Jayson Tatum scored 41 points in a dazzling display as Boston Celtics beat Brooklyn Nets 118-110 to extend their lead at the top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Boston Celtics’ star, Tatum also claimed 14 rebounds and five assists to help his team to a fifth straight win which took them to take them to 42 wins against 12 losses in the season.
Jaylen Brown added 19 points, with 16 each for Al Horford and Derrick White.
Boston Celtics are now six games clear at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Tatum scored 31 of his points in the first half and the Celtics led by as many as 23 in the third quarter before Brooklyn Nets fought back in the fourth to make a game of it.
An under-strength Miami Heat thrashed the Milwaukee Bucks 123-97 in Wisconsin.
Miami Hat were without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson but shot brilliantly from three-point range, making 19 out of 40 from beyond the arc, to cruise to victory.
Nicola Jovic top-scored with 24 and Duncan Robinson made six threes in a 23-point performance.
Milwaukee Bucks stay third in the Eastern Conference with Miami Heat seventh, half a game out of the play-off places.
Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were in fine form once again as Oklahoma City Thunder claimed a comfortable 127-113 win over Orlando Magic.
Minnesota Timberwolves stay a game ahead of Oklahoma City at the top of Western Conference, though, after Anthony Edwards’ 41 points took them to a 121-109 triumph at Portland Trail Blazers.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points as Phoenix Suns won an exciting back-and-forth contest against Sacramento Kings 130-125.
Los Angeles Lakers secured a straightforward 125-111 win over the struggling Detroit Pistons, with LeBron James scoring 25 points for Los Angeles Lakers.
