Jayson Tatum on Wednesday scored 23 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with a groin injury as the Boston Celtics routed the Memphis Grizzlies 119-95.
Daniel Theis had 14 points, while Enes Kanter finished with 13 points and eight rebounds to help Boston win their second straight.
Memphis have lost two in a row since posting a season-high, seven-game winning streak.
Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr and Solomon Hill each added 13 points.
Tatum limped to the locker room with a right groin strain with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the third.
He returned to the bench at the start of fourth quarter with his right leg wrapped, but was still noticeably in pain and did not return.
However, Boston did not need him, using a 22-3 run — capped by a three-pointer by Gordon Hayward — to increase their 12-point halftime lead to 87-54. Kemba Walker, Hayward and Marcus Smart scored 18 of Boston’s first 20 points in the third period.
Boston were six of seven from the three-point line. It was the worst third quarter of the season for Memphis, who were outscored by 22 points.
The Celtics’ lead grew as high as 38 points in the fourth.
Boston missed 13 of their first 17 field-goal attempts, including going one of eight from the three-point line.
Walker, Hayward and Smart scored just six points between them in the first half, combining to go just one of 16 from the field.
It helped Memphis, who had the highest scoring offense last month (118.7 per game since Dec. 9), to take a 42-35 lead in the second quarter.
However, Boston got their footing and used a 23-0 run to take a 58-42 advantage. The Grizzlies went scoreless for 6 minutes, 51 seconds until Valanciunas scored with just 1.3 seconds left before halftime.
In other results, it was:
‧ Thunder 120, Magic 114
‧ Raptors 107, 76ers 95
‧ Pistons 127, Kings 106
‧ Hawks 102, Clippers 95
‧ Heat 134, Wizards 129 OT
‧ Lakers 100, Knicks 92
‧ Bulls 117, Timberwolves 110
‧ Rockets 121, Nuggets 105
‧ Pacers 112, Suns 87
‧ Spurs 121, Pelicans 117
‧ Jazz 129, Warriors 96
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
ABYSMAL: Wolves have equaled their worst top-flight run since 1981-1982, and they will equal the league’s longest winless start if they fail to win their next two matches Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim on Monday said his team had “improved a lot” after they climbed back into the race to qualify for the UEFA Champions League as Bruno Fernandes inspired a 4-1 rout of woeful Wolverhampton Wanderers. Amorim’s side recovered from their disappointing draw with lowly West Ham United last week thanks to Fernandes’ double and goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount at Molineux. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had canceled out Fernandes’ opener with Wolves’ first goal in six games in all competitions and their first in the top-flight since Oct. 26. However, Mbeumo, Mount and Fernandes netted after