Zion scores 28 points to lead Pelicans to victory over Celtics
Zion Williamson scored 28 points and the New Orleans Pelicans held on after blowing most of a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead to beat Boston 115-109 on Monday night in the Celtics’ first game in front of their home fans since before the pandemic.
A masked crowd of 2,198 — officially a sellout at the state-mandated limit of 12% of the TD Garden capacity — cheered (and booed) the Celtics, waved signs and shouted profane taunts at the referees. A video was played welcoming the fans back; at other times they were lectured on social distancing and told not to touch the basketball if it came to them.
Brandon Ingram had 25 points and nine assists and Josh Hart had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans, who won for the fourth time in five games. Williamson has averaged 34.4 points over that span, including 39 and 38 in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
Jayson Tatum had 34 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which had won twoinarow.
NETS 112, TIMBERWOLVES 107>> James Harden had 38 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, already tying the Nets’ single-season record with his 12th triple-double in just 32 games, and Brooklyn held off Minnesota.
Kyrie Irving added 27 points in his return after missing the three-game road trip last week for family reasons. He started fast, but Harden did the biggest work late, with 13 points in the final period.
WIZARDS 132, PACERS 124 >> Russell Westbrook had 35 points, a season-high 21 assists and 14 rebounds for his NBA-leading 16th triple-double, helping Washington
beat visiting Indiana.
Westbrook also claimed the franchise career tripledouble record in just his 38th game with the Wizards, this one coming while teammate and NBA leading scorer Bradley Beal sat out with a bruised hip. Darrell Walker had 15 triple-doubles in 283 games for Washington between 1987-1991 HEAT 98, KNICKS 88 >> Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and Miami snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over New York. Bam Adebayo scored 20 points, Duncan Robinson added 20, and Tyler Herro finished with 18 as Miami improved to 23-24.
MAVERICKS 127, THUNDER 106 >> Luka Doncic scored 25 points to help Dallas roll past Oklahoma City. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points for the Mavericks. Dallas shot 53% from the field and never trailed in snapping a
two-game losing skid. Doncic missed Dallas’ previous two games. He sat out Friday’s loss to Indiana with back soreness and Saturday’s loss to New Orleans with a non-COVID-19 illness.
PISTONS 118, RAPTORS 104 >>
Saben Lee scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half in his second career start, and Detroit beat Toronto. Saddiq Bey, another Detroit rookie, also scored 19 points and Hamidou Diallo added 19 of his own. Fred VanVleet scored 22 for the Raptors, who lost for the 12th time in 13 games.
GRIZZLIES 120, ROCKETS 110 >>
Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 30 points, including eight down the stretch, to help Memphis outlast Houston.
DRAFT SET FOR JULY 29 >>
With the modified NBA season scheduled to run deep into July, the league announced Monday that the 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29. The league also announced that the draft lottery will be held on June 22, with the NBA combine set for June 21-27.
The current NBA regular season runs to May 16, with the NBA Finals due to be completed by July 22.
The deadline for players to apply for early entry for this year’s draft is May 30, and those who opt to withdraw from early entry must do so by July 19.