Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has slammed his side claiming that they "gave in and quit" in Sunday's 124-104 loss to the Boston Celtics.

The Nuggets trailed 68-43 at half-time after a 46-21 run to the Celtics, leading to Malone benching several starters for the third quarter, including MVP Nikola Jokic who shot eight-of-23 from the field for his 23 points.

Malone was livid with his side, who slipped to a 42-30 record and seventh spot in the Western Conference.

"To me, it appeared we just kind of gave in and quit. I didn't want to reward that behaviour," Malone told reporters after the game.

"I thought the bench unit was at least going out there and competing and fighting."

Malone added: "If somebody’s kicking our ass and we’re fighting and competing, and they’re better than us, so be it,"

"They’re a very good team, but if we’re getting our butts kicked, and we’re just taking it, possession after possession, heads are dropped, body language giving in, I’m not going to reward that behaviour.

"There’s principles in life, and that goes against every principle inside my body."

Jokic was well down on his usual output with eight rebounds and four assists along with his 23 points, while starters Aaron Gordon (13 points, four rebounds), Monte Morris (seven points, four rebounds and four assists), Will Barton (eight points and five rebounds) and Jeff Green (six points and one rebound) struggled for impact.

"Tonight I can't point to one thing we did well," Malone said.

Jokic added: "Overall, they had a really good defensive game and I had a really bad offensive game."

Jayson Tatum, who was serenaded with "MVP" chants from the Celtics crowd, was joint top scorer with 30 points along with Jaylen Brown.

Boston's win improves their record to 44-28 and fourth in the east, having won three in a row and 10 of their past 12 games.

The ascending Boston Celtics added another scalp to their resume, holding reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to his season-worst shooting percentage in a 124-104 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

In a stunning year-on-year improvement, the Celtics have been the best defence in the NBA this season after finishing 17th in that department this past season.

With new coach Ime Udoka going all-in on a switching defensive system, it was theoretically going to be tested against the best passing big man in league history, and arguably the league's most dominant offensive force.

However, Jokic was bottled up similarly to everyone else the Celtics have played in 2022, going 8-of-23 (34.7 per cent) from the field in the blowout loss.

Jokic, who is shooting 57 per cent from the field for the season, had previously had his worst shooting performance when he went 6-of-17 (35.3 per cent) in an early-December loss against the Chicago Bulls.

Boston's two superstar wings combined for 60 points, as Jayson Tatum posted 30 points (11-of-17 shooting, 6-of-10 from three) with seven assists, while Jaylen Brown had 30 points (12-of-19 shooting, 3-of-6 from three) with six rebounds.

The ascending Boston Celtics added another scalp to their resume, holding reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to his season-worst shooting percentage in a 124-104 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

In a stunning year-on-year improvement, the Celtics have been the best defence in the NBA this season after finishing 17th in that department this past season.

With new coach Ime Udoka going all-in on a switching defensive system, it was theoretically going to be tested against the best passing big man in league history, and arguably the league's most dominant offensive force.

However, Jokic was bottled up similarly to everyone else the Celtics have played in 2022, going 8-of-23 (34.7 per cent) from the field in the blowout loss.

Jokic, who is shooting 57 per cent from the field for the season, had previously had his worst shooting performance when he went 6-of-17 (35.3 per cent) in an early-December loss against the Chicago Bulls.

Boston's two superstar wings combined for 60 points, as Jayson Tatum posted 30 points (11-of-17 shooting, 6-of-10 from three) with seven assists, while Jaylen Brown had 30 points (12-of-19 shooting, 3-of-6 from three) with six rebounds.

Stephen Curry will be out "indefinitely" after suffering sprained ligament damage to his left foot, according to reports.

The Golden State Warriors star sustained the injury in Wednesday's 110-88 defeat to the Boston Celtics, with Curry leaving the court in the second quarter after contesting a loose ball with guard Marcus Smart.

However, Shams Charania of The Athletic claims the 34-year-old has avoided a "fracture or major damage".

Curry scored 47 points in his previous game against the Washington Wizards on Monday, and has averaged 25.5 points per game this season for the Warriors.

He broke Ray Allen's record for most career three-pointers in December, though this season his percentage from beyond the arc sits at 38.0, slightly down on his career average of 42.8.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr criticised Smart for "dangerous play" in the incident, and the duo exchanged words on the sidelines shortly after.

