Boston Celtics top Dallas Mavericks in NBA Finals rematch
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Boston Celtics guard Derrick White dunking over Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS – Derrick White’s aggressiveness helped National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Boston Celtics dominate the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 in a Finals rematch on Jan 25 as Victor Wembanyama ended a “priceless” week in Paris with a defeat.
Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, White added 23 and Jaylen Brown chipped in 22 for the Celtics, who bounced back from an embarrassing 21-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers two days ago.
On White, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was quoted by NBC as saying: “I think the best way to get him looks is just empower him and make sure that he’s aggressive. I love watching him do that...
“It was nothing more than just continuing to make sure he finds ways to be aggressive.”
Teammate Kristaps Porzingis agreed, adding: “D-White’s just so good...
“We’re a different beast when D-White gets going and starts hitting shoulders, threes, these deep-corner threes.
“He hits so many daggers for us. That brings us to another level.”
All five starters scored in double figures as the Celtics imposed their will against a Mavericks team still playing without injured star Luka Doncic, who suffered a calf injury on Christmas Day.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavs with 22 points, but sharpshooter Klay Thompson scored just six points on four attempts from the floor.
Porzingis said the road win is the kind of performance the Celtics need as they try to find consistency in their bid to retain the title.
“We were a lion last season and some games this year, we’ve looked like a house cat,” said Porzingis, who scored 18 points.
In Cleveland, the Houston Rockets let a 19-point second-half lead evaporate but held on to beat the Cavaliers 135-131.
Houston’s second win in four days over the Eastern Conference leaders dropped the Cavs (36-9) behind Western Conference pacesetters Oklahoma City (36-8) for best record in the league.
Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green scored 26 points apiece and Amen Thompson posted a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as the Rockets took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter only for the Cavaliers to tie it up with 1min 51sec left to play.
A free throw by Sengun restored the Rockets’ lead and Thompson threw down a dunk off a rebound of a Sengun miss. Up by just one with less than a minute remaining, Houston found a way to hold on.
Darius Garland scored 39 points and Donovan Mitchell added 33 for Cleveland, but for the first time this season, the Cavs dropped a third straight game.
In San Francisco, Anthony Davis scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and LeBron James added 25 points and 12 assists to lead the Lakers to a 118-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 20 points as Stephen Curry, like James a four-time NBA champion, was held to 13 points and went scoreless on zero-of-eight shooting in the second half.
At Minnesota, Anthony Edwards scored 34 points and handed out nine assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 133-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Edwards made three three-pointers – including one from the centre-court logo – to take his tally to 976 and surpass former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns for most in the Timberwolves’ history.
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 25 points.
NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic added 20 and 11 assists but, with just three rebounds, his streak of consecutive triple-doubles ended at five.
The jam-packed Jan 25 slate started in Paris, where Tyrese Haliburton’s hot shooting fired the Indiana Pacers to a 136-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs and their French star Wembanyama.
At the Bercy Arena where he won Olympic gold with the United States in 2024, Haliburton poured in 16 points in the third quarter on the way to a 28-point haul.
Harrison Barnes led the Spurs with 25 points and Wembanyama added 20, but San Antonio could not back up their 140-110 victory over Indiana in the French capital on Jan 23.
Nevertheless, Wembanyama’s return to Paris confirmed his star status at the age of 21 as he squeezed in a Champions League football match and an LVMH fashion show, and opened basketball courts for delighted schoolchildren.
“I did my best to make this week special for my team, for my family, my friends but people still found ways to surprise me, to make things feel like it mattered for them and I mattered for them,” Wembanyama said. “It’s priceless.” REUTERS
