Holiday, Middleton help Bucks beat Rockets; SGA's 27-point trip-dub leads Thunder past Nuggets; Clippers beat Kings to end three-game losing streak; Wagner's 25 helps depleted Magic beat shorthanded Hawks
Thursday 23 December 2021 08:09, UK
Jaylen Brown scored 34 points as the Boston Celtics beat depleted Cleveland 111-101 on Wednesday night to end the Cavaliers' winning streak at six.
It was Brown's second straight game with 30 points or more. Robert Williams III added a career-high 21 points along with 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Jayson Tatum had 18 points.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 28 points, and Kevin Love had 18. The Cavaliers were missing starters Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen and five other players in the NBA's health and safety protocol.
Also short-handed, Boston signed 40-year-old Joe Johnson to a 10-day contract Wednesday. The crowd chanted "We Want Joe! "We Want Joe!" and broke into a loud cheer when he got off the bench and came into the game. He got a huge ovation when he hit a fallaway jumper in the final minute.
Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and Khris Middleton added 23 in his return from injury as Milwaukee beat Houston to snap a two-game skid.
Middleton missed three games because of a hyperextended left knee. The two-time All-Star played 28 minutes and had six assists.
The Bucks were missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for a fourth straight game as he remains in the NBA's health and safety protocols along with teammates Bobby Portis and Donte DiVincenzo.
Milwaukee's DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Nwora added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks.
Wes Matthews also scored a season-high 16 points, putting in an emotion-fuelled performance after finding out his grandmother had passed away earlier in the evening.
Christian Wood led the Rockets with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Houston also got 12 points each from Eric Gordon and KJ Martin plus 10 apiece from Garrison Mathews and Alperen Sengun.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his second career triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to help Oklahoma City beat Denver.
Oklahoma City claimed its largest margin of victory this season and improved to 5-3 since a 73-point loss at Memphis on December 2 and Gilgeous-Alexander had the first triple-double by a Thunder player at home since Russell Westbrook during the 2018-19 season.
Darius Bazley had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Lu Dort had 15 points and rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Nuggets. The reigning league MVP entered the game averaging 26.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Denver coach Michael Malone said the he didn't like the way the starters were playing, so he sat all of them for the entire fourth quarter. Austin Rivers' 12 points led the reserves.
Eric Bledsoe scored 19 points and Los Angeles held off Sacramento.
Paul George had 17 points, Serge Ibaka added a season-high 17, including three dunks and 12 points in the fourth quarter, to help the Clippers end a three-game losing streak.
Tyrese Haliburton had his fourth consecutive double-double with 22 points and a career-high 13 assists for Sacramento. Chimezie Metu added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Franz Wagner scored 25 points, Robin Lopez had 10 points and a career-high 11 assists and Orlando beat Atlanta.
Cam Reddish finished with a season-high 36 points, and John Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. They have lost seven straight at home.
Hawks guard Kevin Huerter was taken out of the starting lineup after a positive test, joining Lou Williams and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot in protocols. Collins was the only regular in Atlanta's lineup. Atlanta was already without leading scorer Trae Young, leading rebounder Clint Capela and reserve forward Danilo Gallinari. Bogdan Bogdanovic returned after missing eight games with a right ankle sprain and scored six points.
Magic guard Mychal Mulder joined five teammates in protocols. Terrence Ross, Mo Bamba, Moritz Wagner, R.J. Hampton and Ignas Brazdeikis were the others. Orlando had only four regulars - Wagner, Gary Harris, Chuma Okeke and Lopez.