"I thought it was a dangerous play," Kerr told reporters. "I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that's what I was upset about.

"I've got a lot of respect for Marcus. He's a hell of a player, a gamer, a competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we're good. But I thought it was a dangerous play."

Smart defended himself from Kerr's claims, stating that Curry's injury was "unfortunate" and that he was "not a dirty player".

"I saw the ball, I dove for the ball, trying to make a play. Unfortunately that occurred," Smart said.

"I'm sure I'm going to get called dirty. But I know who I am. I play very hard and I leave everything on the court. My team-mates, my colleagues, they know I'm not a dirty player."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has criticised Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart for "dangerous play" in the incident that led to Stephen Curry being forced off injured.

Curry left the court in the second quarter due to a left-foot injury that he was immediately sent for an MRI on post-game after the Warriors lost 110-88 to the Celtics.

The two-time MVP and Smart contested a loose ball, with the Celtics forward rolling on to Curry's left leg, leaving him limping, before exiting the game.

Kerr and Smart exchanged words on the sidelines shortly after the incident, with the Warriors head coach particularly vocal.

"I thought it was a dangerous play," Kerr told reporters. "I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that's what I was upset about.

"I've got a lot of respect for Marcus. He's a hell of a player, a gamer, a competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we're good. But I thought it was a dangerous play."

Kerr said the Warriors would learn the extent of Curry's injury once the MRI scans were returned and offered no insight on their level of concerns.

Meanwhile, Smart defended himself from Kerr's claims, stating that Curry's injury was "unfortunate" and that he was "not a dirty player".

"I saw the ball, I dove for the ball, trying to make a play. Unfortunately that occurred," Smart said.

He added: "I'm sure I'm going to get called dirty. But I know who I am. I play very hard and I leave everything on the court. My teammates, my colleagues, they know I'm not a dirty player."

The result leaves the Warriors with a 47-23 record to be third in the Western Conference having lost six of their past 10 games.

Spencer Dinwiddie delivered the buzzer-beating dagger in the Dallas Mavericks' 113-111 win on the road against the Brooklyn Nets.

In a game with First Team All-NBA stars Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant going head-to-head, Dinwiddie hit the most important shot of the night as defenders rushed to trap Doncic with just seconds remaining as the Mavericks trailed 110-111.

The game only required Dinwiddie's heroics after a string of late-game shot-making saw the lead seesaw.

After a Dirk Nowitzki-esque mid-range fadeaway from Doncic to grab a 110-108 lead, Durant took matters into his own hands.

Facing a defence that was game-planned to get the ball out of Durant's hands by sending two defenders to him whenever he had the ball, the seven-foot star was unselfish throughout the game as he moved the ball to the open outlet pass and racked up 10 assists to go with his 23 points (8/20 shooting).

But with everything on the line, Durant was determined to live and die by his own shot-making, pulling up and draining a ridiculous long-three with two defenders closing in on him to nab a one-point lead, before Dindwiddie answered.

Stephen Curry was forced to sit out the second half of the Golden State Warriors’ game with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday after injuring his left foot.

With just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, Curry and Celtics guard Marcus Smart dove for a loose ball. The resulting tumble meant Smart fell on Curry’s leg, causing an inward tweak.

The Warriors confirmed Curry would not return in the second half, citing "left foot soreness".

At that point in the game, Curry had three points, one rebound and two assists with the Warriors down 33-25.

Curry has been the key player for the Warriors this season, with the side sitting third in the Western Conference with a 47-22 record prior to Wednesday's game.

The two-time MVP leads the NBA this season in three-pointers made with 284. Prior to Wednesday's game, Curry was averaging 25.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists this season.

Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen's long-standing rift has been mended on the day the Boston Celtics raised the All-Star center's number five jersey to the rafters in tribute.

The Celtics celebrated Garnett's career after Sunday's 95-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, with the 2004 NBA MVP's jersey officially retired by the franchise.

Allen was among those in attendance, which was significant given the rift that emerged between the pair when he opted to move to the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2012.

"It's good to see Ray Allen here," Garnett said during the ceremony. "Real s***. It's good to see you, man. You next, dog."

