Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to their seventh straight win, 138-129 over the Chicago Bulls in Friday night’s NBA Cup pool game.
Reserve Payton Pritchard added a season-best 29 points, including 11 straight during a fourth quarter run that gave the Celtics the lead for good.
Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 32 points and had 11 rebounds for Chicago, which could have secured a spot in the Cup quarterfinals with a victory. Atlanta, which defeated Cleveland earlier in the day, secured the Group C berth and will advance to the knockout round.
Boston still has a shot at the wild-card berth, but it depends on the outcome of Tuesday’s games.
Zach LaVine added 29 points for the Bulls, including four 3-pointers to become the franchise’s career leader in made 3s.
Tied at 108, Pritchard made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start an 11-4 run that gave Boston some breathing room. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porziņģis each added 21 points.
Magic roll past Nets to stay hot
Franz Wagner scored 29 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 19 and the Orlando Magic cruised to a 123-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in an NBA Cup game.
Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. each had 12 points for the Magic, who improved to 3-0 in Group A play and moved into a tie with New York. Orlando plays the Knicks, who are also 3-0 in the East’s Group A, in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday with the winner advancing as group champion.
The Magic have won their last five games and 11 of their last 12 following a five-game losing streak, all of which came on the road.
Shake Milton scored 22 points off the bench, Keon Johnson also had 15 off the bench and Cam Johnson added 14 for the Nets, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 1-3 in the in-season tournament.
Hawks beat league-leading Cavs again
De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points off Atlanta’s bench and the Hawks defeated Cleveland 117-101 in the NBA Cup, handing the Cavaliers a loss for the second time in three days.
The Cavaliers (17-3) still boast the NBA’s best record, but they once again couldn’t match the Hawks’ scoring depth. Trae Young had 21 points and 11 assists, and Jalen Johnson added 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Atlanta finished with six scorers in double figures.
Atlanta’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 50-28.
Darius Garland led Cleveland with 29 points and Evan Mobley added 24 points, including seven dunks. Donovan Mitchell had 12 points on 5-of-23 shooting with 11 rebounds.
Atlanta won 135-124 at Cleveland on Wednesday night as Young set a career high with 22 assists. Young leads the NBA in assists at 12.5 per game.
The Hawks clinched East Group C in the NBA Cup when Chicago lost to visiting Boston later Friday.
