Each victory in the Hornets’ six win streak came by at least 16 points as Charlotte (32-31) moved over the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-1 in October. The Hornets lost 14 of their first 18 games.

Charlotte, which has a 16-3 record in its past 19 games, scored the first eight points and never trailed.

Boston’s Derrick White led all scorers with 29 points. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 7 of 19 from the field. No other Boston player scored more than nine points.

The Celtics’ Payton Pritchard missed each of his six field-goal attempts and failed to score. Pritchard entered the contest averaging 17.1 points per game.

Boston, which had won 12 of its previous 14 games, finished 30 of 79 (38%) from the field.

Grant Williams (knee) and Tidjane Salaun (knee) didn’t play for Charlotte. Salaun was injured in the Hornets’ Tuesday victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Hornets elected to not play Williams on the second night of back-to-back contests.

Charlotte had a 35-23 advantage after one quarter and led 64-43 at halftime. The Hornets made 12 of 25 3-point attempts in the first half.

Boston cut its deficit to 14 points with 7:44 left in the third on two free throws from White, but a 12-2 run put the Hornets up 82-58 when Knueppel sank a layup. Charlotte had a 91-68 lead after three quarters.

The post Hornets Easily Handle Celtics appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the court after missing 15 games with a strained right calf, but his Milwaukee Bucks fell 108-81 to the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday night. Boston’s Payton Pritchard had a team-high 25 points and nine assists for the Celtics, who received 18 points and 16 rebounds, both career highs, from rookie Hugo Gonzalez.

Derrick White added 18 points and nine assists for Boston, which made 20 of 50 3-point attempts. The Celtics played without leading scorer Jaylen Brown (illness) and starting center Neemias Queta (rest). Brown is averaging 29.0 points per game, and Queta had 27 points and 17 rebounds in the Celtics’ Sunday win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Antetokounmpo, who played for the first time since Jan. 23, produced team-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds. He entered the game averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season.

Milwaukee failed to score more than 23 points in any quarter and was outscored 25-16 in the fourth. The Bucks, who shot 27 of 74 (36.5%) from the field, received 13 points from Ousmane Dieng and 12 from Bobby Portis. Kyle Kuzma was a healthy scratch.

Milwaukee scored the game’s first seven points but trailed 30-20 after one quarter. Boston built a 22-point lead in the second quarter on a White 3-pointer and had a 57-43 advantage at halftime.

The Bucks cut the deficit to nine points early in the third quarter, but a 15-0 run gave Boston a 74-50 lead with 6:22 remaining in the quarter after a fastbreak layup by Gonzalez. Milwaukee scored the next 10 points, but the Bucks trailed 83-65 after three quarters.

Boston had its largest lead, 102-71, following a Pritchard 3-pointer with 4:06 to play.

The game was the third meeting between Boston and Milwaukee this season. The Bucks earned a 116-101 home victory on Dec. 11, and the Celtics prevailed 107-79 at home on Feb. 1.

–Field Level Media

The post Celtics Blitz the Bucks appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes as the Boston Celtics pulled away in the second half for a 148-111 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Boston, which had a six-point lead midway through the third quarter, outscored Brooklyn 82-54 in the second half.

The Celtics received 28 points, seven rebounds and nine assists from Jaylen Brown. Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 22 points, and Derrick White added 12 points and seven assists. Boston made 52 of 78 field-goal attempts (66.7%). The Celtics were 22 of 34 from 3-point range (64.7%). White, Brown and Pritchard each made four 3-pointers. The Celtics, who scored at least 31 points in each quarter, are 10-2 in their last 12 games.

Michael Porter Jr. led lowly Brooklyn with 18 points. Danny Wolf scored 16 and Nic Claxton finished with 12 as the outcome extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to seven games.

A 10-0 run handed Boston a 26-15 advantage with 4:47 remaining in the opening quarter. The Celtics made each of their six 3-point attempts in the quarter and had a 35-32 lead after 12 minutes.

The Nets were within three points, 57-54, with 2:42 to play in the first half, but Boston held a 66-57 halftime lead.