The Celtics had won the 2008 NBA title with the pair alongside Paul Pierce, while they were Eastern Conference champions in 2010 during a dominant five-year period before Allen's exit prompted the side to drop off.

"Just because I moved away doesn't mean that relationship, that friendship, ends," Allen said.

"It did center around Kevin and myself because I did get the sense that the people here felt how Kevin felt. Once he accepted me, then the people accepted me. That was the sense.

"I was glad we could do that and people could see, 'We won with this guy in 2008, and that's what matters most'."

Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, weighed in on the reunion.

"Yeah, that's a big one because that's been a problem, obviously, and the fact that it looks like the fence is finally coming down is really cool," Rivers said. "I'm very, very happy for Kevin, and really cool that Ray came today."

Garnett, who won the 2004 NBA MVP with the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished his 22-year NBA career averaging 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

The power forward/center was a 15-time NBA All-Star, one-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (both 2008).

LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points, rebounds and assists respectively, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 140-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

James notched up his 10,000th assist during the second quarter, with a cross-court pass to Carmelo Anthony for an open three.

The Suns were dominant at home to the Lakers, though, putting up 48 points in the first quarter alone on their way to a commanding win.

Having already secured a playoff berth, despite losing at home to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, Phoenix faced conveniently light work heading into a road back-to-back this week.

Devin Booker continued to shoulder the burden without Chris Paul, putting up 30 points and 10 assists.

With the loss, meanwhile, the Lakers move to 29-38 and teeter dangerously close to touching distance for the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers, in the race for the final two Western Conference play-in spots.

Durant leads Nets with Irving in the building

Kevin Durant put up an individual season-high 53 points, including a game-breaking three to give the Brooklyn Nets a 110-107 win over the New York Knicks.

The shorthanded Nets were at least able to have Kyrie Irving in the building for the win, with New York mandates now enabling those unvaccinated for Covid-19 to spectate. However, the mandate still requires the vaccination for people who work there, meaning Irving is still unable to suit up.

At the end of the game, Irving walked off the Barclays Center floor arm-in-arm with Durant, who finished with nine assists and six rebounds to go with the 53 points - one point off his career-high.

Joel Embiid had his 30th 30-point game of the season as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic 116-114 in over-time. Embiid finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, while Tobias Harris came up with a crucial late three-pointer to finish with 26 points.

Ja Morant had a quiet game by his standards with 17 points, five rebounds and 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies improved to 47-22 with a 125-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Doncic dagger propels Mavs to road win

The Dallas Mavericks claimed an impressive win on the road, edging the Boston Celtics 95-92 at the TD Garden. Despite leaving the floor with a hamstring scare in the first half, Luka Doncic’s fingerprints were all over the game’s dying moments - he hit the game-tying three-pointer with 1:21, before being called for fouling Marcus Smart on the potential tying three.

It was overturned on review however, and along with the win, Doncic put up 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. On a night where Kevin Garnett's No. 5 jersey was to be retired by the Celtics post-match, the Mavs moved to 42-26 for the year, half a game behind the Western Conference’s fourth-placed Utah Jazz.

The Phoenix Suns became the first team to secure a playoff spot with an impressive 111-90 defeat of the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Devin Booker returned from a four-game absence to put up 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the leaders of the West toppled the top side in the East.

The Suns, who are 53-13 for the season, have now beaten all other 29 teams in the same season for the first time since 2006-07.

"I told the guys it was one of the best defensive performances I've ever seen," said Suns coach Monty Williams after watching his team concede just 35 points in the second half. "I've been around for a little bit."

Duncan Robinson was top scorer for Miami with 22, who led by 11 in the early stages before falling to just their third defeat in 15 games.

"They were first to the ball a lot," said Robinson. "They were the aggressor. Unacceptable."

The Milwaukee Bucks are now two games behind the Heat at the top of the Eastern Conference after beating the Atlanta Hawks 124-115, with Giannis Antetokounmpo's double-double of 43 points and 12 rebounds firing them to a sixth-straight win.

Antetokounmpo finished 15-of-22 from the field to take his tally to 82 points in the space of 24 hours after his 39 in Tuesday's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"The things he does are not normal," said team-mate Bobby Portis. "It's fun to be his team-mate and fun to play alongside him."

