Celtics get Smart to down Thunder
CELTICS 112, THUNDER 111
OKLAHOMA CITY — With most of their lead gone, the Boston Celtics needed someone to make a stop in the final seconds.
As usual, Marcus Smart took it upon himself.
Smart stole the ball from Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 5.8 seconds, helping the Celtics hold on for a 112-111 victory over the Thunder on Sundayry.
“I didn’t even want to give them an attempt to even get a shot up and a chance to tie the game or come close to it,” Smart said.
Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 26 for the Celtics, who won their seventh in a row.
“Good, tough teams,” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said. “A lot of smart basketball and then we almost gave it away at the end. But, you know, up to that point I think we played really hard and really well.”
Jaylen Brown finished with 17 points for the Celtics, who made 16 three-pointers. One of them, by Smart with 8:19 remaining, gave Boston the lead for good.
Danilo Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander each had 24 points for the Thunder, while point guards Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder finished with 22 apiece. Oklahoma City had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma City led 61-52 at halftime but Tatum heated up in the third quarter. His three-pointer made it 70-68 with 7:38 left in the quarter. JAZZ 114, ROCKETS 113
HOUSTON — Bojan Bogdanovic made a three-pointer as time expired to give Utah a victory over Houston.
Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points and Donovan Mitchell finished with 24 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds for the Jazz, who won their second in a row after a five-game losing streak.
Mike Conley added 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds for the Jazz.
Russell Westbrook had 39 points for the Rockets. James Harden added 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. CLIPPERS 133, CAVALIERS 92
CLEVELAND — Lou Williams scored 25 points and Los Angeles routed Cleveland, the Cavaliers’ worst home loss in franchise history.
Cleveland’s previous worst was a 39-point loss to Chicago in 2012. 76ERS 118, BULLS 111
PHILADELPHIA — Furkan Korkmaz scored 31 points, Joel Embiid had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Philadelphia beat Chicago to improve its NBAbest home record to 24-2.
Ben Simmons added 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the 76ers. GRIZZLIES 106, WIZARDS 99
WASHINGTON — Ja Morant had 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds to help Memphis overcome Washington.
Morant scored 10 points in the fourth quarter for Memphis, which closed the game on a 22-8 run after trailing for most of the second half.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points for Washington.
HAWKS 140,
KNICKS 135, 2 OT
ATLANTA — Trae Young had 48 points and 13 assists, John Collins added 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Atlanta beat New York in two overtimes.
It was the ninth time Young has scored at least 40, second-most in the NBA this season. The first-time All-Star hit all 16 of his free throw attempts. BLAZERS 115, HEAT 109
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard had 33 points and eight assists, Gary Trent Jr. scored 22 points and Portland beat the Heat in Andre Iguodala’s debut.
Iguodala had two points in his first game since the NBA Finals.
Hassan Whiteside had 11 points and 17 rebounds against his former team, including a pair of free throws with 11.5 seconds left that gave Portland a seven-point lead.
Goran Dragic had 27 points for Miami, which played without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. Duncan Robinson had 19 points for the Heat.