Damian Lillard got his second triple-double of the season in victory against the Pistons.
Philadelphia 76ers defeats the Pacers courtesy of Joel Embiid and James Harden’s remarkable numbers.
BOSTON CELTICS 114 – 118 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points and Lamar Stevens instigated Cleveland’s fourth-quarter comeback as the Cavaliers won 118-114 against the Boston Celtics, who have lost their second overtime game in less than 24 hours.
Evan Mobley also added 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs, who are now 7-0 in OVERTIME as they avenged their loss in Boston to the Celtics five days ago.
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Malcolm Brogdon posted 24 points.
They squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and had a chance to win it in regulation, but Grant Williams missed two free throws with 0.8 seconds left and Boston’s Marcus Smart barely missed a tip-in at the horn.
It was earlier reported that the Celtics team didn’t arrive at their hotel in Cleveland until 2:30 a.m. after losing to the New York Knicks in double overtime on Sunday.
The Celtics were without their All-Star Game MVP Jayson Tatum in the loss.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 147 – 143 INDIANA PACERS
Joel Embiid scored 42 points, James Harden added 14 points and 20 assists, 9 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers 147-143 in a close game with a decisive fourth-quarter offensive run.
The Big Man, Embiid who scored 11 of 16 from the field, also made all his 19 free-throw attempts and posted his 11th 40-point game this season.
The 76ers had six players in double figures and three with 20 or more points as they finished the game with 58.5% shooting.
Tyrese Maxey scored 24 points and Jalen McDaniels had 20 points for the 76ers.
For the Pacers, they finished the game with seven players posting double figures, and they had an overall of 58.9% shooting.
Tyrese Haliburton led with 40 points and 16 assists — in just their second home game since Feb. 16. Jordan Nwora added 16 points.
In his remark after the game, 76ers coach Doc Rivers said: “It was an offensive game, but at the same time someone had to make a defensive stand and we did that enough to win the game.”
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 108 – 123 SACRAMENTO KINGS
Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists – his eighth triple-double of the season as they beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-108.
Sabonis also leads the NBA this season with 52 double-doubles.
The victory for the Kings (38-26) means they have now won six of their first seven games after the All-Star break and as a result of this, they are within a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Kevin Huerter also scored 25 points for the Kings. Davion Mitchell who replaced the injured Kings star De’Aaron Fox scored 15 points and added six assists. Trey Lyles also scored 14 points off the bench.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points for the Pelicans who are currently on 31-34. The New Orleans Pelicans have now lost six of their last seven games.
TORONTO RAPTORS 113 – 118 DENVER NUGGETS
The Denver Nuggets scored the last six points of the game to sneak out a 118-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Jamal Murray scored 24 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points, Aaron Gordon added 19 points and the big man, Nikola Jokic finished an assist shy of another triple-double posting 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The victory means the Nuggets have now won their ninth game in a row at home. To put that into perspective, they have a 24-1 W-L record in their last 25 games at the Ball Arena.
Fred VanVleet scored 21 points for the Raptors, and Pascal Siakam added 19 points.
Even though, Siakam’s jumper with 2:20 remaining had given the Raptors a six-point advantage, the Nuggets racked up seven straight points to go up 112-111 with 1:15 left, and protected their lead till the end of the game.
ATLANTA HAWKS 128 – 130 MIAMI HEAT
Jimmy Butler scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo added 16 points, Duncan Robinson had 14 points, Tyler Herro finished with 13 points while Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin combined to score 43 off the bench, as the Heat held off the Atlanta Hawks 130-128 in a keenly contested matchup.
The Heat scored 16 3-pointers – their most in a game since Dec. 15.
The result means Miami Heat are now 2 1/2 games clear of the Atlanta Hawks in the race for No. 7 spot in the East. The victory took the series between both teams this season to 3-1 in the Heats advantage as well so they hold the tiebreaker.
After the game, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said: “Our guys are competitors. They love these kind of games. It gets my stomach twisting and turning and everything. But these guys just love it. It was important to get this two-game set. We knew the context of it.”
For the Hawks, Trae Young scored 25 points, with another 23 points from Dejounte Murray and 17 points apiece from Saddiq Bey and John Collins.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 110 – 114 DETROIT PISTONS
Damian Lillard scored 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists – his second triple-double of the season and the third of his career before the end of the third quarter as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Detroit Pistons 110-104.
Dame, The 6-foot-2, 200-pound dynamic guard also hit the boards for the blazers, grabbing three more than he had in any other game this season.
Even though, the Pistons closed up the gap within six points with 1:39 left on the clock to rile up their seemingly quiet fans and that almost led to what seemed like a resurgence. Unfortunately, Jerami Grant, their former player, shut them up with a 3-pointer to dash their hopes.
Grant finished the game with 26 points. Cam Reddish had 13 points, Trendon Watford scored 12 points and Drew Eubanks added 10 points for the Trail Blazers, who have now won two straight games for the first time in a month to strengthen their hopes making the playoffs.
For the Pistons, Isaiah Livers scored 17 points matching his career high tally, Jaden Ivey had 13 points and 13 assists, Cory Joseph scored 14 points, Alec Burks had 13 points and James Wiseman added 12 points.
The loss means the Pistons have now lost a season-high eight straight games.
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