Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 36 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the NBA-leading Boston Celtics, 127-123 on Tuesday for their fifth straight win.

Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, who have won eight of nine. During that stretch, they have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Clippers’ nine-game win streak, beat West-leading Minnesota by 23 and now the Celtics.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum added 30 as Boston had a six-game winning streak snapped.

Oklahoma City opened a 108-90 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics rallied to cut the deficit to 121-119.

Giddey hit a pair of free throws with 12.1 seconds left to put the Thunder up 4 before Porzingis hit a deep shot in the left corner with 3.7 seconds left to make it a two-point game.

Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 2.8 to play.

Embiid leads 76ers in return

Joel Embiid tallied 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a sprained right ankle to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 110-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Embiid, who missed all four games on the 76ers’ holiday road trip, was 10 of 20 from the field and notched his seventh career triple-double in the third quarter. He extended his franchise records with 15 straight 30-point games and 14 consecutive games of 30 points and 10 rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey had 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 for the 76ers, who have won three straight and seven of eight at home.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 16 points and Andre Drummond had 11 with 17 rebounds.

Rozier helps Hornets snap 11-game skid

Terry Rozier scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter after missing a game due to illness as the Charlotte Hornets stopped an 11-game skid with a 111-104 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Rozier shot 13 of 24 from the field and handed out six assists, while Miles Bridges added 27 points for Charlotte, which played without rookie Brandon Miller (bruised left hip), LaMelo Ball (right ankle sprain), Gordon Hayward (left calf strain), Mark Williams (bruised lower back) and Frank Ntilikina (left tibia fracture).

De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points for Sacramento and Domantas Sabonis had 23 with 19 rebounds for his 15th straight double-double, tied for the NBA’s longest streak this season.

Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich accepted the San Antonio Spurs had been unable to live with an NBA championship contender after Sunday's 134-101 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics.

The league-leading Celtics improved to 26-6 with a dominant performance to round off 2023 at Frost Bank Center, extending their winning streak to six games.

Boston never trailed at any point as Jayson Tatum led six visiting players in double figures with his 25-point haul, while Jaylen Brown added 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Rookie Wembanyama had 21 points and seven rebounds for the hosts, but it was not enough to stop them sliding to 5-27 with a seventh defeat in the space of eight games.

While Wembanyama said the Celtics were simply too good on the night, he believes the Spurs will have learned something from the defeat.

"I can feel that compared to the past years, they have something extra this year," Wembanyama said of Joe Mazzulla's Celtics team.

"Of course, it’s difficult to play against them and it is a good challenge. But I think we learned today."

San Antonio coach Popovich concurred, saying: "They are a championship-calibre team, that's what they are out there for, that's their goal, and they proved it once again.

"Joe does a great job with them. They've got good talent, obviously, all-star talent; and they've got the grit. 

"They've got the execution and are getting better all the time. That's a tough challenge at this particular time for our group."

Boston closed out the month of December with a 12-2 record and were able to rest their starters for much of the fourth quarter, having led by as many as 37 points at one stage. 

"We got stops," Mazzulla said. "I thought we were really good at doing both, protecting the paint and getting out to contest, which allowed us to get out in transition. 

"I think our secondary transition, we did a good job of recognising where the mismatch was and getting to it fast and playing together as a team through it."

Coach Monty Williams was bullish about the Detroit Pistons' future despite the team matching the longest losing streak in NBA history on Thursday, when an improved performance was not enough to get them over the line against the Boston Celtics. 

The Pistons opened a 21-point lead in the first half as they went in search of a first win since October 28, but Jayson Tatum had 31 points for Boston as they turned things around to lead in the fourth quarter.

Bojan Bogdanovic made a putback with 4.6 seconds left to force overtime, but it was not to be for Detroit as Derrick White scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra period, helping the Celtics to a 128-122 success. 

Detroit have now lost their last 28 games, matching the Philadelphia 76ers' record losing run across the end of the 2014-15 season and the start of 2015-16.

They could take that unwanted record outright when they face the Toronto Raptors next time out, but an improved showing against the league's best side offered Williams encouragement.

"I'm unbelievably proud of the group, the way they bring it," Williams said after seeing his team slip to 2-29.

"They've heard all the stuff about our team and they just keep bringing it. I know it's going to pay off.

"As bad as they hurt right now, I hurt for them. But I told them; if we bring that kind of toughness and execution — minus the turnovers — we're not just going to win one game. 

"We're going to put something together."

