LOS ANGELES – The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks picked up where they left off when the National Basketball Association resumed on Feb 22 following the All-Star break, as both notched their seventh straight victories.

Luka Doncic scored 41 points with nine rebounds and 11 assists and Kyrie Irving added 29 points for the Mavs in a 123-113 home victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Derrick White scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum scored 25 to lead the Celtics, who used a big third quarter to take control on the way to a 129-112 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.

It had looked like business as usual for league-leading Boston (44-12) when they took a 16-point lead in the first quarter. But the Bulls outscored them 39-28 in the second period and led by three at half-time before the Celtics righted the ship.

White and Tatum made five three-pointers each as the Celtics connected on 23 from beyond the arc.

“I thought the break was nice,” White said on ESPN.

“I think we were all just ready to get back to it. Just a big opportunity for us to be playing our best basketball going down the stretch. The break was nice. We just got to pick up where we were and try to keep getting better each day.”

Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 22 points and 14 rebounds but the Bulls had no answer when Boston clamped down defensively in the second half.

In Dallas, the Mavericks also found themselves down by three at half-time. But they opened the third quarter on a 16-0 run to seize a double-digit lead and did not trail again.

“It’s always tough to come back from All-Star, the first game’s always tough,” Doncic told TNT. “We played against an amazing team, but we showed out.”

Devin Booker scored 35 points to pace Phoenix and Kevin Durant added 23.

With the win the Mavs matched Phoenix’s 33-23 record and earned the tiebreaker over the Suns.

“I think it was a very big game,” Doncic added after the Mavs climbed into play-off position at sixth in the West, but added: “We’ve got to get ready for the next game and just keep going like that.”

In Denver, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic grabbed another piece of NBA history when he became just the third player to record at least one triple-double against every team he has faced in the league in a 130-110 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Jokic was a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor on the way to 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists. AFP