Rockets stun Lakers in overtime

The Los Angeles Lakers lost for the ninth time in a row on the road, going down 139-130 in overtime against the Houston Rockets.

A triple-double from LeBron James and 30 points from Russell Westbrook were not enough as rookie Jalen Green hit a career-high 32 points for the Rockets.

"We have a really small margin of error this season and teams are making us pay," said James, whose run of consecutive 25-point games ended at 23. "I missed a lot of shots that I know I'm capable of making, have made throughout the course of the season and my career."

The Los Angeles Clippers snapped their two-game losing streak, beating the Washington Wizards 115-109, while the Utah Jazz improved to 41-24 with a comfortable 123-85 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Bulls back on track, Beasley sets record

The Chicago Bulls ended a run of five consecutive losses, DeMar DeRozan scoring 36 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, in a 114-108 win over the Detroit Pistons.

It was a day to remember for Malik Beasley, who set a franchise record for three-pointers in the Minnesota Timberwolves' win at home over the Thunder.

Beasley landed 11 of his 17 attempts from beyond the arc as Minnesota, seventh in the West, made it six wins in a row.

The Boston Celtics continued their recent good form with a 115-101 win at the Charlotte Hornets, while the New York Knicks pulled off a fifth-straight road win over the Dallas Mavericks, Julius Randle scoring 26 points in a 107-77 blowout.

Gregg Popovich will have to wait for his NBA record 1,336th regular-season win as coach, the San Antonio Spurs falling 119-104 at home to the Toronto Raptors.

There were also wins for the Orlando Magic, who topped the New Orleans Pelicans 108-102, and the Denver Nuggets, who beat the Sacramento Kings 106-100 thanks to a 38-point double-double from Nikola Jokic.

Jayson Tatum was living in dreamland after his 54-point haul in the Boston Celtics' 126-120 victory over a Brooklyn Nets team boasting Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on Sunday.

Durant and Irving teamed up for only the fourth time this season, but it was Tatum who took centre stage, shooting 16-of-30 from the field and eight-of-15 from beyond the arc.

His incredible display included 34 second-half points, with 18 coming during the final quarter as the Celtics overturned a one-point deficit.

While Durant put up 37 points in only his second game back from an MCL sprain, becoming the 23rd player to reach 25,000 career NBA points, Irving managed just 19 points with four rebounds and six rebounds.

And Tatum was thrilled to get the better of two stars of the game as the Celtics, for whom Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, improved to 39-27.

"As a competitor, night in, night out, but especially games like this, those matchups when you're [against] one of the better teams in the league with two of the best guys, just as a competitor, these are the kinds of moments that as a kid you dreamed about and looked forward to," he said.

"When those opportunities come, you try to make the most of it.

"Obviously, somebody like myself or [Brown] can have nights like this. And it's contagious when guys are hitting shots, spreading the wealth and making the extra pass, driving and kicking.

"Just getting those open looks and seeing them go in, it just opens everything up for us. We know how tough we can be on defense. When we kind of match that energy on offense, we'll really be special."

Team-mate Marcus Smart cited slight tweaks in Tatum's approach that had led to an upturn in his performances.

He said: "He stopped trying to force it, and making the right read, making the game easy for himself.

"Saving that energy and not trying to beat every double-team that comes his way and that's allowing him to do what he does at the end of games. He has the legs late in those fourth quarters to take over the games and that's what it's all about.

"When you are a great player, that's what it's about, having those legs in crunch time to be able to do that. The way you do that is getting everyone else involved, picking your spots wisely.

"He's doing a great job of that, him and Jaylen. They both are and that's the reason why we are doing what we are doing. That's good players that get us going on the offensive end, making sure we get great shots either for themselves or for their team-mates."

Jayson Tatum produced a dominant display with 54 points as the Boston Celtics won 126-120 over the Brooklyn Nets who had the rare partnership of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on Sunday.

Durant and Irving teamed up for only the fourth time this season but their presence would not deny Tatum's brilliance, shooting 16-of-30 from the field and eight-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Tatum, who scored 34 points in the second half, led the Celtics' late charge as they won after trailing by one point at the final change.

Durant scored 37 points in his second game back from an MCL sprain which kept him out since mid-January, becoming the 23rd player to reach 25,000 career NBA points.

