Boston Celtics labour to NBA win over Washington Wizards
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert defends in the first half at Capital One Arena.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MIAMI – The Boston Celtics struggled on Nov 22, but had their emotionally charged coach Joe Mazzulla to thank for.
Jaylen Brown led with 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as the defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champions clinched a 108-96 win over the Washington Wizards in the NBA Cup at Capital One Arena.
The Celtics moved to 13-3 for the season but still have some work to do in the Cup, where they are in second place at 2-1 in Eastern Conference Group C behind the Atlanta Hawks.
They trailed by two at half-time, having been 11 points behind at one stage, and it was not until late in the fourth quarter that they were able to pull away from the Wizards.
Brown delivered down the stretch, but it was far from a vintage Celtics performance though.
Jayson Tatum, who scored 16 points, was 0 for 10 from three-point range and Boston shot 42.4 per cent from the floor and 23.9 per cent from outside the arc, equalling their lowest scoring output of the season.
Mazzulla picked up a technical foul in the second half for remonstrating with the referee, but opined his emotions had an impact on the game. He said: “It changed the energy in the arena. Did you feel that? It wasn’t really about energising the guys, it was more about manipulating the environment. It was just what the environment needed at the time.”
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks, without the injured Luka Doncic, survived a strong comeback from the Denver Nuggets to emerge with a 123-120 win at Ball Arena.
Naji Marshall led the scoring for the Mavs, off the bench, with 26 points, while P.J. Washington put up 22 points. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double, top-scoring for Denver with 33 points along with 17 rebounds and 10 assists.
“We all stepped up at the right time and we gutted out this win,” said Mavs point guard Kyrie Irving, who said the team had shown the right attitude without Doncic.
“It is next-man-up mentality and we’ve got to do our best to find that rhythm. Consistently feed each other that confidence, especially in tough environments like this. We had to will ourselves to this win.”
Over at Smoothie King Centre, Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points for the Golden State Warriors as they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 112-108. A pair of free throws from Draymond Green saw the Warriors over the line and into the quarter-finals of the NBA Cup.
Giannis Antetokounmpo produced his second triple-double in four games putting up 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 129-117 at Fiserv Forum.
Damian Lillard helped out with 24 points and 13 assists, as the Bucks claimed their third straight win and went 2-0 in the Cup. AFP
