LOS ANGELES – With Jayson Tatum back, it was the turn of Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis to rest nagging injuries on March 23 but the Boston Celtics did not miss a beat.

Their laser-focused mindset and insatiable appetite for success were key in beating the Chicago Bulls 124-113 to extend their National Basketball Association (NBA) winning streak to nine games.

Tatum – back after sitting out a victory over the Pistons in Detroit on March 22 – led the way with 26 points, while Sam Hauser made seven of the Celtics’ 21 three-pointers, missing just once from beyond the arc on the way to 23 points.

“We’re just hungry for more. It’s not in our character to just, like, mail it in for the rest of the season,” Hauser said of his team, who have used eight different starting line-ups during their nine-game winning run.

Al Horford also scored 23 at United Centre, after drilling five three-pointers and the Celtics, who led 95-92 going into the fourth quarter, relentlessly pulled away.

They took a 10-point lead on Tatum’s finger roll lay-up with just over three minutes remaining and a Hauser three-pointer pushed the lead to 13 with 89 seconds to play.

DeMar DeRozan had nine assists, six rebounds and led all scorers with 28 points, but the Bulls dropped their second straight game. Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic each added 14 points for Chicago (34-37).

“Playing teams like Chicago is a great test for the play-offs because of their ability to go on runs, their ability to impact the game on turnovers, points off turnovers, offensive rebounds, free throws,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

“They test you on the margins.”

Mazzulla added that Boston’s 12-3 advantage in offensive rebounds and their ability to limit the Bulls to 11 free-throw attempts was a “recipe for success”. They have won all three games against Chicago this season.

The Celtics are now two wins away from equalling their season-best 11-game winning streak. They pushed their league-best record to 57-14 and lead the Eastern Conference by 11.5 games over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, are fighting for their post-season lives. After their 147-119 win over the Utah Jazz on March 23, they are in 11th spot in the West, one place outside the play-in tournament and 1.5 games behind 10th-placed Golden State Warriors.

Their eight-game winning streak is their longest since 2019 and it owes plenty to Jalen Green, who scored 41 points less than a week after posting 42 in their victory over Washington.

“It won’t really mean anything if we don’t make the play-offs,” Green said of his form.

He drained seven three-pointers and Fred VanVleet hit 10 treys as the Rockets made 27 from beyond the arc in the dominant victory at Toyota Centre.

VanVleet, who tied James Harden and Chandler Parsons for the Rockets’ record for three-pointers in a game, finished with 34 points.

“I felt good after the first shot. When it’s going in like that, and you get good looks, teammates find you in good spots,” VanVleet said.

The Rockets were already up 47-23 in the first minute of the second quarter when Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr and Utah’s Kris Dunn traded punches after tangling up on court and were ejected.

Houston coach Ime Udoka said he thought the altercation was a hangover from an ill-tempered exchange between the same two players in a January game.

Over at Frost Bank Centre, Devin Booker scored 32 points to pace the Phoenix Suns in a wire-to-wire 131-106 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio.

Kevin Durant added 25 points and Bradley Beal added 13 points and 12 assists for Phoenix, who are just a half-game ahead of the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks for the sixth and final automatic play-off berth in the West.

The Kings eked out a 109-107 win over the Magic in Orlando, where De’Aaron Fox’s 31 points included two free-throws that put Sacramento up by one with 21.2 seconds remaining.

Keon Ellis added another free throw and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Sacramento, his 53rd straight double-double, equalling Kevin Love for the longest such streak since the American Basketball Association-NBA merger in 1976.

In New York, Donte DiVincenzo’s 31 points powered the Knicks to a 105-93 victory over cross-town rivals the Brooklyn Nets. Miles McBride added 26 points for the Knicks, who pulled away in the fourth quarter. AFP, REUTERS