group,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day we’ve got to go out there and prove it.”
– Hachimura’s career high – Japan’s Rui Hachimura scored a career-high 33 points with LeBron James out due to an ankle injury as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 138-122 victory at Utah. Anthony Davis had game-highs of 37 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.
Former Toronto star Pascal Siakam made a triumphant Canadian return with Indiana, scoring 23 points, while Tyrese Haliburton added 21 to power the Pacers over the Raptors 127-125.
At Philadelphia, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each scored 23 points for Miami in a 109-104 victory. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 30 points.
Domantas Sabonis scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to fire the Sacramento Kings to a 102-98 victory at reigning NBA champion Denver.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero had 36 points to ignite the Magic’s 118-100 home rout of the New York Knicks, who got 33 points from Jalen Brunson.
Brandon Miller scored 26 points to spark the Charlotte Hornets over visiting Atlanta 122-99, while Kevin Durant had a game-high 25 points to lead Phoenix over visiting Detroit 116-100.
Zion Williamson scored 36 points to lead New Orleans over visiting Washington 133-126. Deni Avdija had 43 points in defeat.
The Memphis Grizzlies snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 121-113 home victory over Houston.
