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Celtics edge Raptors in overtime battle of Eastern powers
LOS ANGELES, Nov 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Kyrie Irving scored 23 of his 43
points in the fourth quarter and overtime Friday as the Boston Celtics made a
statement with a 123-116 victory over the NBA’s Eastern Conference leading
Toronto Raptors.
Irving added 11 assists and Jayson Tatum chipped in 21 points and seven
rebounds for the Celtics, who erased an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to
improve to 9-6 while the Raptors fell to 12-4.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Raptors,
who have lost three in a row since opening the season with 12 wins in their
first 13 games.
Trailing 82-78 at the end of the third quarter, the Celtics were down 86-78
after Leonard’s layup with 10:37 left in the fourth.
But they out-scored Toronto 29-25 in the final frame, knotting the score at
90-90 on Irving’s three-pointer.
Toronto regained a 107-103 lead with 1:29 remaining in regulation, but
Tatum’s dunk and Gordon Hayward’s free throws pulled Boston level, while
Leonard missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer.
Boston quickly seized control in overtime, in which they never trailed.
“We wanted to come out and be the aggressive team,” Irving said. “We got
kind of stalled in that third quarter, but we picked it up again down the
stretch.
“I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to get to my spots. I had my
pull-up working.”
In Philadelphia, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points in his home debut for the
76ers, leading the way in a 113-107 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Butler, acquired on Monday from the Minnesota Timberwolves, got a warm
welcome from Philly fans and made a quick impact as the hosts seized a 16-
point lead in the first quarter.
The Jazz dug in to make it close, and the teams traded the lead six times
in the fourth quarter.
Ben Simmons drove for a layup that put Philadelphia up 109-107 with 58.7
seconds remaining, and Butler drained a jump shot to stretch the lead then
drew an offensive foul from the Jazz.
Joel Embiid, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, capped
the scoring with two free throws and the Sixers improved to 10-7.
Butler, whose first game with the Sixers was Wednesday’s loss at Orlando,
also contributed seven assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Embiid had seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals despite
playing just 26 minutes because of foul trouble and Simmons finished with 10
points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 31 points, but the Jazz
suffered their second straight defeat.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1002 hrs