By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points a pivotal third quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-109, on Wednesday night, March 25, snapping the defending champions’ 12-game win streak.
Jayson Tatum recovered from back-to-back rocky performances to add 19 points and 12 rebounds while also contributing seven assists as Boston earned a split in the two regular-season matchups between the past two NBA champs.
Brown added eight rebounds and eight assists, and his big quarter helped the Celtics take an 88-83 lead into the fourth. Boston’s edge grew as high as 14 in the final period.
OKC got within 115-109 with 1:30 remaining, but a layup by Brown, and two free throws by Derrick White helped Boston close it out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and eight assists. But Oklahoma City was outscored by the Celtics 19-2 in second-chance points and shot just 12 of 37 from the 3-point line.
Lu Dort added 14 points. Jalen Williams finished with seven points in his second game back following a 16-game absence with a hamstring injury.
The Thunder earned a two-point victory in the first meeting between the teams two weeks ago in Oklahoma City. But that game was played with both sides missing key players.
The Celtics were without both Tatum, who hadn’t returned from Achilles tendon rehab, and White (bruised right knee). Oklahoma City didn’t have Williams (strained right hamstring) or Isaiah Hartenstein (bruised left calf).
Meanwhile, Gui Santos scored a career-high 31 points, Draymond Green made two clutch free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining and the Golden State Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets, 109-106, to clinch a play-in spot.
Brandin Podziemski had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Warriors (35-38), who won their first game at Chase Center since returning from a grueling 2-4 road trip.
Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and De’Anthony Melton had 14, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds, as Golden State beat Brooklyn in San Francisco for the first time since Dec. 16, 2023.
Ziaire Williams had 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine straight. Jalen Wilson added 15 points off the bench while Ben Saraf had 14 points and seven rebounds.
The sellout at Chase Center was the 600th consecutive sellout for the Warriors, the sixth-longest streak in NBA history,
Earlier, Luka Doncic scored 43 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
With Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark snapping pictures on the sideline as a credentialed photographer, Doncic sank 15 of 30 shots and hit 9 of 10 free throws. Austin Reaves scored 25 points, LeBron James scored 23 and Jaxson Hayes had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.
The Lakers have won 10 of 11, with Doncic scoring at least 30 points in each. Los Angeles, which sits third in the Western Conference, lost Monday night at Detroit, ending a nine-game winning streak.
