Celtics and Cavs won with authority on Martin Luther King Day

Boston Celticscurrent NBA champion, with a victory by 40 points difference on their visit to Golden State Warriorsand Cleveland Cavaliersleader of the East, with a solid victory against Phoenix Sunswere the big winners of the special event organized on Martin Luther King Day.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics’ basketball recital with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in three quarters. The Latvian Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 17 points. None of them competed in the fourth quarter, which the Celtics reached with a 34-point lead: 97-63.
Boston shot 53% and connected on 20 of 48 triples, while the Warriors did not go above a modest 34%.
The best scorer on Steve Kerr’s team was Steph Curry with 18 points. The quadruple NBA champion came into the game in cotton wool and made 6 of 17 field goals. He connected 4 of 12 triples.
The Cavaliers walked at home against some in-form Suns and overwhelmed them with 33 points from Donovan Mitchell in just 30 minutes on the court. Darius Garland contributed 16 points and 7 assists in the solid victory for Cleveland, which has the best record in the NBA with 36-6.
Kevin Durant scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds but did not have enough support from his teammates. Devin Booker scored just 15 points.
The Knicks put their tough home loss against the Wolves behind them and beat the Hawks to the pace of Jalen Brunson, who scored 34 points.
Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns returned after two games of absence due to injury and almost reached the triple-double with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists despite his 5 of 18 shooting.
For the Hawks, Trae Young scored 27 points, with 6 triples.
The Grizzlies overcame a 16-point deficit and triumphed at home against the Timberwolves driven by 24 points (15 in the fourth quarter) and 11 rebounds from Jaren Jackson Jr. Desmond Bane contributed 22 for the Grizzlies.
Anthony Edwards’ 32 points and Naz Reid’s 29 were not enough for the Wolves.
Daniel Gafford scored the highest score of his career with 31 points, but the Dallas Mavericks stumbled against the Hornets.
The powerful inmate excelled with 12 of 15 field goals and 7 of 7 from the line. Additionally, he captured 15 rebounds (8 of them offensive) and placed 6 blocks.
Gafford’s great game was accompanied by Kyrie Irving’s 33 points (11 of 24), but even that was not enough for the Mavericks, who are still without the injured Luka Doncic, to defeat the Hornets.
Lamelo Ball and Miles Bridges were Charlotte’s leading scorers with 23 points each.
The Pistons surprised the second-ranked team in the West, the Houston Rockets, who succumbed to Cade Cunningham’s 32 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Ime Udoka’s Rockets were not enough with Fred Van Vleet’s 20 points and Jalen Green’s 19.
CJ McCollum scored 45 points (5 triples), 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in the Pelicans’ hard-fought victory at home against the Utah Jazz after overtime.
It was a duel between the Jazz, last, and the Pelicans, second to last. New Orleans is recovering and has four consecutive victories.
For the Jazz, who are still without Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins, it was their 31st loss of the season in 41 games.
The Bulls arrived sunk to their visit to the Clippers, but they gave the surprise by winning with authority at the pace of Zach LaVine (35 points), one of the players whose name has been among the possible departures from the Chicago franchise for months.
Josh Giddey touched the triple-double for the Bulls with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Clippers surrendered at home despite Norman Powell’s 27 points and James Harden’s 17 and 10 assists.
Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac did not play for the Clippers to manage energy after the game won 24 hours earlier against the Los Angeles Lakers. For the Bulls, Coby White did not compete due to ankle discomfort.