JAYSON Tatum poured in 41 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 and the Boston Celtics rallied to end the host Charlotte Hornets’ perfect start with a 140-129 overtime win on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila).
After Dennis Schroder tied it at 129 on a 3-pointer with 2:41 left in overtime, Brown added a trey of his own and followed it with an emphatic dunk at the 1:21 mark. Schroder added four consecutive free throws and Tatum made two to put the game away.
Tatum dished eight assists while Brown grabbed nine rebounds. Schroder finished with 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Boston, which had dropped two in a row to open the season before a 107-97 win at Houston on Sunday.
Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball scored 25 apiece to lead the Hornets. Bridges, who was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week earlier Monday, also grabbed 10 boards. Ball contributed nine assists.
In other games, it was the Heat 107, Magic 90; Bucks 119, Pacers 109; Nets 104, Wizards 90; Bulls 111, Raptors 108; Cavaliers 99, Nuggets 87; Pelicans 107, Timberwolves 98; Hawks 122, Pistons 104; and Clippers 116, Blazers 86.
Heat 107, Magic 90
Jimmy Butler scored 24 of his 36 points in the first half to fuel host Miami to its sixth win in seven meetings against Orlando.
Butler made 15 of 21 shots from the floor and added five steals, and his sharpshooting was significantly better than his previous game. He made just 7 of 22 shots in Miami’s 102-91 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Bam Adebayo collected 16 points and 13 rebounds to record his third straight double-double to begin the season. Markieff Morris had 16 points off the bench for the Heat. The Magic were led by Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, who each scored 15 points.
