NBA: Jayson Tatum leads Boston Celtics to narrow win over Miami Heat
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Image caption: Jayson Tatum was one assist shy of a triple-double in the Celtics’ win against the Heat
Jayson Tatum starred for the Boston Celtics as they held off a fightback by the Miami Heat to win a feisty encounter 110-106.
Boston had a 15-point lead cut to two with less than two minutes remaining but dug in to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Tatum was one assist shy of a triple-double as he finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points while Tyler Herro scored 24 for Miami.
Boston star Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Duncan Robinson clashed in the fourth period and exchanged heated words before Brown was assessed a flagrant foul.
A three-pointer from Herro then got Miami – who shocked the Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals – back to within two at 106-104 with 1:49 remaining but Tatum and Porzingis sealed the win from the free-throw line.
Elsewhere, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exploded for 38 points and Jalen Williams added 32 as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings 127-113.
The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Thunder and moves them up to third in the Western Conference, half a game back from leaders the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Kings, for whom center Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, stay in the play-in places as they sit seventh in the West.