In a matchup between East No. 1 and West No. 2, the Thunder win five straight games to snap the Celtics’ six-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City — Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 127-123 behind 36 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, securing their fifth consecutive victory.
The Thunder, who had the fourth-best record in the league going into the game, were led by Josh Giddey, who finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. Chet Holmgren contributed 14 points, seven assists, and four blocks.
The Celtics had won 11 of 12 games and six in a row with thirty points apiece from Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.
Out of nine games, Oklahoma City has won eight. The Thunder have now defeated the Celtics after defeating Minnesota, the best team in the West, by a margin of 23, defeating Denver, the defending champion, twice, and ending the Los Angeles Clippers’ winning streak at nine.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – After bouncing back from a sprained right ankle, Joel Embiid finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, and Philadelphia defeated Chicago behind 21 points from Tyrese Maxey.
On their holiday road trip, the 76ers went 2-2 without Embiid in all four games. Just three nights prior, the Sixers had lost 105-92 in a game that was played in Chicago and saw them never take a lead in the second half.
Embiid has a good reason to be the current NBA MVP. The Sixers, who had been playing well without injured guard Zach LaVine, turned this game into an early blowout with the big man back. LaVine might make a comeback to the starting lineup on Friday. Without him, the Bulls would have finished the season 10-6 and even the two-time All-Star would not have made much of an impact.
The Bulls missed all 10 of their three-point attempts as the 76ers jumped out to a 43-18 lead after one quarter.
Leading the Bulls with 16 points was DeMar DeRozan. In addition to his 11 points and 17 rebounds, Andre Drummond also muffed a dunk to the delight of the home crowd after being crowded out in front of the rim. With a sprained right ankle, forward Patrick Williams left.
The 76ers led 43–18 at the end of the first quarter after the Bulls missed all 10 of their three-point attempts.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls in scoring with sixteen points. Along with his 11 points and 17 rebounds, Andre Drummond was crowded out in front of the rim and, to the delight of the home crowd, muffed a dunk. Forward Patrick Williams left due to a sprained right ankle.
The 76ers led 43–18 at the end of the first quarter after the Bulls missed all 10 of their three-point attempts.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls in scoring with sixteen points. Along with his 11 points and 17 rebounds, Andre Drummond was crowded out in front of the rim and, to the delight of the home crowd, muffed a dunk. Forward Patrick Williams left due to a sprained right ankle.
With 13 points and 11 rebounds from Santi Aldama, Memphis ended a three-game losing streak.With 20 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, Wembanyama led the Spurs. In addition to six rebounds and four assists, Keldon Johnson finished with 19 points. Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagnie each had 12 points.
With 9:11 remaining, Morant drove down the right side of the lane, cut left into the middle, and dunked on the 7-foot-3 rookie from France who leads the NBA in blocked shots, energizing the Memphis crowd. After the dunk, Morant shook his head, yelling, and the Grizzlies went ahead 88–70.
New Orleans started the game on a 9-0 run, never trailed, and led by as many as 32 points thanks to the 13 points and 12 rebounds of Jose Alvarado and the 11 points and 12 rebounds of Jonas Valanciunas.
It was also the fewest points the Pelicans had given up and the fewest the Nets had scored so far this season.
The Nets dropped their fourth straight game despite shooting a season-worst 35.7% (35 for 98). Cam Thomas of Brooklyn, who led the team in scoring average coming into the game with 22.4 points per game, missed all 11 of his shots and failed to score. Thomas went 0 for 23 along with Spencer Dinwiddie (0 for 6) and Royce O’Neale. An attempt from Brooklyn
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