CELTICS BOUNCE BACK
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Boston rebounded from back-toback losses to Atlanta, pulling away in the third quarter for a 104-92 win over New Orleans on Saturday, March 30.
Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 17 as the Celtics, who at 58-16 have the NBA’S best record, avoided what would have been their first three-game skid of the year. Derrick White had 15 points and Jrue Holiday had 13 points, seven assists and eight rebounds.
Zion Williamson scored 25 for New Orleans and CJ Mccollum added 24. Ahead 59-57 at halftime, Boston took control in the third quarter, limiting New Orleans to 11 points. The Celtics went ahead 79-68 on Tatum’s 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way, going up by 22 in the fourth quarter. In Orlando, Wendell Carter
Jr. had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony added 15 points each and Orlando broke a three-game losing streak with a rout of Memphis.
A day after committing two late turnovers and blaming himself for a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Paolo Banchero sat out the fourth quarter and finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists
Nine Magic players hit at least one 3-pointer and they shot 22 for 44 from behind the arc.
“It was an opportunity to get our swagger back,” said Carter. “Our swagger was kind of off.”
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said the losing streak didn’t bother him much.
“Just because it doesn’t come out on the winning end doesn’t mean you’re not playing good basketball. So you stick to the process. That’s what these guys did tonight,” Mosley said. “Obviously we came out with the win, but the best part is that we played the right way, which we were doing in the other games as well.”
Jordan Goodwin led the Grizzlies with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Clarke added 13 points in 20 minutes in his second game back from an Achilles injury.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo had six dunks while scoring 36 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 38 points to beat Atlanta 122-113, ending the Hawks’ four-game winning streak.
Antetokounmpo added 16 rebounds and Khris Middleton scored 21 points as the Bucks snapped a twogame losing streak.
Milwaukee point guard Damian Lillard was held out for personal reasons. The Bucks had been 0-5 without Lillard this season. Lillard’s availability for the Bucks’ game at Washington on Tuesday night is unknown.
Patrick Beverley, whose status had been uncertain due to a sprained right wrist, scored 18 points as the fill-in starting point guard.
Beverley said Bucks coach Doc Rivers “was kind of hesitant” to give him a full starter’s share of minutes before he received clearance for his wrist injury.
“He wanted to protect me, as a coach should,” Beverley said after playing 36 minutes and having five assists with no turnovers.