The Brooklyn Nets claimed a 10th-straight win in Atlanta 108-107 in a contest that went down to the wire.
Kyrie Irving (28 points, five threes, eight assists) and Kevin Durant (26 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists) led the way for Brooklyn, while Dejounte Murray (24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) played a leading role in Atlanta. who was without Trae Young (calf).
It was tight all game as both teams traded leads, culminating in a tense fourth quarter where the Hawks rallied home hard.
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Thu, 29 Dec
Thursday December 29th
John Collins scored consecutive buckets to tie up the scores at 106-106 with 1:20 remaining, before Durant responded with a go-ahead jumper at the other end to put the Nets up two.
Murray then went to the line with 29.2 seconds left, but missed one of his free throws to make it a one-point game.
Irving missed a three-pointer that would’ve put the scoreboard out of reach and gave the Hawks one last opportunity, however Murray’s outside shot hit the back iron to clinch a Brooklyn win.
It saw the Nets improve to 23-12 and hold a record against the second-placed Bucks in the East. Atlanta, meanwhile, dropped below .500 at 17-18 in the East’s ninth seed.
Of the Aussies, Ben Simmons posted 10 points in 24 minutes and Patty Mills drilled four threes for 12 points in 11 minutes off the bench.
‘SCARY’ HIT LEADS TO PISTONS-MAGIC BRAWL
Orlando’s Mo Wagner and Detroit’s Killian Hayes were ejected from Thursday’s contest (all times AEDT) between the two teams after a nasty altercation late in the second quarter.
It came about after Wagner shoved Hayes into the stands while the two players were chasing after a loose ball, causing him to crash into the Pistons staff.
Hamidou Diallo instantly retaliated by shoving Wagner in the back before Hayes came through and hit the Magic big man in the back of the head, appearing to knock him unconscious.
It prompted n all-in brawl between the two sides right to the Detroit bench in wild scenes at Little Caesars Arena.
Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois reports Diallo was also ejected from the game.
Fox’s Adam Shadoff highlighted Orlando could be without most of their players next match against Washington after leaving their bench – an automatic suspension in the NBA.
Detroit went on to win 121-101 behind a hyper efficient, near perfect shooting performance from Alec Burks (32 points on 10-of-11 shooting, 6-of-7 from three-point land and 6-of-6 from the line ), while Saddiq Bey added 28 points and eight rebounds.
Franz Wagner topscored for Orlando with 19.
ALL RESULTS
MAGIC 101 PISTONS 121
SUNS 102 WIZARDS 128
NETS 108 HAWKS 107
LAKERS 98 HEAT 112
BUCKS 113 BULLS 119
TIMBERWOLVES 118 PELICANS 119
JAZZ – WARRIORS
NUGGETS – KINGS
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