SURGING CELTICS WIN BIG IN PHILLY
Jaylen Brown thought for a second, but struggled to remember a victory quite as convincing in his career.
Brown scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics won their ninth in a row, dominating the 76ers 135-87 on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Celtics 135, 76ers 87
“We’ll take it,” Brown said. “We got the job done tonight. It feels good.”
Jayson Tatum added 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who have closed ground in the Eastern Conference with their stellar play of late. Boston entered sixth in the East, 4 { back of first-place Miami. They have won 11 of 12.
“I love the resolve of what we’re doing,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said.
The margin of victory was the largest by the Celtics over Philadelphia in a rivalry that has been played 457 times. Boston’s previous biggest win was a 124-87 drubbing of Philadelphia on Dec. 20, 1987.
Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers. The NBA’s leading scorer entering the contest averaging 29.5 points, Embiid had his string of games with at least 25 points end at 31 in a row.
In their franchise history, the 76ers have had only six losses by greater margins than the 48-point blowout on Tuesday.
“They were better in every way: coaching, playing and if there’s another category, they were better in that, too,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said.
James Harden made his first appearance in Philadelphia — but in street clothes.
The recently acquired star continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Harden is expected to make his 76ers debut on Feb. 25 at Minnesota.
Earlier Tuesday, Philadelphia introduced Harden at a press conference at the team’s training center in Camden, N.J.
Hawks 124, Cavaliers 116: Trae Young scored 41 points, Danilo Gallinari added 25 and host Atlanta held off Cleveland.
Cleveland, third in the Eastern Conference, lost consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 31. The Hawks are 10th in the East and had dropped two straight and five of seven.
Darius Garland finished with 30 points, Evan Mobley had 21 points and Kevin Love 20 for the Cavaliers, who had held opponents under 100 points 23 times this season
but struggled to contain Young’s frantic pace.
Mavericks 107, Heat 99:
Luka Doncic scored 21 points and visiting Dallas beat Miami. Jalen Brunson and Maxi Kleber each finished with 19 points and Dorian Finney Smith had 14 points for the Mavericks, who have won 17 of 23 since Jan. 1 and snapped Miami’s five-game winning streak.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 29 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 21 for the Heat, which is now tied for the Eastern Conference lead with Chicago.
Suns 103, Clippers 96:
Devin Booker scored 26 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and 14 rebounds at host Phoenix held off Los Angeles. Mikal Bridges had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Suns.
Marcus Morris Sr. led the Clippers with 23 points.
Bucks 128, Pacers 119: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 50 points, two off his career best, and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Milwaukee past visiting Indiana. The Bucks swept the four-game season series from the Pacers and have won eight straight against their Central Division foe.
Grizzlies 121, Pelicans 109: Tyus Jones scored a career-high 27 points to go with eight assists while filling in for All-Star Ja Morant (ankle), and visiting Memphis beat New Orleans for its sixth straight victory and ninth in 10 games.
Timberwolves 126, Hornets 120 (OT): Karl-Anthony Towns had 39 points and 15 rebounds, D’Angelo Russell added 18 points and 11 assists, and host Minnesota came back to beat Charlotte in overtime.