From the great Tatum vs. Luka & the Mavs; 5 in a row for Wolves; Atlanta stops Sacramento; Chicago wins Milwaukee

Busy Wednesday in the NBA with 12 games scheduled:

In a game in which Boston (17/34 3-pointers) led by as much as 27 points in the 3rd quarter before Dallas scored 13 of their next 15 points to trail back to 104-95 with 3:30 left, Jayson Tatum (37 points at 11/24, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) had the last word against Luka Doncic (42 points at 17/28, 8 rebounds, 9 assists), with a 125-112 win also by Jaylen Brown and his 31 points at 13/18, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Cleveland with 34 points by Donovan Mitchell, 24 points and 12 assists by Darius Garland and 24 points and 13 rebounds by Jarrett Allen dominated Portland and completed its perfect ‘home’ with a 4th win in as many home games. The Kings after 7 consecutive victories were stopped in Atlanta by Trae Young (35 points at 19/11, 7 assists) and by the Hawks. Golden State won its eighth game in 9 games at the Chase Center to dominate the Clippers, led by Andrew Wiggins’ season-high 31 points, Steph Curry’s 22 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, and Clay Thompson’s 18 points. This is the fifth time in the last 6 games that Steve Kerr’s men have signed at least 30 assists (36 in this game).

Visiting Toronto, Kyrie Irving’s Nets (19 of his 29 points in the 3rd quarter) beat the Raptors despite a Kevin Durant held to 12 points (but who became the 18th all-time scorer ahead of Kevin Garnett and 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks). Royce O’Neale broke career-high 3-pointers with 5 goals, Ben Simmons finished with 14 points at 7/9. Chicago picked up a win for the Bucks (20 turnovers) with 36 points and 8 assists by DeMar DeRozan and 18 points apiece for the LaVine – Vucevic duo. Giannis Antetokounmpo closed him with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 7 vain assists.

Zion Williamson had 32 points 14/18 and 11 rebounds in his team’s win in San Antonio, Denver topped OKC in overtime with 39 points 15/11, 10 rebounds and 9 assists by Nikola Jokic and 31 points at 16/10, 8 rebounds and 4 assists by Aaron Gordon versus 31 points at 8/20, 7 rebounds and 11 assists by SGA. Detroit won in Salt Lake City, Miami with 28 points from Kyle Lowry stopped Washington, the Wolves clinched their fifth consecutive victory (21 points on 9/11 and 16 rebounds from Rudy Gobert) and Charlotte with a clutch from Terry Rozier ( 9 points of 22 in the last 5 minutes) beat Philadelphia.

Cavs–Blazers 114-96