BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston forward Jayson Tatum posted his fifth straight 30-point game, leading the Boston Celtics with 41 en route to a 139-118 Christmas Day win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Tatum and Jaylen Brown (29 points) combined for 70 points in a game for the eighth time in their careers. Tatum added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals as Boston won back-to-back games.
Derrick White, Grant Williams and Al Horford also scored in double figures, helping Boston shoot 19 of 39 from 3-point range. Marcus Smart handed out eight assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a team-high 27 points, while Jrue Holiday finished with 23, Brook Lopez scored 16 and Massachusetts native Pat Connaughton added 15 on four 3-pointers in Milwaukee’s third straight loss.
Nuggets 128, Suns 125 (OT)
Nikola Jokic had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, Aaron Gordon added 28 points and 13 rebounds and host Denver beat Phoenix in overtime.
Jamal Murray scored 26 points for the Nuggets, who have won four straight. Denver trailed by eight midway through the final period before rallying.
Landry Shamet tied his career high with 31 points for Phoenix, which lost its third game in a row. Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Chris Paul amassed 17 points and 16 assists, but Devin Booker exited due to a groin injury in the first quarter.
76ers 119, Knicks 112
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid had 35 points and eight rebounds, James Harden added 29 points and 13 assists and Philadelphia defeated host New York at Madison Square Garden..
Georges Niang contributed 16 points and De’Anthony Melton had 15 for the Sixers, who won their eighth in a row without injured guard Tyrese Maxey.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 35 points and eight rebounds while Jalen Brunson added 23 points and 11 assists. Brunson went to the locker room with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury and sat out the remainder of the game on the bench.
Mavericks 124, Lakers 115
Luka Doncic scored 32 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists, and Dallas outscored visiting Los Angeles by 30 points in the third quarter to take control in a Christmas Day win.
The Lakers held a 54-43 lead at halftime behind LeBron James’ strong start, but they gave up a season-high 51 points to the Mavericks in a pivotal third quarter. James went on to finish with 38 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Christian Wood had 30 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals, and Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 6 of 14 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points for the Mavericks.
Warriors 123, Grizzlies 109
Jordan Poole bombed in a team-high 32 points before getting ejected and the short-handed Golden State Warriors outgunned the foul-plagued Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 on Sunday in San Francisco in a highly anticipated rematch of the Western Conference semifinals.
Playing without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors still managed to outscore the Grizzlies 54-27 from 3-point range en route to their 13th home win in 15 attempts this season.
–Field Level Media