Tatum tows Celtics past Bucks; Sixers, Mavs win

NEW YORK – Boston's Jayson Tatum scored 41 points to power the NBA-best Celtics over Milwaukee, 139-118, on Sunday (Monday, Manila time) in a Christmas showdown of the league's two top teams.

Jaylen Brown added 29 points for the Celtics, who improved to 24-10 and stretched their Eastern Conference lead over the Bucks, who fell to 22-11 but still own the NBA's second-best record.

"They are one of the best teams in the league and it's always special to play on Christmas," Tatum said. "We just wanted to give our fans a present today and come out of here with a victory."

Tatum connected on 14-of-22 shots from the floor and added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

He scored 20 points in the third quarter of 7-of-10 shooting as the Celtics boosted their 62-61 halftime lead to 100-86 entering the fourth quarter.

"We wanted to come out in the second half, especially at the start of that third quarter, with some pace and some energy," Tatum said.

His effort was bolstered by points from all 11 other players who took the court for Boston, notably Brown, whose 11-of-19 shooting effort included 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

"He was aggressive. He came up big when we needed him most, especially at the beginning of the fourth," Tatum said. "We always believe in him."

Tatum delivered the most spectacular hoop of the game with a slam dunk over Milwaukee star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 27 points and nine rebounds but no blocked shots.

"You've got to attack the rim," Tatum said. "If you go in there and lay it up, he's going to send it to the parking lot."

Later NBA holiday games find Western Conference co-leaders Memphis and Denver playing, with the Grizzlies visiting NBA reigning champion Golden State and Denver entertaining Phoenix.

Joel Embiid and James Harden combined to spark Philadelphia's 119-112 victory at New York.

Cameroonian star Embiid struck for 35 points and eight rebounds while Harden contributed 29 points and 13 assists in the 76ers' eighth consecutive victory.

Philadelphia improved to 20-12, fifth in the East, and stretched the margin over the sixth-place Knicks (18-16) despite Julius Randle's 35 points as New York suffered a third straight loss.

The Knicks led by as many as 14 points in the first half but the Sixers stayed close and Georges Niang hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help ignite Philadelphia's fightback.

New York's Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and added 11 assists before leaving with an apparent right hip injury in the fourth quarter.

Lakers' skid hits four

At Dallas, the host Mavericks got 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists from Slovenian star Luka Doncic in downing the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 while Christian Wood added 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Mavericks were down 54-43 at halftime before outscoring the Lakers 51-21 in the third quarter, the only quarter Dallas outscored the Lakers.

LeBron James scored a game-high 38 points with six rebounds and five assists and Russell Westbrook added 17 points off the bench but the Lakers dropped their fourth game in a row and fell to 13-20, 13th in the Western Conference.

Anthony Davis remains sidelined with a right foot injury for the Lakers.

The Mavericks used the Christmas holiday contest as the backdrop to unveiling a statue of former Dallas great Dirk Nowitzki, the German playmaker's bronze image captured making a fadeaway jumper.

Nowitzki led Dallas to the 2011 NBA crown and was the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2007.