(Basketball news) The Boston Celtics bounced back from a disappointing defeat as they beat the in-form Dallas Mavericks 124-95. For the Celtics, Tatum had 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists while Jaylen Brown scored 19 points as Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 15 points, with Smart going 4 of 9 from deep while Brogdon was 3 of 5. For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic scored 23 points after averaging 44.5 points the previous five games while Christian Wood had 12 points and 12 rebounds as rookie Jaden Hardy scored all of his 15 points in the second half with the game out of reach. With this result the Celtics still maintain the best record in the league and are top of the Eastern Conference table.
”They showed me they can do it one time,” interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. ”They have to do it over and over again.”
”When we’re at our best, we play really good basketball on both ends of the floor with high effort for a long period of time,” Mazzulla said. ”And then we go through a couple of games where we lose that. What I love about tonight was we did bounce back.”
”It was kind of like what happened in Boston,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. ”We just couldn’t score. We had some great looks there early. The ball just didn’t fall for us.”
The Denver Nuggets continued their brilliant form as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 122-91. For the Nuggets, Jamal Murray sparked Denver early by scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter, and the Nuggets led by as many as 43 in the third quarter. The two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists before taking the fourth quarter off as Denver had 7 players in double digit scoring. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were given a rest as Norman Powell led the scoring with 13 points. With this result the Nuggets jumped back to the top of the Western Conference standings with a record of 25-13.
”Wins like this give us a lot of confidence and build a lot of chemistry,” Murray said. ”Sets a standard for us.”
”I’ve been around people who would not allow themselves to enjoy the wins, to enjoy the moment. I’m not that guy,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. ”But I’m also not going to party and celebrate.
”That was a hell of a win for us. A convincing win, from beginning to end. Everybody contributed. We’re in first place in the Western Conference. We’re not there yet. But we’re on our way. I like where we’re at and, more importantly, I like who I’m going there with.”
”We didn’t have a defensive mindset to start the game and it kind of hurt us,” coach Tyronn Lue said. ”We’ve got to be better defensively. We knew that coming into the game, or they embarrass you. Tonight was a tough game for us.”
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