ATLANTA Hawks leaned on an endgame spurt to defeat Boston Celtics in overtime, 119-115, in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Down 111-113 with 2:15 left in the extension period, Onyeka Okongwu scored on a three-point play to give the Hawks a 114-113 lead before they widened it to 116-113 on a layup by Dyson Daniels.
The Celtics managed to cut the deficit to 115-116 on two free throws by Jayson Tatum but they failed to convert in the succeeding possessions, allowing the Hawks to seal the win with free throws from Okongwu and Jalen Johnson.
Trae Young top-scored for the Hawks with 28 points, including three triples, to go with 11 assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks as they raised their record to 22-19.
Daniels chipped in 23 markers, Okongwu posted a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, while DeAndre Hunter and Johnson contributed 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Jaylen Brown tallied 24 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists to lead the Celtics, Tatum added 23 markers, while Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet ended with 21, 20, and 17, respectively, as they dropped to 29-13.
Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins stepped up in the endgame as Golden State Warriors (20-20) pulled off a 122-114 victory over Washington Wizards (6-33) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
From a 101-103 deficit with over two minutes remaining, the Warriors got a layup from Moses Moody, a three-point play from Gary Payton II and a split free throw from Wiggins for a 107-103 count.
The Wizards responded with a basket from Jordan Poole to make it a 105-107 score but consecutive baskets from Stephen Curry and Wiggins secured the victory for the Warriors.
Wiggins recorded a double-double of 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Warriors, Curry added 26 markers, while Dennis Schröder and Moody ended with 20 and 13 points, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
ATLANTA 119 — Young 28, Daniels 23, Okongwu 19, Hunter 16, Johnson 14, Krejci 7, Bogdanovic 7, Capela 3, Mathews 2.
BOSTON 115 — Brown 24, Tatum 23, White 21, Pritchard 20, Kornet 17, Holiday 8, Queta 2, Hauser 0.
Quarterscores: 21-33, 52-48, 73-78, 104-104, 119-115.