Boston Celtics continue winning streak with victory over Atlanta Hawks
There were also victories for the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors.
The Boston Celtics held on to a ninth consecutive win after a closely-fought 110-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
In a game that saw the lead change 25 times, Kyrie Irving stood out with 35 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter to see out the win.
With less than three minutes on the clock, Boston were behind at 100-99, but Irving helped claw back the deficit with an easy lay-up shot followed by a dribble hand-off from Al Horford, who had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Jayson Tatum also helped Boston on their way to the win, totalling 21 points in the game and gaining a three-pointer with little more than 47 seconds remaining.
The 23 points from Dennis Schroder did little to lift the spirits of the Hawks, who featured in another narrow game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the weekend.
But where they emerged victorious in that game, this time they could not outclass the Celtics who go on to face LA Lakers on Thursday.
In another tight contest, the Brooklyn Nets overcame the Phoenix Suns by 98-92 in Arizona.
Fighting back from 15 points behind in the first half, the Suns managed to gain the lead thanks to Jared Dudley’s lay-up.
But the 75-74 scoreline did not last for long as the Nets saw out their victory thanks to a season-high 18 points from Joe Harris and 23 points from D’Angelo Russell.
Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors triumphed 97-80 over Miami Heat, helped by Kevin Durant’s 21 points with eight rebounds.