Guard Cade Cunningham finished with 31 points, 22 of which came in the first half, though he missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with seven seconds remaining in regulation.

Like his coach, Cunningham said Detroit were not interested in winning purely to stop the rot, but as a platform for a lasting improvement.

"I'm not interested in just winning one more game this year to stop this, you know what I mean? That would be soft in my opinion," Cunningham said.

"Our goals are a lot higher than that. We have what it takes to win a game, that's nothing. 

"But to put games together, to find our system, find what's clicking and allow us to sustain winning…. That's all we're looking for.

"We're on the same level as all these teams we're playing against. There's no team that I've ever come across in the NBA where I felt like I was going into a slaughterhouse. I’ve never felt like that in my life, going into a basketball game.

"Every game, we should be able to fight teams and impose our will on them. We did that early on. 

"We let go of the rope a little bit in the third quarter. But there's a lot of growth, something we can learn from and definitely take to the next game."

The Detroit Pistons matched the longest losing streak in NBA history Thursday, blowing a 21-point lead before falling to the Boston Celtics 128-122 in overtime for their 28th straight loss.

The Pistons tied the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost 28 in a row starting in 2014-15 and into the 2015-16 season.

Detroit’s next chance to record its first win since Oct. 28 is Saturday against Toronto.

The Pistons opened a 21-point lead in the first half but trailed 106-100 in the final two minutes of regulation. Jaden Ivey scored six straight points to erase the deficit, then Bojan Bogdanovic made a putback with 4.6 seconds left to force OT.

Derrick White scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra period and Kristaps Porzingis added six to finish with 35.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 10 assists for league-leading Boston, which has won four straight and nine of its last 10 games.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 31 points and nine assists, while Ivey finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Jokic has another triple-double

Nikola Jokić registered 26 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in less than three quarters to lead the Denver Nuggets to their sixth consecutive win, 142-105 over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies.

Jokic was 11 of 11 from the field and hit all three free throws before going to the bench with 1:31 left in the third quarter. He notched his 11th triple-double of the season and 116th of his career, which ranks fourth in NBA history.

Desmond Bane had 23 points and Marcus Smart added 17 for the Grizzlies, who were without star guard Ja Morant. Memphis had a four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 6-20 when Morant is out of the lineup.

Edwards leads Timberwolves past Mavericks

Anthony Edwards poured in a season-high 44 points and Rudy Gobert added 20 with 11 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks, who were without Luka Dončić.

Jaden McDaniels chipped in 12 points for Minnesota, which improved the Western Conference’s best record to 23-7.

With Doncic out on the second night of back-to-back games, Dallas lost its fifth in seven games. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 32 points off the bench and Jaden Hardy added 17 points.

The Detroit Pistons equalled the longest losing run in NBA history as they went down 128-122 to the Boston Celtics.

The Pistons, who broke the single-season record on Tuesday against Brooklyn Nets, forced overtime before going down to their 28th consecutive loss.

Defeat to the team with the league’s best record equals the record of the Philadelphia 76ers across two seasons in 2015.

Detroit did lead by 21 points in the first half, but needed a score from Bojan Bogdanovic to send the game into the first overtime of the losing streak.

Derrick White scored 10 points in the extra period as the Celtics pulled away. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 31 points.

Toronto are next up for Detroit on Saturday as they look to avoid taking sole ownership of the record.

LeBron James feels the Los Angeles Lakers are not "where we want to be" after they were beaten by the Boston Celtics on Monday.

James' assessment of his team's performances came in the wake of a 126-115 defeat to the Celtics on Christmas Day, a loss that dropped the Lakers to 16-15 on the season.

The defeat was the Lakers' fifth in their last six games, leaving them ninth in the Western Conference.

James knows his team must do better if they are to make it into the postseason come the end of the regular season, telling reporters: "I don't think we're healthy right now.

"I don't think we're where we want to be to compete versus the top teams until we continue to get better and better.

"For us, we're still trying to figure our situation out as far as how we want to continue to attack each game."

For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as he helped his team move up to 23-6 on the season.

Tatum believes he has learned a lot from James, paying tribute to the four-time MVP after Monday's game, saying: "He's been the most complete player in the game for a very, very long time.

"There's a lot that you can learn from a guy like him. Obviously, the way that he thinks the game, [he is] two, three steps ahead of everybody else.

"And as a younger player, just always trying to find ways to impact the game. You're not always going to make shots, but [you] still want to be the best player and dominate the game in different ways every single night. So that's what I tried to do tonight."

