LOS ANGELES, OCT 30 – The defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, produced a brilliant second half performance to maintain their unbeaten record this season with a 119-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden recently.
The Bucks led narrowly 56-53 at halftime, with Damian Lillard contributing 16 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo adding 13 points.
However, the Celtics rallied after the break, hitting seven three-pointers to take a 37-26 lead into the third quarter and open up an eight-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Jaylen Brown then sealed the victory for the Celtics with nine more points in the fourth quarter, making Boston’s record 4-0.
Brown led the Celtics with 30 points, while Payton Pritchard came off the bench with 28 points, including eight three-pointers.
Jrue Holiday contributed 21 points while Jayson Tatum added 15 points.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla praised Pritchard’s performance after the win.
“He helped us defend in the first half, he’s always looking for different ways to impact the game,” Mazzulla said. “Tonight it was through shooting and defense, sometimes through passing he was a competitor. I really like to see him play.”
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers also maintained an unbeaten 4-0 record at the top of the Eastern Conference after recording a fierce 110-104 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks once led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but Cleveland managed to close the gap to four points by the fourth quarter of the game.
Darius Garland then dominated the final quarter with 15 points, helping the Cavs complete their comeback by outscoring the Knicks 36-26 to secure the win.
Garland finished with 34 points, while Donovan Mitchell contributed 25 points. – AFP
