Eastern Conference Recaps, Jan. 11: Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown Lead Celtics Past Pelicans
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Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showed why they are one of the best duos when the Boston Celtics defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 125-114. Brown scored a season-high 41 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Tatum recorded 31 points and 10 rebounds. It was the 10th time in their careers they combined for 70-plus points.
“They continue to grow in front of our eyes," Al Horford, who scored 14 points, said. "What we did last year and what they did last year leading us to the Finals, it shows a lot of growth on their end. Now I feel like they’re just playing basketball, trying to lead us.”
C.J. McCollum led the Pelicans with 38 points while Naji Marshall had 18.
NEXT CELTICS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 24 at Miami
NEXT PELICANS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 18 in New Orleans
OTHER NOTES:
Kyle Kuzma hit a 3-pointer on the right wing to give the Washington Wizards a 100-97 victory against the Chicago Bulls.
“I was trying to give myself the best chance to make a play,” Kuzma, who finished with 21 points, said. "I caught the ball, I looked left, a lot of teams are forcing me left. I just had Delon get flat a little bit. I knew I had Caruso on me and he’s one of the better defenders in the league. Give myself a chance to pick either way instead of being directed in one. Rose up and shot it and it went in.”
Zach LaVine scored 38 on a night DeMar DeRozan sat out with a quad injury. Nikola Vucevic recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds.
NEXT WIZARDS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 7 in Washington
NEXT BULLS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 18 in Chicago
Saddiq Bey scored a season-high 31 points to help the Detroit Pistons beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-118. Bojan Bogdanovic recorded 27. Anthony Edwards scored 20 for the Timberwolves while D’Angelo Russell had 19. Rudy Gobert recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double
NEXT PISTONS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 19 in Detroit
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114-105 but Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled. He finished with 18 rebounds and 10 assists but scored just seven points.
“I thought it was one of Giannis’ best games without scoring," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I thought he trusted his teammates. He made a ton of great plays. For him to go to the boards, do everything else he does and then find the willpower, the competitiveness to get a tough offensive rebound, not force it through a bunch of traffic."
It was the second time in three games he was held to single-digit points. Jrue Holiday led the way with 27 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 off the bench for the Hawks. Trae Young missed the game due to an illness.
NEXT BUCKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 12 at Miami
NEXT HAWKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Jan. 16 in Atlanta
Jalen Brunson scored 34 points to lead the New York Knicks past the Indiana Pacers 119-113. RJ Barrett recorded 27 after missing six games due to a finger injury. Buddy Hield led the Pacers with 31 while Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 off the bench.
NEXT KNICKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 2 in New York
NEXT PACERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 8 at Miami
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog https://allball30.wordpress.com
