Undisputed leader in the East, Boston is definitely not giving up.

Neither the absence of leader Jayson Tatum, shot in the left wrist, nor the outings on injuries in the first period of Smart, who twisted his ankle, and Williams III, victim of a hyper-extension of the left knee after a involuntary contact with a teammate, did not resign him to give in to the Raptors (11th) who had an 11-point lead in the 3rd quarter.

"That says a lot about our team," commented coach Joe Mazzulla.

"At the start of the game you could feel that we just had no gas. But we never wavered and we kept playing well. The guys did a great job managing the game."

Indeed, his Celtics, who remained on a snatch success after extension at the expense of Golden State, as a small revenge seven months after the final lost to the Warriors (4-2), were able to count on the usual contribution of Jaylen Brown (27 pts) and Grant Williams, who beat his personal best (25 pts).

Mobley rises

In their wake, the substitutes Malcolm Brogdon also contributed greatly, like Malcolm Brogdon (23 pts) and Payton Pritchard, who put his 12 pawns in the last quarter, including the decisive basket behind the arc 1.30 min from the end.

As for the "old warrior" Al Horford, he preserved his team's lead, in the last 20 seconds, with a counter and an interception on Pascal Siakam, who nevertheless struggled (29 pts, 10 assists, 9 rebounds) the whole game.

Winger Evan Mobley, author of 38 points (9 rebounds), including 14 in the last quarter, was decisive in the victory (114-102) of the Cavs at the expense of the Bucks, once again deprived of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, with sore knees.

Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland (L) chats with referee Tom Washington (R) during the fourth quarter at NBA matvh against the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland on January 21, 2023 © Jason Miller/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Cleveland (5th) also had an absent star, Donovan Mitchell suffering from the left groin, but Darius Garland (21 pts, 10 assists) was present in the back lines.

Opposite, Jrue Holiday, still performing in his new role as offensive leader (28 pts, 10 assists) nevertheless did not weigh enough at the end of the match to avoid defeat in Milwaukee, which slipped to 3rd place after the fifth success consecutive snatch by Philadelphia in Sacramento.

44 points for Edwards

The Sixers, who nevertheless had to do without Joel Embiid (foot) or James Harden (spared), relied on Tyrese Maxey (32 pts).

Disaster instructions: the Hawks (8th), who remained on five successes, saw their virtuous series stop ingloriously on their floor, beaten by the poorly ranked Hornets (122-118), having squandered 19 lengths ahead in the second half.

And it was Terry Rozier (34 pts), in cold blood to score five free throws in the last second (!), who punished Atlanta's incredible sloppiness.

He first put three, following a foul on his attempt behind the arc.

Trae Young (25 pts) then failed to make the throw-in during the five seconds allowed and the ball was returned to Charlotte.

Whereupon John Collins fouls Rozier, who did not flinch to add his two shots at 1/10th of a second.

In the West, Minnesota (6th), still deprived of Rudy Gobert (right groin), waited for the second period to inflict on Houston its 13th defeat in a row (113-104), thanks to Anthony Edwards, author of 44 points thanks in particular to eight banderillas behind the arch.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards against the Phoenix Suns in Minneapolis on January 13, 2023 © David Berding / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives

Phoenix (10th) slowly raises its head with a second victory in a row (112-107) against Indiana, still 9th ​​in the East, after this seventh consecutive loss.

© 2023 AFP