A day after getting smashed by the New York Knicks, the Golden State Warriors on Thursday (all times AEDT) suffered a brutal beating by the Brooklyn Nets 143-113 to continue their horror road trip.
It was a one-sided affair from the opening tip, with the Nets exploding out of the gates with a 46-point first quarter to already open up a 29-point advantage.
The hosts showed no mercy in the second quarter by stacking on another 45 points to put up a wild total of 91 points in the first half alone and lead by 40.
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
In a silver lining however, James Wiseman racked up a career-high 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting and six rebounds.
With the Knicks losing to Toronto, Brooklyn’s seven-game winning streak is the now the best in the NBA, consolidating the fourth seed in the East.
Golden State meanwhile dropped its fifth game from its last six to finish a nightmare road trip, sliding outside play-in qualification.
CELTICS DROP THIRD STRAIGHT
The Boston Celtics woes also continued on Thursday, falling to the Indiana Pacers at home 117-112 as their losing streak hit three games.
The Celtics went down big early including trailing by 30 points at one stage during the first half.
It prompted boos from the always passionate fans at TD Garden as the Celtics faithful let their thoughts be known on the team’s performance.
“First time for (Boston coach) Joe (Mazzulla) to hear this,” Celtics commentator Mike Gorman said of the home fans’ brutal response.
Boston fought its way back into the game in the second half though, erupting for 42 points in the third term to make it a 15-point game at the last change.
And the hosts kept pushing down the stretch, with Malcolm Brogdon’s layup followed by Jaylen Brown’s three getting them within five points with 3:06 remaining.
However Indiana responded with a Tyrese Haliburton triple and Myles Turner and-one to re-open a double-figure advantage and put a full stop on the contest.
Haliburton led the way with 33 points and eight assists in the win as the Pacers got back to .500 at 16-16 and climbed back into the eighth seed.
Tatum’s topscored with 41, but the Celtics (22-10), who despite sitting atop the Eastern Conference for most of the season, are not just a half-game ahead of the third-placed Cavaliers.
ELSEWHERE …
The Cleveland Cavaliers made a statement 114-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks behind 36 points from Donovan Mitchell.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was at his brilliant best with 45 points – 16 in the fourth quarter as he tried to will his team back into the hame – 14 boards and two blocks, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
The third-placed Cavs (22-11) are now just one game behind the East leading Bucks (22-9).
In Atlanta, Ayo Dosunmu banked in a put back jumper on the buzzer as the Bulls took down the Atlanta Hawks 110-108 despite the visitors blowing an 18-point lead.
Joe Ingles returns to NBA action | 00:31
After a four-game losing streak, Chicago has now tied together two wins to improve to 13-18.
DeMar DeRozan (28 points), Zach LaVine (22 points) and Nikola Vucevic (20 points) all stood up in a great response to scrutiny against the team and talk of disharmony in the locker room.
Trae Young’s 34 led all scorers in a tough loss for Atlanta with a chance to win its third-straight game.
Meanwhile the New York Knicks eight-game winning streak came to an end in a 113-106 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden.
Pascal Siakam went off for a career-high 52 points with nine rebounds and seven assists and Fred VanVleet added 28 points.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett paced the Knicks with 30 points each in the loss.
ALL SCORES
BUCKS 106 CAVALIERS 114
PISTONS 93 76ERS 113
BULLS 110 HAWKS 108
PACERS 117 CELTICS 112
WARRIORS 113 NETS 143
RAPTORS 113 KNICKS 106
MAGIC 116 ROCKETS 110
MAVERICKS 104 TIMBERWOLVES 99
TRAIL BLAZERS 98 THUNDER 101
LAKERS – KINGS
HORNETS – CLIPPERS
