Grant Williams nicknamed himself “Batman” after helping the Boston Celtics pin Nuggets star Nikola “Joker” Jokic during a win in Denver late last season.
The Celtics relied on their offense to keep the reigning back-to-back MVP from getting revenge. Jayson Tatum had 34 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Boston extended its streak to five games by beating Denver 131-112 on Friday night.
It was Tatum’s third straight game with 30 or more points and seventh time with 30+ this season. Boston had just seven turnovers and shot 57% from the field with 16 triples. Jaylen Brown had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
“He’s a lot of fun offensively right now,” said Al Horford, who hit six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. “The boys are very aware of understanding what the coach wants and what he expects. He wants good space and we are doing a good job to get into those positions.
“It’s fun to see when it comes together like that.”
Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla said he likes the on-court confidence he sees in his players.
“Our boys are committed to improving each other whether they have the ball or not,” said Mazzulla.
The loss ended the Nuggets’ four game hitting streak.
Jokic had 29 points and eight rebounds, but struggled with early fouls. Aaron Gordon added 17 points and eight rebounds.
The Nuggets remained close despite their bench playing shorthanded after Bones Hyland underwent health and safety protocols before kickoff. Bruce Brown was the most productive, playing 37 minutes and finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Denver was down 77-70 when Jokic was benched after his fourth foul with about seven minutes left in the third quarter.
The Nuggets continued without him, eventually cutting what had been an 18-point halftime deficit to 87-85.
New York 121–Detroit 112
RJ Barrett scored 30 points, Jalen Brunson added 26, and the New York Knicks held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 121-112 on Friday night.
Julius Randle had 21 points for the Knicks, who have won two of their last three games.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 25 and Alec Burks 17 for Detroit, which has now lost five of its last six games.
The Pistons are now 0-7 on the road this season.
New York went on an 11-2 run to go up 79-62 on a layup by Randle with 7:54 remaining in the third quarter and a pair of free throws by Derrick Rose gave the Knicks a 94-80 lead at the end . of the period. .
The Pistons opened the fourth quarter on a 15-7 run and closed it with consecutive three-pointers by Isaiah Livers to cut the deficit to 101-95 with 7:02 remaining in regulation.
San Antonio 111 – Milwaukee 93
Keldon Johnson scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs snapped a five-game losing streak with a 111-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
Devin Vassell scored 22 points in San Antonio’s first win since Oct. 30. Jakob Poeltl added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Kris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen, Joe Ingles and AJ Green due to health issues.
Jevon Carter had 21 points for the Bucks and Brook Lopez had 19. Bobby Portis finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
San Antonio was 12-of-31 on 3-pointers, including 5-of-8 by Johnson. The Spurs also blocked the Bucks’ fast break, taking a 21–0 lead.
The Spurs outscored the Bucks 28-17 in the quarter. Johnson hit a 3-pointer and a jump shot to make it 101-83 with 4:39 remaining.
