17 hours Ago By Associated Press
BOSTON — Sam Hauser made nine 3-pointers — seven in the third quarter — and finished with a career-high 33 points to lead the short-handed Boston Celtics past the Utah Jazz 114-108 on Monday night (Tuesday, March 11, 2025, PH time). Hauser became the fourth Celtics player to make nine 3s in a game in 2024-25, joining Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White — the first time in NBA history that four teammates have done that in a season. Hauser’s hot stretch propelled the Celtics to a 23-point lead early in the fourth.
The Jazz rallied to tie the game with 3:21 left, but Hauser’s final 3 with 1:20 left made it 112-104, and the Celtics hung on from there to win their fifth straight. John Collins scored 28 points and Collin Sexton had 16 for the Jazz, who lost their sixth in a row. Boston was without Tatum (right knee tendinopathy), Kristaps Porzingis (illness), and Al Horford (left big toe sprain).
Jaylen Brown finished with 26 points. Utah won both of its coach’s challenges. The second resulted in a three-point play that was part of the Jazz’s fourth-quarter surge.
Utah scored 39 points in the period. Boston avoided a trap game against the lottery-bound Jazz after Saturday’s prime-time win over the Los Angeles Lakers and ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City. After making a free throw to break a 103-103 tie, Brown missed the second but Jrue Holiday tracked down the offensive rebound.
The ball swung around before Holiday buried a 3 in front of his bench to give the Celtics a four-point lead with 2:51 remaining. Collins was just 12 of 30 from the field. Nuggets 140, Thunder 127 OKLAHOMA CITY — Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 18 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 140-127.
Jamal Murray scored 34 points for the Nuggets, who lost 127-103 in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s leading scorer and a top contender for league MVP with Jokic, finished with 25 points for the Thunder. He scored 40 the day before.
Lu Dort had a season-high 26 points and made eight 3-pointers and Isaiah Hartenstein scored 20 points for Oklahoma City. The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for the Thunder, who have the best record in the Western Conference and are vying with Cleveland for the top record in the league. The season series ends tied at 2-all, with the teams splitting the games at each venue.
The Thunder led 73-67 at halftime behind 16 points from Hartenstein and 15 from Gilgeous-Alexander. But Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams left the game in the second quarter with a right hip strain and did not return. He had 12 points and six assists in 14 minutes.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 132-123, Brooklyn Nets defeated Los Angeles Lakers 111-108, Charlotte Hornets rallied past Miami Heat 105-102, Toronto Raptors won 119-104 over Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets beat Orlando Magic 97-84, Chicago Bulls defeated Indiana Pacers 121-103, Memphis Grizzlies beat Phoenix Suns 120-118, Dallas Mavericks defeated San Antonio Spurs 133-129, Golden State Warriors beat Portland Trail Blazers 130-120, and the New York Knicks triumphed 133-104 at Sacramento. / AP.