In a Christmas Day slate full of noteworthy performances, Luka Doncic was the star atop the Christmas tree.

Doncic scored 50 points, eclipsing 10,000 for his career, and added six rebounds and 14 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 128-114 in the NBA’s Christmas night cap.

Doncic went 8 of 16 from 3-point range and made all 12 of his free throw attempts as he reached the 10,000-point milestone in 358 career games, the seventh-fastest in NBA history.

Rookie center Dereck Lively II added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double, while Derrick Jones Jr. contributed 23 points.

Grayson Allen led the Suns with 32 points while Kevin Durant (4 for 11) and Devin Booker (6 for 14) had poor shooting nights.

Celtics get first Christmas win over Lakers

Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jayson Tatum scored 25 despite an off shooting night and the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115.

The Celtics’ win was their first ever against the Lakers on Christmas Day, overcoming a 40-point, 13-rebound performance from Anthony Davis.

LeBron James had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers dropped to 2-6 since winning the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament.

Jokic shines in win over Warriors

Nikola Jokic flirted with a triple-double and made all 18 of his free throw attempts, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 120-114 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Jokic had 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the defending champions as the Nuggets won a season-high fifth consecutive game and improved to 12-2 at Ball Arena this season.

Jamal Murray led Denver with 28 points.

The Warriors’ leading scorer was Andrew Wiggins, who netted 22 off the bench.

Steve Kerr lauded Stephen Curry's "magical" performance as the two-time NBA MVP propelled the Golden State Warriors to victory over the Boston Celtics.

Curry, whose NBA record of 268 successive games with a successful 3-pointer came to an end in the Warriors' previous outing, was on fire as Kerr's team saw off Boston 132-126 in overtime on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old had 33 points, with seven of those coming in overtime, nailed a brilliant 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to inspire the Warriors to victory.

Klay Thompson chipped in with 24 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17 and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, but the plaudits went to Curry.

"Nothing shocks me with Steph, that shot was insane, the catch-and-shoot, the arc," Kerr said.

"But I fully expected it to go in, and I think all of our fans did, too. The guy's magical.

"I can't explain it. That's just the kind of stuff he does."

Rookie Jackson-Davis said of Curry's shot: "It was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Curry, though, credited the work of Kuminga and Jackson-Davis down the stretch.

"Trayce's two blocks he had, you feel the crowd get into it, everybody hyped up. Then JK's steel in the first minute of OT," Curry said. "I was feeding off the crowd's energy and those guys created that with those individual plays.

"Everybody with significant minutes contributed in some way, shape or form. It was a gutsy win, to say the least."

The Warriors have now won their last three games, moving to 13-14 for the season, a game behind the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference.

Boston remain top of the East, but they have suffered three successive road defeats.

Ja Morant scored 34 points in his season debut, including a spinning dribble in the lane to set up a game-winning floater as time expired, to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 115-113 victory Tuesday over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Morant didn’t look rusty in his return, shooting 12 of 24 from the field with eight assists and six rebounds to help Memphis snap a five-game losing streak.

His point total was the most in NBA history by a player coming back from an absence of at least 25 games.

The Grizzlies went 6-19 during Morant’s suspension for his social media antics with guns.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points and Desmond Bane added 21 for Memphis.

Brandon Ingram poured in 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 and 4 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had a four-game winning streak stopped.

Zion Williamson was limited by foul trouble and was limited to 13 points.

Lillard has 40 to power Bucks past Spurs

Damian Lillard scored a season-high 40 points to reach 20,000 and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their fifth straight win, 132-119 over the San Antonio Spurs.

Lillard increased his career point total to 20,034 to become the 51st player in NBA history – and eighth active player – to accumulate 20,000 points. He is the 17th-fastest player to reach that milestone.

Antetokounmpo had a career-high 16 assists, 14 rebounds and a season-low 11 points for his second triple-double this season and 37th of his career.

Milwaukee is 5-0 on its season-long, six-game homestand that concludes Thursday against Orlando. The Bucks have won 14 straight games at Fiserv Forum for their longest home winning streak since a 20-game run from April 19, 1990-Jan. 8, 1991.

The Spurs played without rookie Victor Wembanyama (sore right ankle) and lost for the 20th time in 21 games.

Warriors outlast Celtics in overtime

Stephen Curry scored 33 points, including seven straight in overtime, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Celtics, 132-126 to end Boston’s five-game winning streak.

