The Celtics snapped out of a three-game losing streak by beating the Portland Trail Blazer 115-93 last night in a game in which Jason Tatum returned to the court from injury.
The mere presence of Tatum motivated his team to pick up pace in the final stretch of the NBA season. With 30 points to his account, Tatum guided the victory for Boston, which left its record at 46-21 and two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks, leaders of the Eastern Conference.
The Denver Nuggets, leaders in the West, saw a four-game winning streak fall at the hands of the Chicago Bulls (96-117) who are close to the play-in zone. The Bulls, with a 30-36 mark, took advantage of the loss of the Washington Wizards hours before to get closer to them in the fight for the tenth and last place with access to the play-in.
The Wizards (31-35) lost to the Atlanta Hawks, a quintet that is in the qualifying zone and with the possibility of entering the playoffs directly.
The Pelicans defeated the Mavericks 113-106 and snatched tenth place in the West from the Oklahoma Thunder, who, for their part, lost ground with their defeat against the Phoenix Suns (132-101).
