Celtics batter Warriors
Los Angeles, March 9: Isaiah Thomas has made peace and the Boston Celtics were able to turn things around with another emphatic win in Oakland.
Boston standout Thomas scored 25 points as the Celtics snapped a two-game losing skid on Wednesday with a 99-86 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a battle between two NBA title contenders.
The Celtics, who are fighting to hold onto the number two seed in the East, had lost two straight heading into their showdown with Golden State, the Western Conference’s top team.
But the Celtics had reason to believe they can have success in Oakland. After all, on their last visit 11 months ago, they snapped Golden State’s 54-game home winning streak.
Boston took charge after a dunk by Draymond Green that gave the Celtics an 80-79 lead in a game that featured eight lead changes and eight ties in the first 41 minutes.
Boston improved to 4124 on the season and won for the second time in four games on its Western trip. That allowed the Celtics to remain a game ahead of the Washington Wizards in the battle for the no. 2 playoff position.
The road-weary Warriors fell to 52-12 as they lost for the third time in five games. Klay Thompson scored 25 points and Stephen Curry scored 23 for the Warriors.
Elsewhere, Paul George scored 21 points, Thaddeus Young had 18 points and eight rebounds and CJ Miles added 15 points, and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Detroit Pistons 115-98.
Miami’s on Heat In Miami, Dion Waiters scored 24 points and Goran Dragic added 22 points and 10 assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 108-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Dragic posted his fifth double-double of the season as Miami continued their hot streak, winning for the 20th time in 24 games.
The Heat have won three straight, including two wins over the defending league champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward led the offensive charge as the Utah Jazz claimed the season series against the Houston Rockets with a 115-108 victory on Wednesday.
The Jazz improved to 4124 on the season and moved to within three games of the third seed in the Western Conference standings. Gobert tallied a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in front of a crowd of 16,200 at the Toyota Center arena.
Guard James Harden led the Rockets with 35 points and six assists, while centre Clint Capela added a double-double (19 points, 12 boards). Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell came off the bench to score 12 each.
Spurs dazzle in comeback The San Antonio Spurs delivered the biggest comeback of the National Basketball Association season on Wednesday with a 114-104 win over the Sacramento Kings to extend their winning streak to nine games.
Coming back from as many as 28 points, the Spurs improved to 50-13 on the season, giving them their 18th straight 50-win season.