Thunder top Pelicans despite career-best 32 points from Zion Williamson
Friday 14 February 2020 07:00, UK
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 39 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the visiting LA Clippers 141-133 in double overtime on Thursday night.
Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his game-high 39 points from the fourth quarter onwards, leading the Boston Celtics past the visiting LA Clippers 141-133 in double overtime on Thursday night.
Marcus Smart added 31 points and Gordon Hayward scored 21 with 13 rebounds as the Celtics reached the All-Star break winners of eight of their last nine games. Tatum shot 14-of-23 with nine rebounds.
Lou Williams had 35 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 28 with 11 rebounds and Montrezl Harrell had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who completed a 1-3 road trip. Los Angeles lost Paul George in the second quarter with a recurrence of a left hamstring strain.
After Smart and Tatum gave the Celtics a four-point lead with 2:01 to go in the second overtime, Hayward drilled a three with 1:36 left for a 137-132 edge. Hayward added a block, a steal and four free throws the rest of the way as Boston cruised to victory.
Tatum put the Celtics up 127-124 in the first overtime before Landry Shamet tied the score on a trey with 21 seconds to go. Tatum missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer.
Williams scored 15 points in the fourth, leading the Clippers from down eight in the quarter to a 107-all tie with four minutes remaining. The Clippers knotted the score again at 114 on a Marcus Morris Sr three-pointer with 46.8 seconds left.
Kemba Walker missed a chance at a game-winner to lead to overtime.
Before Thursday, the Celtics and Clippers had only went to overtime once each this season - when they first met in Los Angeles on November 20, a 107-104 Clippers win.
The Celtics grabbed the game's only double-digit advantage, 72-62, on a Hayward three-pointer with 8:51 left in the third.
The largest lead of the first half came on a 7-0 Clippers run to start the game, which the Celtics answered with 10 straight points from Smart. Neither team led by more than four points in the second as Boston carried a 60-58 edge into the break.
Danilo Gallinari scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder held off the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118.
The Thunder completed a four-game sweep of the season series in the last game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Dennis Schroder had seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points, Chris Paul had 14 points and 12 assists, Steven Adams had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Muscala scored 10.
Rookie Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with a season-high 32 points, surpassing the 31 he had two nights earlier against the Portland Trail Blazers. JJ Redick scored 24, Lonzo Ball had 16 points and Jrue Holiday totaled 14 points and 11 assists.
New Orleans played their third straight game without All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, who has a sprained ankle.
The Thunder led by eight points at half-time, but Williamson scored eight points as the Pelicans took a 76-75 lead. Paul made a three-pointer to put Oklahoma City back on top, and Muscala had eight points during a 14-0 run that gave the Thunder a 94-81 lead.
Holiday's lay-up stopped the run, Redick scored eight straight points and Holiday made another lay-up to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 98-93 at the end of the quarter. Redick and Williamson scored four points each as New Orleans pulled even at 101.
Schroder's three-pointer put the Thunder back on top, but Williamson answered with back-to-back baskets. Gallinari's basket put Oklahoma City ahead before Ball's three-pointer gave New Orleans a 111-110 lead.
But Gallinari scored the next five points to give the Thunder the lead for good.
Both teams shot better than 50 per cent from the field in the first quarter and Nicolo Melli's triple gave New Orleans a 30-29 lead at the end of the period.
The score was tied five times in the second quarter before Oklahoma City finished with a strong push. Adams beat the buzzer with a one-handed toss from beyond half court to give the Thunder a 66-58 half-time lead.
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