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Cleveland (United States) (AFP) – All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points on Monday in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 118-114 victory over the Boston Celtics, who suffered their third straight loss and are moving away from the NBA Eastern Conference lead.
Power forward Grant Williams had two free throws with less than a second left to give Boston the win but missed both and the game went in favor of the locals in overtime.
A depleted Boston, without star Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III, was looking forward to ending a two-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks.
But those hopes were met with a relentless performance from Mitchell who, before Grant’s misses, made the two free throws that tied it at 109 with 5.8 seconds left.
The Cavaliers, who had blown a 15-point lead in the third quarter, came out on top in overtime by a 31-17 run.
Mitchell finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and young Evan Mobley had 25 points and 17 sacks.
Jaylen Brown led Boston’s scorers with 32 points, while Malcolm Brogdon added 24 off the bench.
The Celtics are second in the East, two games behind the leaders, the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Cavaliers are fourth.
Embiid commands Sixers
In another of the six games on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed another great performance from Cameroonian Joel Embiid to win 147-143 at home over the Indiana Pacers.
Embiid finished with 42 points and a formidable stat of 11/16 shooting from the field and 19/19 from free throws.
The Sixers’ James Harden had 14 points but had 20 assists, while Tyrese Maxey added 24 cards and Jalen McDaniels 20.
In Miami, star Jimmy Butler finished with 26 points in the Heat’s 130-128 win over the Atlanta Hawks in which they also overcame a 15-point deficit.
Trae Young led Atlanta’s scoring with 25 points.
In their turn, the Denver Nuggets, leaders of the West, beat the Toronto Raptors 118-113 in a game in which they trailed until a final comeback.
A decisive defensive action by Nikola Jokic late in the fourth quarter helped the Nuggets take the lead.
“I’m going to let Nikola’s greatness speak for itself,” said his coach, Michael Malone. “He’s a good defender. You don’t have to be a great athlete to be a good defender, just watch, listen, learn.”
Jokic, favorite to win his third MVP award in a row, touched the triple double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists.
And in Detroit, the stellar point guard Damian Lillard did sign a triple double of 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 110-104 victory over the Pistons.
– Results of Monday in the NBA:
Cleveland at Boston 118-114 (in overtime)
Philadelphia and Indiana 147-143
Portland a Detroit 110-104
Miami a Atlanta 130-128
Denver a Toronto 118-113
Sacramento a New Orleans 123-108
© 2023 AFP
