Celtics pound Magic following hiatus
Brown scores 21 after Boston was idle for week because of virus
Boston Jaylen Brown had 21 points and eight assists, Semi Ojeleye added 18 points and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 124-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night in their return to action following a virus-related week-long hiatus.
Jeff Teague finished with 17 points and rookie Payton Pritchard had 16 points to help Boston post its fifth straight victory.
Boston returned to action after having three games postponed due to some players testing positive for the coronavirus and others being ruled out because contact tracing showed that they could have been exposed to it.
But the Celtics didn’t seem to be affected by the layoff, sharing the ball and turning stops into opportunities to run the floor against an Orlando team that struggled to find a rhythm.
Aaron Gordon had 17 points to lead the Magic, who have lost four straight. Nik Vucevic, Dwayne Bacon and Cole Anthony added 15 points apiece.
Cavaliers 106, Knicks 103: Andre Drummond tied his career high with 33 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, and Cedi Osman scored 25 points in leading Cleveland to a win over New York. Drummond posted the Cavaliers’ first 30-20 game since Carlos Boozer had 32 points and 20 rebounds against
Seattle on Jan. 20, 2004. Julius Randle had 28 points and six assists, rookie Immanuel Quigley scored a seasonhigh 23 points and R.J. Barrett had 20 points for New York, which lost its fifth straight.
Bucks 112, Mavericks 109: Giannis Antetokounmpo overcame poor freethrow shooting to score 31 points, Khris Middleton hit two late 3-pointers and Milwaukee held off Dallas.
Thunder 127, Bulls 125 (OT):
Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored a careerhigh 33 points to help Oklahoma City beat Chicago and former Thunder coach Billy Donovan in overtime.
Notes: Another three NBA games were postponed Friday, including one in Minnesota only a couple hours before game time, as the league’s struggle with increasing coronavirus numbers continued. Among the revelations Friday: Timberwolves center Karlanthony Towns , whose mother and six other relatives have died from COVID-19, said he has tested positive. The
Wizards said that they have six players who are positive as well, and another three players out because contact tracing data suggested they could have been exposed. The Timberwolves’ game with the Grizzlies was called off, as were what would have been Wizards’ home games Sunday and Monday against the Cavaliers . ... The NBA fined Nets point guard Kyrie Irving $50,000 for violating its health and safety protocols, and said he could return to team activities Saturday — though he won’t play in the Nets’ game that night. The league added that he would forfeit his salary for each game he misses during a five-day quarantine period that would end Saturday if he continues to test negative for the coronavirus. He’s already missed two, which means he has lost nearly $900,000 of his $33.5 million salary. Irving has missed the last five games while away from the Nets for personal reasons. He was seen in a video on social media during his absence at an indoor family party while not wearing a mask.