On the verge of being blown out, the Boston Celtics instead routed the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday in London.
Outscoring
Philadelphia 66-46 in the second half, Boston overcame a 22-point,
second-quarter deficit and claimed a 114-103 victory at O2 Arena.
Jaylen
Brown led five players in double figures for the Celtics, with Kyrie
Irving adding 20 to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Marcus
Morris scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Al Horford
collected 13 points, eight boards and seven assists.
JJ Redick scored
a game-high 22 points for Philadelphia, while rookie Ben Simmons hit
for 16. Joel Embiid contributed a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Raptors 133, Cavaliers 99
Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting as host Toronto steamrolled Cleveland.
CJ
Miles made four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points and Jonas
Valanciunas contributed 15 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the
Raptors. Pascal Siakam also scored 16 points as Toronto won for the
sixth time in seven games.
LeBron James had 26 points for the
Cavaliers, who were routed for the second straight contest while losing
for the sixth time in the past eight games. Cleveland trailed by as many
as 41 points on Monday in a 127-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Clippers 121, Kings 115
Blake
Griffin returned from a two-game absence caused by a concussion and hit
a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:55 to play, sending Los Angeles past host
Sacramento.
The club’s ninth victory in the past 12 games might have
been a costly one for the injury-ravaged Clippers, who lost star center
DeAndre Jordan to a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.
Los
Angeles’ Lou Williams, who exploded for 50 points Wednesday in a win
over the Golden State Warriors, followed up with a game-high 30 against
the Kings. Griffin added an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double. Bogdan
Bogdanovic topped Sacramento with 22 points.
Lakers 93, Spurs 81
Brandon
Ingram scored 26 points, and Lonzo Ball contributed 18 points, 10
rebounds and six assists as Los Angeles knocked off visiting San
Antonio.
Larry Nance Jr. added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the
Lakers, who won their season-best third consecutive game. Los Angeles
forced 20 turnovers and halted a seven-game home losing streak versus
San Antonio.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points for the Spurs, who
were without Kawhi Leonard (shoulder) for the third straight game. Bryn
Forbes added 18 points for San Antonio.
Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown (left) in action with Philadelphia 76ers’ Jerryd Bayless during their NBA game at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday. (Reuters)