Klay Thompson had 24 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17 and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as the Warriors won their third in a row.

Derrick White scored 30 points and Jaylen Brown had 26 points, eight boards and six assists for Boston, which dropped its third straight road game.

Al Horford’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime drew the Celtics within 127-126, but Curry drilled a 3 with the shot clock winding down with 12 seconds to play and added a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has more records in his sights after he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's rebounds haul.

Antetokounmpo overtook Abdul-Jabbar's rebound record for the Milwaukee Bucks as he grabbed the 7,162nd rebound of his career during Sunday's 128-119 win over the Houston Rockets.

The two-time MVP finished with a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds as the Bucks made it four straight wins since their loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's in-season tournament.

With another franchise record in the bag, Antetokounmpo has no plans to slow down in chasing more achievements.

"It's a big honour," said Antetokounmpo, who also holds franchise records for blocks, triple-doubles, games, minutes, free throws made and field goals.

"I don't think anybody assumed the skinny kid from Greece that was drafted and supposed to play in the G-League was going to be in a position to break a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar record.

"I want to keep on playing the game at a high level. I want to keep on taking care of my body and I know if I do that, sometimes you break records.

"But at the end of the day, I'm beyond blessed to be the all-time leader in rebounds, but I got to keep going and keep moving forward."

One team record that has evaded Antetokounmpo so far is for successful 3-pointers. That is held by his teammate Khris Middleton, who has 1,253 to his name.

Middleton has no plans to let that record go, either.

"Hell nah. Hell nah," he chuckled. "Now he's got everything, except for the three-ball."

The Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference, behind the Boston Celtics, whose superb home record continued with a 114-97 win over the Orlando Magic.

Boston are now 14-0 at home. It is their second-best start at home in a season, behind the 1957-58 campaign, in which a Bill Russell-led team opened with 17 straight victories. 

"For a visiting team to come into this building and beat us, it's got to be a special night for them and we totally believe that," said Kristaps Porzingis, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Jaylen Bronw had 31 points, with Jayson Tatum collecting 23.

"I think we're starting to play what I would call Celtic basketball," said coach Joe Mazzulla.

"From a mentality standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, from defensive standpoint and identity."

The Boston Celtics completed a five-game homestand Sunday just like they started it over a week ago - with a win.

The Celtics pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Magic 114-97 to improve their NBA-best home record to 14-0.

The only better home start in franchise history came from the 1957-58 club, which won its first 17 games in Boston.

It was the fifth straight victory for the Celtics, as they improved to 20-5 to move a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the league's best record.

 

Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for Boston, which used a 20-3 run over a six-minute stretch in the final period to put the game away.

Brown hit five of the Celtics' 17 3-pointers, while Jayson Tatum was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points.

Boston now embarks on a four-game California trip before returning home to host the Detroit Pistons on December 28.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 36 points and 10 rebounds, but the only other Magic player to score in double figures was Jalen Suggs, who added 13 points.

Orlando (16-9) failed to reach triple digits for just the second time all season in losing for the fourth time in six games following a nine-game winning streak.

 

Pelicans drill franchise-record 22 3-pointers in rout of Spurs

The New Orleans Pelicans missed the first two 3-point shots they attempted in the opening minutes against the San Antonio Spurs.

They didn't miss too many more after that.

The Pelicans set a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in an emphatic 146-110 win over the San Antonio Spurs for their fourth straight victory.

After missing those first two 3-point tries, New Orleans (16-11) connected on 22 of 40 shots from beyond the arc the rest of the way and led by as much as 40 points to send the Spurs to their 19th loss in 20 games.

CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 29 points while going 6-of-7 from 3-point range and Brandon Ingram added 26 points and made 5-of-7 3-point tries.

 

Victor Wembanyama was the lone bright spot for the Spurs (4-21), who lost by more than 35 points for the third time this season.

Wembanyama had 17 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth consecutive double-double - the longest stretch by a teenager, surpassing the previous NBA record set by Dwight Howard in 2005.

 

Antetokounmpo passes Abdul-Jabbar to become Bucks' career rebounding leader in win over Rockets

Giannis Antetokounmpo became the Bucks' all-time leader in yet another statistic in Milwaukee's 128-119 win over the Houston Rockets.

Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds to surpass Kareerm Abdul-Jabbar to become the franchise's career rebounding leader.

Antetokounmpo moved past Abdul-Jabbar midway through the fourth quarter when he grabbed Tari Eason's missed shot for his 14th board of the game, giving him 7,162 rebounds with the Bucks.

