Celtics clobber injury-ravaged Mavs

PARIS, France (AFP) — The National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Boston Celtics dominated the Dallas Mavericks, 122-107, in a Finals rematch on Saturday as the Houston Rockets took the Cleveland Cavaliers down a peg and Victor Wembanyama ended a “priceless” week in Paris with a defeat.

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23 and Jaylen Brown chipped in 22 for the Celtics, who bounced back from an embarrassing 21-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Celtics, who trailed by 10 in the first quarter but inexorably imposed their will against a Mavericks team still playing without injured star Luka Doncic.

The Mavs have struggled since Doncic suffered a calf injury on Christmas Day and lost center Dereck Lively II to a broken ankle this week.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavs with 22 points, but sharpshooter Klay Thompson scored just six points on four attempts from the floor.

In Cleveland, the Rockets let a 19-point second-half lead evaporate but held on to beat the Cavaliers 135-131.

Houston’s second win in four days over the Eastern Conference leaders dropped the Cavs behind Western Conference pacesetters Oklahoma City for best record in the league.

The jam-packed Saturday slate started in Paris, where Tyrese Haliburton’s hot shooting fired the Indiana Pacers to a 136-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs and their French star Victor Wembanyama.

In the Bercy Arena where he won the Olympic gold medal with the USA last year, Haliburton poured in 16 points in the third quarter on the way to a 28-point haul.

Harrison Barnes led the Spurs with 25 points and Wembanyama added 20, but San Antonio couldn’t back up their 140-110 victory over Indiana in the French capital on Thursday.