The Boston Celtics grinded out a 111-105 NBA win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday with Jayson Tatum leading the way, putting up 34 points.
Tatum added 10 rebounds and five assists in another clutch performance while Jrue Holiday scored 20 points and Sam Hauser helped out with 16 points off the bench.
The victory moves the defending NBA champions to 19-4 and leaves them in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the early season NBA pacesetters, the 20-3 Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was a well-contested battle, befitting a game which could well feature in the playoffs with neither team managing to get more than eight points ahead while there were 14 lead changes.
The Celtics pulling clear late when Al Horford produced a three-pointer to make it 105-101 before Holiday, on a pass from Tatum, made a 14-foot floater to open up a five-point lead with 25.1 seconds left.
“This was a tough win,” Tatum said. “We didn’t necessarily shoot the ball as well as we wanted to, especially in the first half. But we just, we had to find a way.
“Second half we hit some shots, but we really picked it up on the defensive end and everybody played a part.”
Damian Lillard top scored with 30 points for the Bucks while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30 but Milwaukee fell to an 11-11 record.
Paul George, back after a knee injury, scored 21 points and provided nine assists for the Philadelphia 76ers in their 102-94 win over the Orlando Magic.
The 76ers were again without Joel Embiid, who is dealing with a knee problem, as they split a home series with the Magic after a defeat without George on Wednesday.
K.J. Martin was key to the win for the 76ers as he delivered 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting after coming off the bench.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Chicago Bulls 132-123 with Tyrese Haliburton top scoring with 23 points and Pascal Siakam putting up 21.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 32 points but could not stop Chicago falling to 10-14, the same record as the Pacers.