The two-time NBA MVP is also the Bucks' all-time leader in points and assists, and is now one of just four players in league history to lead a franchise in points, rebounds and assists, joining Michael Jordan (Chicago), LeBron James (Cleveland) and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota).

 

Damian Lillard had game highs of 39 points and 11 assists and Khris Middleton scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Milwaukee, which pulled away for its fourth straight win. It also marked the 13th straight home win for the Bucks, who improved to 14-1 in Milwaukee.

Houston (13-10), meanwhile, saw its five-game winning streak come to an end as it dropped to 2-9 on the road.

Fred VanVleet led the Rockets with 22 points and six assists, while Alperen Sengun added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 in his return to the lineup as the Boston Celtics remained perfect at home with Friday's 133-123 win over the New York Knicks.

Jayson Tatum chipped in 25 points to help Boston improve to 10-0 at TD Garden this season and bounce back from Monday's 122-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's In-Season Tournament quarter-finals.

Porzingis, who had missed the Celtics' previous four games with a strained left calf, tallied 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half to help stake Boston to a 74-65 lead at intermission.

The Celtics stretched their advantage to as many as 20 points in the third quarter and the Knicks never got closer than seven points down in the fourth.

Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett each had 23 points for New York, which had won three straight prior to Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Tournament quarterfinals.

Fox leads rally as Kings top short-handed Suns

De'Aaron Fox scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Sacramento Kings dominated the second half en route to a 114-106 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Domantas Sabonis compiled 15 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Sacramento, which overcame a nine-point half-time deficit by outscoring the Suns by a 33-12 margin in the third quarter.

Phoenix, which played without Kevin Durant due to an ankle injury and remains without fellow star Bradley Beal, shot 52.4 per cent in the first half to build a 59-50 lead. 

The Suns went 6 of 23 from the field in the third quarter, though, as the Kings fought back to tie the game before finishing the period on a 16-4 run to take an 83-71 advantage into the fourth.

Fox then took over in the final quarter as Sacramento gradually pulled away, with his 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining giving the Kings a comfortable 112-98 lead.

The slumping Suns lost for the fourth time in five games despite Devin Booker's 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with seven assists. Eric Gordon added 19 points for Phoenix.

Thunder continue mastery of Warriors with overtime win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points, Jalen Williams added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied late in regulation before handing the Golden State Warriors a 138-136 overtime loss.

Chet Holmgren chipped in 21 points, including three free throws with 7.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter that forced overtime, as the upstart Thunder defeated the veteran Warriors for the third time in four meetings this season. 

Golden State fell to 10-12 on the season despite 34 points from Stephen Curry and 22 from Klay Thompson. Jonathan Kuminga posted 24 points and 12 rebounds off the bench before fouling out in OT.

The Thunder battled back from a 14-point second-quarter deficit, then never trailed in overtime after opening the session on a 12-3 run capped by a Holmgren 3-pointer that gave them a 130-121 lead with 2:40 left.

Golden State fought back and pulled to within 136-134 on Curry's 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds remaining, but Holmgren fed Luguentz Dort for a critical layup on the ensuing possession and the Warriors eventually ran out of time.

 

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers savoured "a very special" night after they saw off the Boston Celtics in the closing stages of a dramatic in-season tournament quarterfinal.

Indiana has reached the final four stage in Las Vegas and will face the winner of Tuesday's game between the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals.

The Pacers won 122-112 on Monday, spurred on by a tiebreaking four-point play from Haliburton with 1:33 left, which delighted an electric home crowd and sparked a decisive 9-0 run.

Haliburton had 26 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to record his first career triple-double at the perfect time, putting his team two wins away from NBA Cup glory.

He had missed Saturday's win over the Miami Heat with a respiratory infection and conceded he felt "dead" in a first half where he struggled with his breathing, but after using an inhaler at halftime the 23-year-old was able to produce a memorable second-half performance that led his team to a famous victory.

Haliburton was thrilled to upset the odds against Boston, who blew out Indiana 155-104 in November and came into the quarterfinal with a league-leading 15-4 record.

"We have wanted to be in this situation all year – and here we are," Haliburton said, per ESPN.

"Now it's not just about being here. It's about winning.

"It feels good to win, especially in a game where nobody expected us to. The atmosphere was crazy.

"It means the world to me to represent Indiana and this organization. I don't even know if it was as much about what was at stake, as it was about what they did to us the last time. I think that left a bad taste in our mouths."