The Celtics took control in the third, when they outscored the Nets 43-26. A 12-0 run put Boston up 94-76, and the Celtics had their first lead of at least 20 points when two Vucevic free throws made it 98-78 with 3:07 left in the quarter.

The Celtics led 109-83 at the end of the third, and pushed the lead to 34 by scoring the first eight points in the fourth. Boston’s lead peaked at 41 points.

It was Boston’s third victory in four games against Brooklyn this season.

–Field Level Media

The post Vucevic Leads Celtics’ BIG 2nd Half appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – Derrick White scored 22 points, Neemias Queta had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the visiting Boston Celtics rolled over the short-handed Phoenix Suns 97-81 to extend their winning streak to four. Sam Hauser scored 16 points and Bailey Scheierman had 11 points and 11 rebounds in his third career double-double for the Celtics, who have won nine of 10 and are a season-high 19 games over .500. White and Hauser had four 3-pointers apiece for Boston.

The Celtics trailed 41-30 at 6:41 of the second quarter before going on an extended 50-11 run to take control with an 80-52 lead on Nikola Vukevic’s basket with 1:39 left in the third quarter.

Collin Gillespie scored 15 points, Grayson Allen scored 14 and Jalen Green added 13 points for the Suns, who played without leading scorers Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks for the second straight game.

The Suns have lost seven of 10.

Boston has won five in a row in the series and the last four in Phoenix.

The Suns went on a 14-0 run over the late third and early fourth quarters to close to 80-66 with 9:24 remaining, but Scheierman’s corner 3-pointer pushed the Celtics’ lead back 90-68 with 5:51 to play.

The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown (knee contusion), who was held out in the first game of a back-to-back, and got only eight points from Payton Pritchard, who was 2 of 13 from the field.

Boston outscored the Suns 30-11 in the third quarter and led 80-57 entering the fourth. Hauser had 13 points and three 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Phoenix was 4 of 22 from the field.

The Suns shot 36.7% from the field and were 12 of 36 from distance.

Boston had a 61-34 rebounding advantage and turned 22 offensive rebounds into 15 points.

The Suns, coming off a season scoring low in a 92-77 loss to Portland on Sunday, led 26-21 after the first quarter, when Green and Ryan Dunn had seven points apiece. The Celtics were 3 of 15 from distance in the quarter.

Royce O’Neale’s third 3-pointer put the Suns ahead 41-30 lead midway through the second quarter before the Celtics began their extended run with a 14-0 spurt capped by Queta’s two free throws for a 44-41 edge.

–Field Level Media

The post White Leads Celtics Over Suns appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – While the Phoenix Suns search for offense, the Boston Celtics are thriving behind Jaylen Brown, who belongs in the MVP conversation, according to one four-time MVP.

“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” LeBron James said after Brown stuffed the stat sheet in the Celtics’ 111-89 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

“They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”

Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals against the Lakers, and he brings averages of 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists — all career highs — into a back-to-back against the host Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the third game of the Celtics’ four-game road trip.

The Suns, who have struggled to find offense in large part because of injuries to top scorers Devin Booker (24.7) and Dillon Brooks (20.9), have lost six of nine and enter after a 92-77 home loss to Portland on Sunday, their lowest point total since 2017 which was also a loss to the Blazers.

“We can’t get to the free throw line, can’t get to the rim,” Ott said. “Got to shoot jump shots. The way you shoot jump shots is to set screens. But we’re going to continue to find ways we want to play in transition. We want to get more shots up.”

Boston has won eight of nine and is a season-high 18 games above .500 in a season that was thought to be compromised by the loss of Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles.

Brown, who is fourth in the league in scoring, made his case in support of James’ praise.

“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” Brown said. “I play both ends on the court. Night to night, I’m available, which is hard to do.

“I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful.”

The Celtics have compensated for the loss of Tatum and 2024 title team members Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis with a career year from reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard and veteran Derrick White.

Pritchard scored 30 points against the Lakers and is 15 of 28 from distance in the last three games, all wins. He is averaging a career-high 17.6 points with increased playing time. White’s 17.0 scoring average is also a career high.

