NBA. Celtics bow out (finally), Warriors seesaw

The Chicago Bulls, led by DeMar DeRozan’s 28 points, ended the Boston Celtics’ nine-game NBA winning streak with a 121-107 home win on Monday, while the diminished Warriors suffered their tenth loss of the season.

A frustrated Zach LaVine scored 22 points in the final minutes of the Bulls’ 108-107 loss to Orlando on Friday. Nikola Vucevic added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which also beat the Celtics at home in October, but lost to Boston on Nov. 4 in a game that started the Celtics’ streak.

With 13 wins against four losses, Boston continues to maintain the best index in the NBA. Jayson Tatum scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made 7 assists. Another Celtics star, Jaylen Brown, scored 25 points and 7 rebounds.

Without their stars, the Golden State Warriors, the defending champions in a minor league, suffered another humiliation in New Orleans (128-83), just 24 hours after their first road win of the season in Houston. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were missing. Thompson was coming off a 41-point performance in Houston, but remained logical.

Zion is back!

After two seasons on the sidelines, the 32-year-old fullback did not play a second game.Back to backafter returning from surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in January. Curry, who scored 33 points in Houston, was sidelined with a sore right elbow and Green with a lower back injury.

Consequently, Kevon Looney was the Warriors’ only true starter, and the Pelicans, led by Brandon Ingram’s 35 points, took full advantage of the weakness of Golden State, which was only 11th in the Eastern Conference. CJ McCollum added 15 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 for the Pelicans, who cheered the return of star Zion Williamson after missing three games with a foot injury.

“We didn’t have many minutes in the starting lineup, so it was important for us to come back and try to get our team together for the next matches.declared Ingram, happy to see his group mobilized despite the surprise absence of the Warriors’ best players.

The Bucks beat the Blazers

In Milwaukee, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points to lead the Bucks to a 119-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, who were without star Damian Lillard with a sprained calf.

“Milwaukee” is behind Boston in the East with 12 wins and 4 losses. In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Darius Garland had 26 as the Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-102. Chedi Osman added 24 points and the Cavs hit 10 three-pointers to avenge last season’s playoff loss to the Falcons. Trae Young led the Falcons with 25 points, but he scored just four points in the fourth quarter as the hosts, who led by just three points, rallied to win.

In the West, the Clippers had a good performance on their floor, overcoming the conference leader Utah Jazz (121-114), despite the absence of Paul George and a reserved Kawhi Leonard (8 points in 23 minutes). Clearly recovering from a slow start to the season, the Los Angeles franchise was able to rely on a very productive Normam Powell, who scored 30 points.