Harris leads Pistons past Celtics in thriller; Thunder bounce back

AFP | Los Angeles

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Tobias Harris scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown on Monday.

Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists.

The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the final seconds, his attempted buzzer-beater bouncing off the rim as Detroit clung on for a one-point victory.

“We wanted this game,” Harris said afterwards. “Obviously, two of the best teams in the East; our group is always up for the challenge. It’s a heck of a win for us.”

The Pistons-Celtics showdown was one of a packed slate of fixtures as the NBA marked the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the United States.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference on Monday, the third-placed New York Knicks slumped to their fourth straight loss with a surprising 114-97 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden.

Max Christie led the Mavs’ scoring with 26 points, 24 of them coming from outside the arc, with Naji Marshall scoring 19 and Cooper Flagg 18.