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle felt the tournament clash was like a playoff game.

"The thing about the in-season tournament is that as you advance, you're going to play two more games – win or lose in the quarterfinals – against better opponents," he said. 

"And so this is something that's great for us because we need high level competition. 

"It really is another thing that is a simulator of playoff basketball. So it really helps us. And so, coming out with the win was big for a lot of reasons that I mentioned.

"But I know this is very special to Tyrese as well."

Center Myles Turner has been with the Pacers since 2015 so is well qualified to put the atmosphere and occasion into context.

"I haven't heard it like this here in like three or four years, probably since Victor Oladipo was here," he said after scoring 17 points and adding 10 boards.

"The energy was just incredible. I think this city really started rallying around this team. The story, the backstory of it all makes it the most special.

"And the fact that he [Haliburton] got his opportunity, he is able to take it and run with it ... I mean, it's just dope to see where this franchise, where I started with to what it's becoming and what it potentially can become from the same level. 

"It's honestly, like I said, it goes back to the atmosphere. I haven't heard MVP chants, maybe when Oladipo was here, but Ty's really come in and taken over and it's fun stuff."

Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, while Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and added nine boards.

But those efforts were still not enough to prevent elimination as Boston played without injured All-Star Kristaps Porzingis.

The defeat left Tatum disappointed to miss out on the Las Vegas showpiece as the in-season tournament continues to gain momentum and popularity.

"We got to just be more connected defensively," he said. "But, I mean, it's the NBA. Sometimes guys are going to make plays.

"He [Haliburton] hit some tough shots. So it's kind of two fold. Guys get paid a lot of money to play basketball, and they're pretty good.

"Yeah. I wanted to go to Vegas, I didn't want to go home. I wanted to go Vegas, so yeah, I'm mad. Next year, I guess."

Indiana's semifinal will be on Thursday, a day before Boston hosts the loser of the New York-Milwaukee quarterfinal in their next game.

Kristaps Porzingis will be absent as the Boston Celtics aim to seal their place in the last four of the NBA's in-season tournament.

Porzingis has missed the Celtics' last three games after sustaining a calf injury in a defeat to the Orlando Magic on November 24.

And the Latvian, who joined Boston from the Washington Wizards in the off-season, will not recover in time to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Porzingis is averaging 18.9 points, just slightly below his career average (19.6), across his 15 games this season. Tyrese Hailburton, meanwhile, is a doubt for the Pacers.

The winner of Monday's quarter-final will head to Las Vegas for the semi-finals.

Jayson Tatum was perplexed by the decision to eject him from the Boston Celtics' win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, claiming the officials were "ready" to throw him out of the game.

Tatum was ejected with just two seconds to play in the third quarter after he caught Robert Covington in the face with a flailing arm near the sideline.

The foul was upgraded to a flagrant one upon review, with the four-time All-Star subsequently remonstrating with referee Nick Buchert and interrupting the officials' huddle, which saw him awarded his second technical foul of the game.

A series of Covington free throws saw the Sixers take the lead after Tatum's dismissal, but the Celtics rallied for their third win in a row as Al Horford and Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points apiece.

Tatum was still stunned by the call to dismiss him when conducting his post-game media duties, saying of the officials: "They were ready to throw me out. Did I cuss? No, I didn't. I was shocked. 

"They always say, 'get your money's worth. You're going to get fined.' I definitely did not get my money's worth!

"I was extremely surprised. You all saw what happened. You might not know what I said, but I mean, I guess whatever I said doesn't matter at this point. I don't agree with that. 

"One of the assistant coaches was there with me, he doesn't agree. But it doesn't really matter, right? When they throw you out, they throw you out.

"Even if I was right, you know, they could go back and talk about it after the game. It's not like we get that game back, I don't get that time back. 

"It's unfortunate, but like I said, I can't change what happened, just how players compete and affect the game. 

"The refs have an effect on the game. They threw me out, and right or wrong, it's their word against ours. I can't get that time back."

Tatum had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes on the court. Despite his ejection, the Sixers struggled without reigning MVP Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey as Boston improved to a league-best 15-4. 

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla did not mind Tatum showing some fight, declaring: "I actually like it, I think some of that is important. 

"Obviously, you don't want it to get in the way of winning. But I think that type of passion and caring… I'd rather see that than nothing at all."

The Celtics will look to stretch their winning streak to four games when they go on the road to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday, before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for back-to-back games the following week.

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