“The story’s not done,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said. “We haven’t done anything. All we’ve done is stick to the process of winning on both ends of the floor.”

–Field Level Media

The post Jaylen Brown is Hearing MVP Talk appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, while his teammate Payton Pritchard added 30 points with eight assists and the visiting Celtics continued their February surge with a 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston’s Derrick White scored 12 points with eight assists as the Celtics’ defense held the Lakers to 39.1% from the floor, while improving to 8-1 since Jan. 30. Boston shot 48.2% while opening 2-0 on a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams.

Neemias Queta had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics

Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 20 for the Lakers, who lost for the third time in their past five games. Austin Reaves had 15 points as the Los Angeles star trio fell to 8-4 when all three were on the court this season.

James, the NBA’s all-time points leader, moved past the 43,000-point mark in his record 23rd season.

The Lakers were held to their second lowest scoring game of the season behind an 88-point effort in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 20.

The Celtics led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter and never allowed the Lakers to make a run in the fourth. Boston pushed the lead to 94-79 after a step-back jumper from Brown with 6:58 left.

Brown capped an 8-0 run on a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 102-81 lead with 4:11 remaining. Pritchard sealed the victory on a 3-pointer with 3:24 left for a 105-83 victory that prompted the Lakers to remove their starters the rest of the way.

The Celtics took charge in the second quarter, turning a first-period tie into a 60-50 halftime lead on 52.4% shooting as Brown scored 13 points and Pritchard added 11. Doncic had 18 points in the first half for the Lakers, who shot 41.9% over the first two quarters.

Boston won the season series 2-0 that includes a 126-105 victory at home on Dec. 5. The Celtics are 6-2 against the Lakers since the 2022-23 season.

–Field Level Media

The post Celtics Dominate LA Lakers appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

SAN FRANCISCO – (Wire Service Report) – Former Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis could make his debut with the Golden State Warriors when they host Boston on Thursday night.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he’s hoping two-time MVP Stephen Curry will also be on the court. Curry, who leads Golden State with 27.2 points per game, has missed the last five games because of a sore knee.

Porzingis was acquired by the Warriors from Atlanta at the trade deadline but hasn’t played since Jan. 7 due to issues with his left Achilles tendon. He said at the time of the trade that Thursday’s game was his target date for returning to the court.

“I look forward to really having a surprisingly good post All-Star break,” he said.

Porzingis has played in 17 games this season (12 starts). He’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per contest.

Porzingis played for Boston last season, but was limited to 42 games with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The Celtics traded him to the Hawks in July. He did not play against Boston while with Atlanta.

“He’s an easy fit,” Kerr said. “You don’t have to change a whole lot. The biggest difference I guess that he provides is post-ups. He’s a pretty good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, the elbows, even the low block, he can score in those spots. That was one of the things we did today, we worked on our spacing.”

Kerr said he wanted to watch Porzingis in a scrimmage Wednesday before deciding whether he will play Thursday night.

“Kristaps has been here the last handful of days and practiced today with the team,” Kerr said. “Looked good. He’s feeling good. We won’t make a determination until after (Wednesday). When we practice (Wednesday) afternoon we’ll get up and down the floor and scrimmage, which we didn’t do (Tuesday). We did more skill work and went over some things.”

The Warriors, who lost four of their last six games before the All-Star break, occupy eighth place in the Western Conference standings. Boston will enter Thursday’s game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, 5 1/2 games behind Detroit.

Speculation has ramped up regarding the possibility of injured forward Jayson Tatum suiting up for the Celtics in the second half of the season. Tatum, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, began practicing with some of his teammates this week. He had surgery in May.

“He looked like Jayson Tatum, I’ll say that much,” Ron Harper Jr. said. “We’re really excited for the potential of him coming back. We don’t know for sure if he’s going to come back. We’re just really excited to see him progress during his rehab.”

Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 6.0 assists per game in 2024-25. The six-time All-Star has averaged 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists during his 585-game NBA career.

