Lakers stun Celtics, Knicks stretch win streak
A Los Angeles Lakers team missing superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis barreled past the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday as the New York Knicks pushed their winning streak to nine games with a gutsy win over Indiana. Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points to lead six Los Angeles players in double figures, saying afterward he and the rest of the Lakers had taken to heart James' blunt demand after Tuesday's loss to Atlanta that his teammates "just go out and do your job." The latest meeting between the storied rivals, who share the record for most NBA titles with 17 apiece, lost some luster when the Lakers ruled out James with a sore left ankle and Davis with hip spasms and an Achilles tendon injury. In addition, the Lakers and Celtics are teams on different trajectories as the All-Star break approaches, with the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics boasting the best record in the league while the Lakers, ninth in the West, have struggled to find consistency and had dropped two straight since a thrilling overtime triumph over the Golden State Warriors last Saturday. So the crowd at Boston's TD Garden were stunned to near silence as the Lakers seized control in the second quarter, when Jayson Tatum's eight points were the only scoring from the Celtics' starters. Boston, down 60-46 at halftime, cut a 16-point deficit to six in the third quarter, with Tatum's pull-up three-pointer making it 77-71. The Lakers had their lead back to seven heading into the final period. D'Angelo Russell and Jaxson Hayes scored 16 points each for the Lakers, with Russell adding eight rebounds and 14 assists. Reaves made seven of the Lakers' 19 three-pointers. Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points. Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser had 17 points each but Jaylen Brown – named an All-Star reserve earlier Thursday – scored just eight. In New York, Jalen Brunson celebrated his first All-Star selection with 40 points, draining the go-ahead basket with 1:46 to play in the Knicks' 109-105 triumph over the Pacers. Brunson scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit. (AFP)