Irving only managed 19 points with four rebounds and six rebounds for the Nets who slip to 32-33, while the Celtics have won 21 of their past 27 games to improve to 39-27.

Middleton scores season-high

Khris Middleton scored a season-high 44 points as Giannis Antetokounmpo took a back seat in the Milwaukee Bucks' 132-122 win over the Phoenix Suns, who were missing both Chris Paul (thumb) and Devin Booker (protocols). The Bucks, who have won four straight, stormed home with a 12-1 run over the last three minutes as Antetokounmpo got into foul trouble.

The Houston Rockets snapped their 12-game losing run with a shock 123-112 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, for whom Ja Morant scored 22 points with six assists. The Utah Jazz closed on Memphis in the west with a 116-103 win at the Oklahoma City Thunder as Bojan Bogdanovic hit a franchise-record 11 three-pointers for his 35 points.

Nikola Jokic scored 46 points, including 30 in the fourth quarter, as the Denver Nuggets won 138-130 over the New Orleans Pelicans in over-time. Jokic had 46 points plus 12 rebounds and 11 assists as the Nugs rallied after squandering a 21-point lead.

Allen injury sours Cavs win

The Cleveland Cavaliers won 104-96 over the Toronto Raptors but lost Jarrett Allen indefinitely to a suspected fractured finger. Rookie Evan Mobley had 20 points with 17 rebounds for the Cavs who are 37-27.

Kevin Durant became just the 23rd player in all-time NBA history to reach 25,000 career points during the Brooklyn Nets' 126-120 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

Durant, who also played for the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors during his NBA career, scored a team-high 37 points for the Nets on Sunday.

The 2014 NBA MVP admitted the milestone was "pretty cool" but pointed out that it should be more, referring to injuries during his career.

"It's pretty cool," Durant told reporters after Sunday's loss. "I should be at 30 [thousand] right now, to be honest.

"But it's cool, it's cool to reach that milestone and be amongst the greats and I just got to keep pushing and keep going and see where I end up."

Durant is the seventh fastest player to achieve the feat, reaching 25,000 points in his 922nd game, behind Wilt Chamberlain (691), Michael Jordan (782), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (889), LeBron James (915), Oscar Robertson (917) and Jerry West (920).

Only James and Carmelo Anthony are active players who have also scored 25,000 NBA points.

Nets teammate Kyrie Irving added: "I told him in the locker room, 25,000 points, you're a savant. "You are an artist. You have clipped history. And will forever be remembered as a legend in our game.

"He's been doing it since he was 19, and there's a level of admiration I have for my best friend right there, and he just does it in ways that makes it look easy. And even when he takes six weeks off, it looks like he hasn't missed any time. And that level of work ethic that he puts in, it shows why he's as great as he is.

"For me, it motivates me to continue to get my game up and hopefully when I'm done with my career I could be sitting next to him and having 25,000 as well and look back and we just crack jokes on a few championships that we won together. So that's the goal at hand."

Jayson Tatum said having fun was the key to the Boston Celtics' strong form after Thursday's 120-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Celtics moved to 38-27 as Tatum put on a 21-point fourth-quarter blitz, racking up 37 points overall on his 24th birthday.

His stellar showing was key as Grizzlies star Ja Morant impressed again, with 38 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

And Tatum, whose side sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, believes that embracing the fun factor has been crucial to the Celtics' promising season.

“I think watching us now, we play with a lot more passion,” he said. “We just seem like we’re having a lot more fun.

“This is basketball at the end of the day, and it’s supposed to be a lot of fun,” said Tatum. "And we've been having a lot of fun lately.”

Team-mate Al Horford cited the side's solid work on defense as the foundation of their success, with the Celtics boasting a defensive rating of 105.4 – second only to the Golden State Warriors.

However, he conceded there was still work to be done on the offensive front.

“Defensively, I feel like we know who we are,” Horford said. "On offense, I feel like we're continuing to find our identity and how we want to play and what we want to do.

"The more and more you start playing that way, it almost becomes second nature.

"We're not there yet, but I feel like we're making a lot of progress and it's going to be at the point that we're not even thinking about it and we're moving the ball, making the simple reads, and I feel like that's when we'll be at our best.”