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NBA playoffs:
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Jayson Tatum had career playoff highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-101 on Monday in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Jaylen Brown scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Kemba Walker added 19 points for the Celtics.
Joel Embiid had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Josh Richardson and Alec Burks each added 18 points for the 76ers. Philadelphia nearly pulled off the win without All-Star guard Ben Simmons, who is out indefinitely after left knee surgery.
Tatum scored 15 points in the second quarter to give the Celtics a 55-49 lead at halftime. The 76ers shot 56% in the first half, but the Celtics scored 16 points off the 76ers 13 turnovers.
The 76ers went on a 15-0 run late in the third quarter to take an 81-75 lead, and Philadelphia led 85-81 heading into the fourth.
The Celtics went on a 9-0 run that included seven points by Brown to take a 92-86 lead, and Boston pushed the lead to 10 before the 76ers made a final push. Philadelphia cut Boston’s lead to 103-100 on a 3-pointer by Josh Richardson with 59 seconds remaining, but the Celtics made 6 of 6 free throws in the final minute.
Toronto 134, Brooklyn 110: Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-110 in the opening game of their first-round playoff series.
VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc as a team as they maintained playoff intensity even without any fans attending postseason games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. The Raptors’ 22 3-pointers matched a season high and set a franchise playoff record.
Denver 135, Utah 125: Jamal Murray showed up for his postgame Zoom call wearing a shirt featuring the image of boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Almost fitting, given the Denver Nuggets withstood blow after blow from Donovan Mitchell before landing the knockout punch.
Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Nuggets beat Utah 135-125 in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the game on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.
All-Star weekend changes likely:
The NBA’s 2021 All-Star weekend in Indianapolis is unlikely to take place as currently scheduled, with the league revealing Monday that large blocks of hotel rooms that had been reserved for the event have been released.
The next All-Star Game was set for Feb. 14, 2021, though the uncertainty of the NBA schedule because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has left countless unanswered questions about the 2020-21 season. The league is hopeful of starting next season in December, but that is still far from a lock.
And it also remains unclear when fans will be allowed back at NBA games, another major factor in the decisions that will have to be made about next season and All-Star weekend.