MIAMI (AP) — The Boston Celtics know the formula. They believe their defense, as has been the case time and again in these playoffs, will eventually wear down teams.
Hard to argue.
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Celtics are now one win from the NBA Finals.
MIAMI (AP) — Boston was without two starters for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night, with Al Horford entering the NBA's health and safety protocols and Marcus Smart unable to play because of a mid-foot sprain.
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been ruled out of Tuesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a bruised right thigh.
Smart was hurt Sunday in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1.
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Jayson Tatum had 22 and the Boston Celtics cruised to a 144-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday in their regular-season home finale.
Jockeying for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, Boston posted a season-high 39 assists en route to its 13th win in 16 games with three games left in the regular season.
TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had a season-high 40 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out, and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Boston Celtics 115-112 in overtime on Monday night.
Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby scored 14 points apiece, Thad Young and Gary Trent Jr.
TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had a season-high 40 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out, and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Boston Celtics 115-112 in overtime on Monday night.
Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby scored 14 points apiece, Thad Young and Gary Trent Jr.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Boston Celtics past the Memphis Grizzlies 120-107 on Thursday night.
Al Horford had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Robert Williams finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 51.7% and won for the ninth time in 11 games.
TORONTO (AP) — Scottie Barnes had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 and the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat Brooklyn 109-108 on Tuesday night for their second win over the struggling Nets in two days.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help the Boston Celtics rally in the second half and beat the Atlanta Hawks 107-98 on Tuesday night.
Derrick White and Grant Williams each added 18 points off the bench.
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown sent a six-word missive the day before the start of the month that has proven to be prophetic for the Celtics.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are getting healthy after a rash of missed games due to COVID-19 protocols and that proved to be the difference against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Derrick White had 19 points in his return from a five-game absence, Dejounte Murray added 18 points and the Spurs beat Clippers 101-94 on Saturday night to snap a five-game skid.
BOSTON (AP) — Gregg Popovich became the first to coach 2,000 NBA games with the same team, and Dejounte Murray scored 22 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Boston Celtics 99-97 on Wednesday night.
TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to three by beating the San Antonio Spurs 129-104 on Tuesday night.
DETROIT (AP) — Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in overtime and finished with 21 points, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 117-116 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
“I caught it and I knew it was good,” Bey said of he winning shot.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a 118-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
Tyus Jones scored 18, Desmond Bane and Brandon Clarke each had 17 points as Memphis pulled away in the second half.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Keita Bates-Diop scored a career-high 30 points while making all 11 of his shots, and the San Antonio Spurs routed the slumping Los Angeles Lakers 138-110 on Thursday night in the final event at Staples Center under the 22-year-old arena's original name.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lonnie Walker IV banked in a jumper with 14.9 seconds left and the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Utah Jazz's eight-game winning streak with a 128-126 victory Friday night.
Keldon Johnson scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jakob Poeltl had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Derrick White added 24 points, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-97 on Sunday night.
San Antonio outscored New Orleans 29-15 in the final quarter while shooting 60 percent from the field in the fourth.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Derrick White had 23 points, Lonnie Walker IV added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 123-111 on Thursday night, snapping a two-game skid.
Dejounte Murray added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which is in the middle of a five-game homestand.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — R.J. Barrett made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points, and the New York Knicks snapped a three-game skid, beating the San Antonio Spurs 121-109 on Tuesday night.
“Things may not be going well and, all of a sudden, you take a charge, get to a loose ball, you get a tip from behind, you get a block,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Zach LaVine scored 31 points, DeMar DeRozan had 29 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 111-107 on Saturday night.
Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu each added 11 points for the Bulls.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Derrick White scored 25 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held off a furious rally to beat the Golden State Warriors 112-107 on Saturday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — It may not seem like much, but winning consecutive games proved to be an arduous step for San Antonio, one the Spurs finally accomplished on Monday night.
Derrick White had a season-high 24 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards 116-99 to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio blew another big lead, but this time it led to a celebration for the Spurs.
Dejounte Murray had 29 points and 11 rebounds and the Spurs rallied in the final minute after blowing a 24-point lead to beat the Boston Celtics 96-88 on Friday night, snapping a six-game skid.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 34 points, hitting 12 of 13 free throws, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 106-92 on Tuesday night.
Reggie Jackson overcame a poor start and finished with 21 points to help the Clippers bounce back after their seven-game winning streak ended on Sunday.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — In addition to Dejounte Murray shooting the 3-pointer better and scoring at a career-best clip, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his point guard has shown marked improvement in his leadership abilities and knowing when to take games over.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle spent the first two weeks plugging holes.
On Monday night, he finally found some answers.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Myles Turner added 19 points to lead the Indiana Pacers past struggling San Antonio 131-118 on Monday night.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dejounte Murray was ready for his moment in the fourth quarter.
San Antonio's point guard scored 16 of his 23 points in the final period and the Spurs pulled away in the last few minutes Saturday night for a 102-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks that snapped a four-game losing streak.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has loosened things up on the court after years of structure and it resulted in another successful opener for the Spurs.
Devin Vassell scored 19 points, Lonnie Walker added 17 and the San Antonio Spurs continued their success on opening night by dominating the Orlando Magic 123-97 on Wednesday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are confronting basic questions they have not faced in decades.
Who is taking the last shot of the game in a critical situation? Which player will provide the team with leadership?
NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has won the Joe Dumars Trophy as the NBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the undermanned San Antonio Spurs 113-111 in overtime Sunday night.
Ben Simmons tipped in the game-winner off a miss from Embiid as time expired.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl took advantage of their early mismatches by delivering a quick knockout punch and leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 109-94 victory over short-handed Indiana on Monday night.
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets watched not one, not two but three close-in shots miss in the closing seconds.
Things are definitely bouncing their way at the moment.
Jokic had 26 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds to help the Nuggets win their eighth straight by holding off the San Antonio Spurs 121-119 on Friday night when DeMar DeRozan’s shot attempt at the buzzer rolled out.
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to help the surging Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-96 on Wednesday night.
Jokic just missed his 13th triple-double of the season.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Darius Garland scored a career-high 37 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-101 on Monday night to snap a five-game skid.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Clint Capela had 28 points and 17 rebounds, Trae Young had 28 points and 12 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks overcame two late meltdowns to beat the San Antonio Spurs 134-129 in double overtime Thursday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs snapped Sacramento’s five-game winning streak, beating the Kings 120-106 on Wednesday night.
San Antonio entered having lost five of six, including a lethargic loss to Sacramento on Monday.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points, Richaun Holmes had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 132-115 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Charlotte won without the free-wheeling and fast-paced offense the Hornets enjoyed with LaMelo Ball, though they would rather have their rookie point guard back.
Gordon Hayward scored 27 points, Terry Rozier added 24 and Charlotte held on to beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-97 on Monday night in its first game since losing Ball to a wrist injury.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jakob Poeltl tied a career high with 20 points and set one with 16 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs used a huge fourth quarter to beat the Chicago Bulls 106-99 on Wednesday night.