Jaylen Brown tied a career high with 50 points, Derrick White added 29 and the sharp-shooting Boston Celtics earned a 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, who saw their six-game winning streak end Saturday at Inglewood, Calif.
Anfernee Simons scored 15 points and Jordan Walsh added 13 points with 13 rebounds as the Celtics went 4-1 on a just-completed road trip while improving to 12-3 since Nov. 30.
The Celtics shot 55.2% from the floor in the victory, fourth-best in a game this season as they matched their season high for points in a game. They took charge in a 42-point third quarter when they shot 63.3%, including 58.3% (7 of 12) from 3-point range.
Brown scored 19 in the third quarter alone and was 18 of 26 (69.2%) from the floor in the game and 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Kawhi Leonard and John Collins each scored 22 points as the Clippers lost for the first time since Dec. 18 against the champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles had doubled its victory total during the winning streak.
James Harden scored 18 points with 12 assists and Derrick Jones Jr. scored 19 for the Clippers, who saw Ivica Zubac (ankle) return from a five-game absence to score four points in 21 minutes. Jones departed with 9:25 remaining in the game with a right leg injury.
The Clippers pulled within four early in the second half at 71-67 before the Celtics grabbed an 84-74 lead on a 3-pointer from White with 7:35 remaining in the period. Boston closed the period on a 9-3 run to take a 113-99 advantage.
Nine consecutive Boston points from Brown put the Celtics up 128-107 with 6:15 remaining in regulation. Brown reached 50 points on a floater in traffic with 3:56 left.
The Celtics led by as many as 14 points in the first quarter and pushed the advantage to as many as 16 in the second before holding a 71-63 lead at halftime. White had 23 points and Brown had 20 in the first half for the Celtics, who shot 53.2% over the first two quarters.
–Field Level Media
