DETROIT – Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said it was an “honor” to coach Jaylen Brown after the forward’s 33 points helped the league-leading Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons 129-102 on March 22 to push their victory to the National Basketball Association (NBA). eight-game streak.
Along with teammates Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday, Brown ably filled the void and made 13 of 19 shots from the field in Detroit.
“(I) just tried to be aggressive coming out,” Brown, who notched his sixth game since the All-Star break by 30 or more points, told NBC Sports Boston. “I know we had guys outside.”
He also said he tried to keep his teammates involved, and even though he ended up with zero assists, Mazzulla said he was doing all the right things.
“It’s an honor to coach Jaylen when he plays like that,” the coach told ESPN.
“He handles every possession on both ends of the floor and he gets the shots he wants, both for himself and his teammates. He plays very complete basketball and it’s fun to watch.
Payton Pritchard added 20 points and Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis scored 19 apiece for Boston, which improved to its league-best record to 56-14. The Milwaukee Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference at 45-25.
Tatum missed the first game of a six-game road trip to rest a troublesome ankle. Horford was sidelined with a toe injury and Holiday was sidelined with an arm injury.
But against Detroit, last, the Celtics were still too strong.
James Wiseman got his first start of the season for the Pistons and scored a team-high 24 points.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder (49-20) edged out the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets (49-21), to take the lead in the Western Conference with a 123-103 victory over the Raptors in Toronto .
Point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists, and rookie center Chet Holmgren scored 18 points with 10 rebounds.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers cracked down defensively in the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-94.
Anthony Davis scored 23 points and grabbed 19 rebounds and LeBron James scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers overcame 21 turnovers that led to 27 Sixers points.
“In the second half, we did a great job (defensively), despite some of our offensive mistakes — turning the ball over, missing point-blank shots,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
“We were able to maintain our defensive effort.”
D’Angelo Russell made four three-pointers to reach 14 points, setting a Lakers franchise record for most three-pointers in a season.
His first line of the night was his 184th of the season, surpassing the record of 183 set by Nick Van Exel in 1994-95.
In San Francisco, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points and dished out 11 assists as the Pacers beat the Golden State Warriors 123-111.
Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 16 rebounds for Indiana, while Stephen Curry led Golden State with 25 points and 10 rebounds. AFP
