NEW YORK – Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to power Boston to a 124-114 victory at Brooklyn on Saturday, keeping the Celtics as the NBA’s last unbeaten team and atop the Eastern Conference.

Jaylen Brown added 23 points and Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis had 22 at the Barclays Centre. The visitors did not lead by more than 14 points and appeared sluggish at times, before improving to 5-0 for the first time since starting the 2009-10 National Basketball Association (NBA) campaign with six straight victories.

“They present different challenges. They play fast, get up a lot of threes, so this was a good test for us on the road to figure it out. I like the way we closed out the game,” Tatum said.

The 25-year-old forward reached the 30-point mark for the fourth time this season and also hit 10,000 career points by converting a three-point play in the second quarter. At 25 years and 246 days old, Tatum became the youngest player in Celtics history to reach the 10k milestone.

“That’s special. That’s cool. I’ve just been blessed to be at a great franchise... hopefully I’ve got a lot more to go and a lot more games to win,” he said.

Former Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday, who arrived in Boston after two trades, contributed 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Celtics shot 47.8 per cent and improved to 11-1 in the past 12 meetings with the Nets, including the play-offs.

“Everybody is shining. I love this team. We’re having fun. We’re playing hard. We’re competing,” Tatum said.

Playing the second night of their first back-to-back, the Nets (3-3) shot 43 per cent and saw a three-game winning streak end. But they shot just 32.7 per cent (17 of 52) from three-point range.

Cam Thomas led the Nets with 27 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Mikal Bridges added 19 apiece. The Nets played without Nic Claxton (ankle) and also rested Ben Simmons for the first time.

Brooklyn briefly moved ahead in the second, but the Celtics scored the last eight points of the quarter and took a 70-58 half-time lead on Tatum’s trey at the horn.

Dinwiddie scored 12 points in the third quarter as Brooklyn erased nearly all of their deficit and rallied from an eight-point hole to get within 91-88 going into the fourth.

Boston let the lead slip to 96-95 when Dennis Smith Jr hit a three-pointer with 7:47 remaining, but Tatum hit two threes in a 14-4 spurt that extended the lead to 110-99 with about five minutes left to effectively seal the victory.

Keeping pace one game behind the Celtics were the Philadelphia 76ers, as Joel Embiid scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the hosts to a 112-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Centre.

Kelly Oubre Jr added 25 points, Tobias Harris had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey contributed 22 points and 10 assists on his 23rd birthday to spark the 76ers (4-1).

“I was trying to be aggressive, whether I was making the right read, getting the assist or scoring the ball. I’m trying to pick my spots when to be ultra aggressive and when to get to the paint to get Joel a shot, get Kelly a shot, get them in the right spots. I think I’m doing a solid job of it right now,” said Maxey, who has sparkled in replacing veteran James Harden after the guard was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Coach, Joel, Tobias, they trust me out there to see what I read out there on the court. Trust has been great and I appreciate them for that. I know what my role is, so it has been great.”

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 31 points for the Suns with eight rebounds in a losing cause.

Over at the Amway Centre, German forward Franz Wagner scored 26 points and Paolo Banchero added 25 points and a career-high 10 assists to help the Orlando Magic (4-2) beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 120-101.

“I’m feeling good. I’ve put in a lot of work. It was a long summer. I can’t be more happy than I am to be back,” Banchero said.

“You can score the ball, make the plays but making others better is what I love to do. I went out there and tried to keep the defence honest,” he added of his 10 assists.

Anthony Davis had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots and LeBron James added 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Lakers (3-3), who began a four-game road trip. AFP, REUTERS