The Boston Celtics, who are currently at the top of the league, defeated the short-handed Detroit Pistons 129-102 on Friday with Jaylen Brown scoring 33 points to extend their winning streak to eight games in the NBA.
Despite missing key players like Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown stepped up for the Boston Celtics by making 13 out of 19 shots. Payton Pritchard contributed 20 points against the Pistons, while Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 19 points for the Boston Celtics, who now have a league-leading record of 56-14.
Tatum was resting an ankle injury, Horford had a toe injury, and Holiday was dealing with an arm injury. Despite these setbacks, the Boston Celtics managed to defeat the Pistons, who were also missing several players. James Wiseman made his first start of the season for the Pistons and scored 24 points. Boston’s defense limited Detroit’s top scorer, Cade Cunningham, to 15 points on six of 17 shooting as they continued their impressive winning streak.
The Oklahoma City Thunder regained the top spot in the Western Conference by defeating the Raptors in Toronto with a score of 123-103. Canadian point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 23 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, while rookie center Chet Holmgren added 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers improved their defense in the second half to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers with a score of 101-94. Anthony Davis contributed 23 points and 19 rebounds, while LeBron James scored 20 points, with 11 of them coming in the final quarter. Despite committing 21 turnovers that resulted in 27 points for the Sixers, the Lakers managed to secure the win. D’Angelo Russell made four three-pointers and scored a total of 14 points, breaking the Lakers franchise record for most three-pointers in a season. Russell’s first three-pointer of the game was his 184th of the season, surpassing the previous record of 183 set by Nick Van Exel during the 1994-95 season.
In San Francisco, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers scored 26 points and dished out 11 assists in a 123-111 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Pascal Siakam contributed 25 points and 16 rebounds for Indiana, who overcame a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to trail by just one at halftime. The Pacers dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 36-21 to take control of the game.
Despite Stephen Curry’s 25 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State, the team struggled to recover from a tough third period where two of Curry’s three-point attempts were blocked. The Warriors, currently in the tenth spot in the Western Conference, were unable to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter and are now just two games ahead of the Houston Rockets for the final play-in tournament spot.
In San Antonio, the Spurs lost to the Memphis Grizzlies with a score of 99-97, even though Victor Wembanyama, a standout Rookie of the Year contender, delivered an impressive performance. The French center scored 31 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, dished out five assists, made two steals, and blocked three shots. The game was tied at 97-97 with 18 seconds left, but Memphis’s Jaren Jackson Jr. secured the victory with a game-winning jump shot just over a second before the end.
