NBA:Tatum leads Celtic rout of Nets, Sixers bounce back

LOS ANGELES – Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 as the Boston Celtics put the depleted Brooklyn Nets firmly in their place with a brutal 139-96 mauling on Wednesday.

That led both their teammate Robert Williams III and opposing eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving to exclaim that the pair are “hungry” to go one better after falling short in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals last season.

Said centre Williams: “They’re hungry. They’re still (upset) about last year.”

Irving added: “It’s clear as day that they want to win the championship, and they’re not wasting any time in the regular season.

“Tonight I felt like we were just one of those teams in the way, and you know, we just can’t be one of those teams in the way. We’ve got to be one of those teams that stands up to them.”

The heavyweight clash between the two Eastern Conference rivals ended with the Nets reeling on the ropes as the Celtics laid down a marker with a wire-to-wire victory at the TD Garden.

Conference leaders Boston (37-15) dominated from the outset, running up 46 points in the first quarter alone, with Tatum contributing 18 points. By half-time, the Celtics had a 34-point lead against a Brooklyn side (31-20) still missing the injured Kevin Durant.

Said Nets coach Jacque Vaughn: “This was a night where they hit first, they hit hard and it hurt.”

Tatum’s 31-point haul included seven three-pointers from 12-of-19 shooting while Brown provided scoring support.

Six Boston players finished in double figures after a lopsided match. Irving led the Brooklyn scoring with 20 points.

“A couple of days off did us good, we felt refreshed. We have depth and a next-man-up mentality,” Tatum said.

Tatum reserved special praise for Williams, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

“On any given night, Rob might be the most important guy to our long-term success,” he said.

“To get to where we want to get to, we need Rob on the floor and we need him healthy.”

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back from their upset loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday with a comprehensive 105-94 defeat of the Florida club.

The Sixers had been on a roll heading into Monday’s game with seven straight wins, but somehow squandered a 21-point advantage to crash 119-109.

A scheduling quirk meant the Sixers did not have to wait long to avenge that loss, and Philadelphia duly seized the opportunity on Wednesday.

A reinvigorated Sixers side turned the tables with a convincing victory thanks to 28 points from Joel Embiid and 26 points from James Harden.

Harden narrowly missed out on a triple double, finishing with nine rebounds and 10 assists, with a points tally that included six three-pointers.

Markelle Fultz topped the Magic scoring with 18 points.

Meanwhile, the prolific Damian Lillard poured in 42 points for a second straight game as the Portland Trail Blazers downed the Grizzlies 122-112 in Memphis.

Lillard, who also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, is now tied with Shaquille O’Neal in 19th place on the list of players with the most 40-point games in NBA history.

The guard, who also scored 42 points in the win over Atlanta on Monday, now has 49 40-point games.

The Blazers talisman chipped in with nine points in the final quarter, while Anfernee Simons dropped in 14 as Portland outscored Memphis 38-22 in the fourth to claim victory.

Ja Morant finished with 32 points for Memphis, who at one stage led by 12 points before Portland clawed their way back into the contest.

“We were down, and they’re a great team, but we’re a team that’s dealt with a lot this season and we feel like we felt the bottom,” Lillard said.

“We were put in a position with our back against the wall tonight and we responded the way real connected teams do.” AFP