Jayson Tatum leads Boston Celtics to win over Milwaukee Bucks

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics just had to “find a way” to win, according to star man Jayson Tatum.

On Dec 6, the National Basketball Association (NBA) champions ground out a 111-105 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks with Tatum leading the way, putting up 34 points.

He added 10 rebounds and five assists in another clutch performance, while Jrue Holiday scored 20 points and Sam Hauser helped out with 16 points off the bench.

The victory moves the Celtics to 19-4 and leaves them in second place in the Eastern Conference, behind the early-season pacesetters, the 20-3 Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was a well-contested battle, befitting of a game which could well feature in the play-offs, with neither team managing to get more than eight points ahead while there were 14 lead changes.

Boston pulled clear late when Al Horford produced a three-pointer to make it 105-101 before Holiday, on a pass from Tatum, made a 14-foot floater to open up a five-point lead with 25.1 seconds left.

“This was a tough win,” Tatum admitted. “We didn’t necessarily shoot the ball as well as we wanted to, especially in the first half. But we just, we had to find a way.

“Second half we hit some shots, but we really picked it up on the defensive end and everybody played a part.”

Bucks guard Damian Lillard had a team-high 31 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30 but Milwaukee fell to an 11-11 record.

“I thought we played great basketball for three quarters,” said Bucks coach Doc Rivers. “But the fourth quarter, the last seven minutes, we went away from our execution that we have been doing all game. It will be something to watch on film and clearly improve on.

“I think that there are a lot of good things that came out of the game though.”

Elsewhere, Trae Young hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime, helping the Atlanta Hawks beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 134-132.

Young had 31 points and 20 assists, while De’Andre Hunter scored 26 off the bench, as Atlanta (13-11) won their sixth straight.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20, Onyeka Okongwu had 15, while Jalen Johnson chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds. Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels each added 11 in the Hawks’ balanced offensive effort.

LeBron James led Los Angeles with 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Anthony Davis tallied 38 points, 10 boards and eight assists. But the Lakers dropped their third straight to fall to 12-11.

Los Angeles coach JJ Redick, whose team have also lost seven of their last nine games, said he saw plenty of good signs despite the defeat.

“I told the group I appreciate their effort, their intent, their energy and truthfully, I liked a lot of their execution,” he said.

“We did enough to win a basketball game tonight... and I’m very appreciative of that. You can build on that, you can adjust and scheme, maybe tweak some things late game.”

Paul George, back after a knee injury, scored 21 points and provided nine assists for the Philadelphia 76ers in their 102-94 win over the Orlando Magic.

The Sixers (6-15) were again without Joel Embiid, who is dealing with a knee problem, as they split a home series with the Magic (16-9) after a defeat without George on Dec 4. KJ Martin was key to the win as he delivered 20 points on nine-of-10 shooting after coming off the bench.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 23 points and Pascal Siakam added 21, as the Indiana Pacers snapped a four-game skid with a 132-123 win over the Bulls in Chicago.

Haliburton hit five of nine three-pointers and finished with eight assists. Siakam hit three of five from beyond the arc for the Pacers (10-14), who had lost eight in a row on the road.

Zach LaVine scored 32 points, including five of nine from three-point range, and Coby White chipped in 19 points and nine assists for Chicago (10-14).
AFP, REUTERS