The Angels. All-star Kyrie Irving gave a 40-point recital in the Brooklyn Nets’ win over the Boston Celtics while the Philadelphia 76ers held out for the NBA East lead by defeating the Chicago Bulls without Embiid and Simmons.
The Nets, who still cannot recover the injured Kevin Durant, beat the Celtics 121-109 driven by a fabulous last three minutes of Irving, in which he scored 8 points with two triples.
The point guard finished with 40 points (12/23 in shooting from the field), equaling his best record of the season, with 5 triples and 8 rebounds while James Harden had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
For Boston, forward Jayson Tatum had 31 points while guard Jaylen Brown, the other figure, had an unfortunate night with 13 points and 5/23 shooting from the field.
The Nets’ triumph could propel them to the lead in the Eastern Conference, but the Philadelphia 76ers remained in the lead thanks to an unexpected and resounding 127-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
The Sixers overcame the casualties of their two biggest stars, Joel Embiid of Cameroon and Ben Simmons of Australia, who were quarantined the Sunday before the All-Star Game for having been in contact with a barber who tested positive for Covid-19.
Power forward Tobias Harris, with 24 points, led Philadelphia’s win against a disappointing Bulls, in which Lauri Markkanen returned from his shoulder injury with 23 points and 7 triples without failure.
With 12 points in the final three minutes, point guard Terry Rozier led the Charlotte Hornets to a 105-102 victory at home against the Detroit Pistons.
A triple over the horn, forward Tony Snell gave the Atlanta Hawks a 121-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 135-105, while another bulky scoreboard gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 134-101 win over the New York Knicks.
In other results, the Phoenix Suns, who are second in the Western Conference, beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-121, and the Clippers led by Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka and Paul George beat the Golden State Warriors 130-104 with the Mexican Juan Toscano who left blank on the boards.
Miami Heat superó 111-103 a Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder se impuso 116-108 a Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings doblegó 125-105 a Houston Rockets.
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