LOS ANGELES – The top-seeded Boston Celtics survived a late scare as they held off a 40-point display from De’Aaron Fox and a furious fourth-quarter rally to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-100 on April 5.
Boston, already assured of entering the play-offs as the top-ranked team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), looked to be strolling to a comfortable victory after taking a 19-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
But what looked like a formality came within a whisker of an implosion as Sacramento roared back to take a 100-99 lead after Fox drained a three-pointer with 27 seconds remaining.
However, Xavier Tillman’s floating jump shot restored Boston’s lead with seven seconds left and the Celtics (61-16) held on for victory. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla praised the grit of his team’s second unit in closing out the win, saying it augured well for the play-offs.
“I thought, ‘This is fun, this is awesome’,” Mazzulla said.
“Couldn’t have simulated a better environment of stress, pressure, chaos. It’s the perfect environment to execute.
“When those guys are in, you hold them to the same standard as everyone else. I think they did a great job making plays.”
Payton Pritchard led Boston’s scoring with 21 off the bench, while Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points with 11 rebounds and two assists.
Despite the defeat, the Kings (44-33) are assured of at least a play-in place after the Houston Rockets (38-39) were beaten 119-104 at home by the Miami Heat (43-34).
In other games on April 5, Milwaukee slipped to a third straight defeat, losing 117-111 at home to the eliminated Toronto, who had been on a 15-game losing streak.
Missing the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks started brightly to pull clear by 10 points in the second quarter, before a sustained rally hauled the Raptors back into contention.
Gary Trent Jr finished with 31 points for Toronto, with R.J. Barrett (26) and Immanuel Quickley (25) lending offensive support.
Damian Lillard topped the Milwaukee scoring with 36 points, including four of 12 from three-point range. The Bucks (47-30) remain second in the Eastern Conference.
The defeat was another blow to Bucks coach Doc Rivers as his team gear up for a tilt at the play-offs.
“I’m frustrated, we’re all frustrated, and I guess that’s a good thing,” Rivers said.
“But frustration gets you nowhere. We’ve got to work ourselves through this.
“I’ve got to figure out what we’ve got to do to play at a higher pace.”
Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors (42-35) were left still waiting to clinch at least a play-in spot after Klay Thompson’s last-gasp attempted buzzer-beater missed in a 108-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks (47-30).
The Mavericks, missing Luka Doncic, were fired by 32 points from P.J. Washington while Kyrie Irving added 26.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder (52-25) were sent spinning to a third straight defeat in a blow to their hopes of finishing on top of the Western Conference, suffering a 126-112 pounding by the Indiana Pacers (44-34) in Indianapolis. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers’ scoring with 21 points. AFP
