LOS ANGELES: Kyrie Irving scored 20 points as the Boston Celtics snapped their four-game losing streak with a convincing 113-102 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
The Eastern Conference leaders have struggled on offense during their mini-slump, but found their scoring touch to secure a comfortable road victory at the Staples Center.
Irving had eight rebounds and seven assists while Jayson Tatum had 18 points on a night when five Celtics players posted double-digit scores.
The win saw Boston improve to 35-14 at the top of the East, and ensured they will head into Saturday’s marquee match-up against the NBA champion Golden State Warriors on a winning note.
Boston took control after edging into a 62-55 half-time lead, quickly extending the gap to 13 points early in the third quarter thanks to a burst of scoring from Tatum and Aron Baynes.
The Clippers rallied to get within five points but a flurry of scoring capped by a Terry Rozier three-pointer handed Boston a 91-77 buffer heading into the final quarter. The Celtics pressed home their advantage in the fourth quarter to close out the win.
In Dallas, James Harden scored 25 points as Houston tightened their grip on second place in the Western Conference with a 104-97 win over the Mavericks in the all-Texas derby.
Trevor Ariza added 23 points while Clint Capela, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon all made double-figures for the visitors, who improved to 34-12 after what was a sixth straight win over the Mavs.
Harden finished with 13 assists and five rebounds while converting six of 10 three-point attempts.
San Antonio remain in third place in the West after a 108-85 mauling of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Spurs, fresh from victory over Cleveland on Tuesday, showed no ill-effects from their road trip in a one-sided win.
Once again the Spurs’ formidable scoring depth proved decisive, with eight players making double figures.
Spanish veteran Pau Gasol had 14 points 11 rebounds and 15 assists as the Spurs improved to 32-18. Gasol’s brother Marc led the scoring for the Grizzlies with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The fourth-placed Minnesota Timberwolves however fell to 31-19 with a road 123-114 defeat against the Trail Blazers in Portland. Damian Lillard was the spark for the home team, scoring 31 points with C.J. McCollum adding 28.
In Charlotte, Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday scored 19 points apiece to give the New Orleans Pelicans a 101-96 win over the Hornets.
DeMarcus Cousins added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds to give New Orleans a third straight victory.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Australian star Ben Simmons marked his selection for the NBA All Star weekend’s “Rising Stars” game next month with a triple double as the Philadelphia 76ers overpowered the Chicago Bulls by 115 to 101.
Simmons, 21, finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists, as the Sixers moved to 23-21 to remain in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference.
Joel Embiid, who like Simmons was also named to the NBA “Rising Stars” game on Wednesday, led the Sixers scoring with 22 points.
Simmons meanwhile attributed his triple to the support of his team-mates.
“They were playing great. My team was knocking down shots — if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have triple doubles,” he told reporters.
In Atlanta, the Toronto Raptors’ Lithuanian star Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds in his team’s 108-93 stroll past the Hawks.
Fred VanVleet led the scoring for Toronto with 19 points off the bench as the second-placed Raptors kept up the pressure on first-placed Boston.
Kyrie Irving sparks as Celtics halt four-NBA game losing streak
Kyrie Irving sparks as Celtics halt four-NBA game losing streak
NBA–DCT Abu Dhabi long-term renewal expands league’s footprint across UAE
- Academy launch and youth programs headline new agreement which sees pre-season games continue in the capital
ABU DHABI: With New York Knicks orange and Philadelphia 69ers blue splashed across the stands, fans streamed into Etihad Arena on Yas Island last October to watch two of the National Basketball Association’s most well-known franchises take center stage.
The sell-out games were another sign of how far the NBA’s presence in Abu Dhabi and the region has spread, and that footprint expanded further this week when the league and the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi confirmed a long-term renewal of their collaboration.
The extension will see pre-season NBA Global Games continue in the emirate alongside the launch of a new NBA Global Academy and expanded youth and fan programming across the UAE.
The agreement formalizes what has increasingly become a year-round NBA presence in the capital. Since the first Abu Dhabi Games in 2022, a stream of high-profile NBA teams has played preseason games in the city — Milwaukee and Atlanta that year, followed by Dallas and Minnesota in 2023, reigning champions Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets in 2024, and the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers last October — bringing MVP talent such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid alongside championship rosters and perennial contenders.
Away from the bright lights of Etihad Arena, the NBA’s footprint has filtered into schools and community gyms across the UAE capital. The multiyear collaboration with DCT Abu Dhabi has gone far beyond preseason games, encompassing the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Abu Dhabi League, fan festivals, player appearances and community clinics designed to promote healthy lifestyles and introduce young people to the fundamentals of the sport — an approach that research firm YouGov says has lifted basketball participation in the UAE by 60 percent and expanded the league’s local fanbase by more than 25 percent since the annual preseason visits began.
An NBA Global Academy will be launched in Abu Dhabi and will serve as the global hub for the league’s academy network, operating year-round as an elite basketball development and academic program for top high-school-age student-athletes from the UAE, the Middle East and beyond. The academy will include elite development programming for up to 20 local boys, basketball development activities for local girls and residential programming for up to 24 male prospects from the rest of the world.
Abu Dhabi will also host two annual youth tournaments under the expanded agreement, following the 2025 NBA Academy Showcase at NYU Abu Dhabi from Sept. 25 to 27, which featured elite teenage prospects from NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, IMG Academy in the United States, INSEP in France and Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence.
Mohamed Khalifa Al-Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said the renewal reflected the emirate’s long-term ambitions in sport and youth development.
“Extending our partnership with the NBA further strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as the new home of basketball in the Middle East and reinforces our commitment to our youth,” he said.
“The establishment of the NBA Global Academy in Abu Dhabi will open pathways for Emirati and UAE-based athletes, coaches and sports professionals to learn from the world’s best, while our long-term hosting of the NBA Global Games will inspire the next generation.
“Beyond bringing world-class sporting events to our capital, the NBA’s youth programs and grassroots initiatives encourage healthy, active lifestyles and connect our residents to the universal values of sport.”
From the NBA’s perspective, the UAE capital has become one of its most significant overseas platforms.
NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum said the collaboration had been instrumental in growing basketball participation and fandom in the UAE and across the Middle East.
“We look forward to building on those efforts in the years to come, including through the launch of an NBA Global Academy that will help develop elite-level players from the region and around the world,” he added.
The extended collaboration will also expand youth development programming that has already reached more than 20,000 boys and girls since 2022, with plans to grow the existing Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA leagues in Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain to six later this year and 12 by 2028.
The commercial side of the relationship is also evolving, with Experience Abu Dhabi remaining the NBA’s official tourism partner across the Middle East, China and Europe while the deal now extends into Africa, Asia, Canada and Latin America.
With more teams expected, academy graduates emerging and junior leagues expanding, Abu Dhabi’s role in the NBA’s international strategy appears set to deepen. Additional details about future NBA preseason games in Abu Dhabi, including the schedule and participating teams, are expected to be announced later.