Thursday night’s matchup will be the first of two for these teams this season and should feature plenty of perimeter scoring. The Warriors lead the NBA in made 3-point field goals (897), while Boston is third (831).

–Field Level Media

The post Celtics vs. Porzingis, But No Steph appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

LOS ANGELES – The NBA’s midseason showcase finally got the bounce it’s been chasing. The first All-Star broadcast on NBC since 2002 averaged 8.8 million viewers across broadcast and streaming, marking the event’s biggest audience since 2011, according to preliminary Nielsen data and Adobe Analytics. The number combined NBC, Peacock and NBC’s Telemundo.

That number nearly doubled last year’s total of 4.7 million viewers (up 87%), a surge tied to the new “USA vs. the World” format that gave Sunday night an actual hook beyond highlights and handshakes.

The audience topped out at 9.8 million in the 7-7:15 p.m. ET window, as USA Stripes squeezed past the World team 48-45 in the tightest, highest-leverage stretch of the tournament.

On the floor, Anthony Edwards picked up MVP honors with a 32-point, nine-rebound and three-assist line for the USA Stars (across three 12-minute games), while Victor Wembanyama powered the World side with 33 points, eight boards and two blocks.

It wasn’t perfect, but the format delivered what the league has been pleading for in recent years.

The TV window helped, too. The game followed a full day of coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and fed directly into NBC’s prime-time programming.

–Field Level Media

The post NBA All-Star Ratings Up appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

LOS ANGELES – When Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown spoke with reporters after Sunday’s All-Star Game in Inglewood, Calif., the topic quickly went from basketball to an incident between Brown and the Beverly Hills Police Department a night earlier.

And Brown’s account of events stands in stark contrast to those of the Beverly Hills PD.

On Saturday night, police were called to a home where Brown was hosting what he called a “panel” — an event for his personal brand, 741, and Oakley, of which Brown says he is a brand partner.

But when police showed up, they said the event had to end because a permit for the event was previously denied.

“On Saturday, February 14, the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) responded to an event taking place at a private residence in the Trousdale neighborhood of (Beverly Hills),” the BHPD told The Boston Globe in statement Sunday. “An event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address.

“Despite the fact that the permit was denied, organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur. BHPD responded and shut down the unpermitted event.”

The claim about the permit was one of the issues that angered Brown.

“That was not true,” Brown told reporters. “We didn’t need a permit because the owner of the house, that was his space. We were family friends. He opened up the festivities to us so we didn’t have to. We never applied for one. … I didn’t have to pay for the house or anything. They just opened it up. I had to pay for the build-out, but it was hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted for an event that was supposed to be positive.”

Saturday night, a video showing Brown speaking with a police officer at the house was posted to social media. In the video, Brown is seen repeatedly asking why the event was being shut down, with the officer said “the City” was shutting down the event.

“(I’m) in LA, we’re just trying to have an event, a panel, talking about culture, talking about future, talking about leadership, and for whatever reason I feel like we’re being targeted,” Brown told the camera.

Back at the All-Star Game, Brown said the house belonged to Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley, and that he did not have to pay to use the house for the event.

“I’m offended by Beverly Hills, by the statement they put out, like we applied for something and didn’t get it and we did it anyway,” Brown added. “Like we were insubordinate. I know how to follow the rules. … It just seemed like somebody, you know, didn’t want whatever we had going on, to go on. Because out of everyone to be doing something (in the neighborhood), I was the only one that gets shut down.”

During the interview, Brown repeated that several hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent setting up the event, and that the owner of the house is considering filing a lawsuit.

“It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he added. “I don’t think the BPDH made the right call here. The statement they put out was not accurate.”

–Field Level Media

The post Beverly Hills Slop appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

INGLEWOOD – Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars came out on top during the All-Star Game on Sunday with an easy 47-21 mini-tournament victory over USA Stripes. The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket last year.

Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat to the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Maxey went 4 of 8 from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went 3 of 5 with a pair of 3-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games and was named MVP.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes.

USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an early 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.

A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, while going 0 of 4 from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.

In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in extra time on a 3-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.

–Field Level Media

The post NBA All-Star Game: We Are the World appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.