The Celtics and Suns are a hit, thanks to the bubbly Tatum and Booker.
Conference leaders drew the cards for a turbulent night on Wednesday in the NBA: Led by a sparkling Jayson Tatum, the previously first-place Boston Celtics beat Miami 134-121, and the Phoenix Suns were comfortably fired up by Devin Booker , ahead of Chicago. 132-113.
Jayson Tatum, candidate for the title of MVP (best player of the season), totaled 49 points in the eyes of Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton. Last season’s NBA runners-up team extended their TD Garden Lair winning streak to 10 this season and are now on a five-game winning streak.
Tatum matched his performance with a very good percentage of success: 60% on two points, and 66.7% on three points, also capturing eleven rebounds in passing.
It’s the ninth time in November that the 24-year-old has scored at least 30 points in a game. Only the legendary Larry Bird had achieved such a performance in an increasingly distant past.
In contrast, the Heat, with Max Strauss, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Hero each over thirty points, were undeserved.
The Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Bulls 132-113, with a fiery Devin Booker scoring 51 points on 80 percent two-point range and 85.7 percent three-point range. Passed everything on the ground in just thirty minutes.
“It was a special night, for sure. It’s just one of those times where you sit back and watch the guy get hot,” Celtics coach Monty Williams said.
Antetokounmpo is valuable for the box
By the way, DeAndre Ayton’s thirty points and fourteen rebounds, for his seventh consecutive double-double, will go almost unnoticed in a Phoenix team that has won six in a row.
Boston and the Phoenix Dolphins also won: the East Milwaukee Bucks, who robbed the Knicks of a precious 109-103 victory at Madison Square Garden, and the Denver Nuggets, who beat Colorado Houston 120-100.
In the ranks of the Nuggets, who did the job in the first half, arrived at the break already leading by 27 points, Jamal Murray was the top scorer with 26 points.
In an ultra-close end-to-end game in New York, Giannis Antetokounmpo was invaluable to Milwaukee, sweeping a triple-double with 37 points, thirteen rebounds and seven assists.
Two-thirds of the conference do not allow themselves to be counted. They also won, New Orleans on the banks of the Mississippi against Toronto 126 to 108, and Cleveland which stifled the attack of Philadelphia 113 to 85.
In Los Angeles, LeBron James, the second-highest scorer in NBA history, put in a fine showing, brushing off a triple-double with 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his team’s 128-109 victory over Portland. But “King James” is still more than a thousand points off the record of another former Lakers glory, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Lakers good: It’s their third win in four games, fourth in a 116-115 loss to Indiana on Monday.
Finally, note the Utah Jazz’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers 125-112, marking the end of a five-game losing streak for the Jazz.
