No LeBron James or Anthony Davis? No worries.
The LA Lakers have stunned the Celtics in one of the upsets of the season, winning 114-105 despite being without their two superstars in Friday’s meeting between the aold rivals in Boston (all times AEDT).
Austin Reaves exploded with 32 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and seven triples — tied for the most-ever by a Laker — leading all five LA starters in double figures.
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That included double-doubles from D’Angelo Russell (16 points, 14 assists) and Jaxson Hayes (16 points, 10 rebounds) as the Lakers’ supporting cast stepped up in a big way against the NBA’s No. 1 seeded Celtics.
“It’s lot of heart,” Reaves told TNT post-match.
“We came together as a group before and were like: ‘Look, our two best players aren’t playing. The least we can do is go and compete,’ And that’s what we did.
“We made shots, played the right way and really competed on the defensive end.”
With it, the Lakers got back to .500 at 25-25 in a potential season-defining win, consolidating the No. 9 seed in the West.
LA surged ahead in the second term after winning the period 32-21 go up by 14 at half-time and create a feeling of unease at the TD Garden.
Boston got within six points late in the third term after a Jayson Tatum three-pointer capped off a 10-2 surge, but it was the closest the home side got for the rest of the game as fans were left waiting for a run that never came.
Jayson Tatum’s 23 points led the now 37-12 Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hayser added 17 apiece.
EMOTIONAL BRUNSON’S 40 POINTS POWERS KNICKS
Jalen Brunson didn’t need the All-Star calls to show why he’s an All-Star.
His eye red and swollen from getting hammered in the face and his frustration with the officiating on overload, Brunson nailed the go-ahead bucket with 1:46 left to highlight a 109-105 thrilling victory Friday over the Pacers.
Despite being without both Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, the Knicks powered to their ninth-straight victory to continue their epic run, sitting half a game behind the East’s No. 2 seed Milwaukee.
Perhaps the best moment came post-match though, when Brunson, having earlier been named an All-Star for the first time, was lost for words over the honour and his 40-point performance at Madison Square Garden that followed.
“I got nothing to say,” Brunson said to the sound of MVP chants from Knicks fans.
The key sequence — which encapsulated the entire evening — was Brunson getting hit in the eye by Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard with a little over two minutes left.
The contact was inadvertent but obvious, and Brunson — who was in the middle of a cross over — immediately crumbled to the court and dropped the ball.
Indiana’s Jalen Smith picked it up for an easy layup to give the Pacers a one-point lead.
Brunson, who had been battling with the officials all night, took his frustration out on the Pacers’ defence, converting an and-one drive on the ensuing play to ignite the sold-out crowd.
It started a 7-0 run that buried Indiana.The Knicks point guard put on another wonderful show at Madison Square Garden, dragging and willing the shorthanded home team while dropping a 40-piece in 37 minutes on 15 of 30 shooting.
Without four injured rotation players — including fellow All-Star Julius Randle — Brunson dropped led the fourth-quarter surge, with the Knicks winning the most important minutes.
-This story was originally published by Stefan Bondy in The New York Post and reproduced with permission.
BRUTAL EMBIID BLOW CONFIRMED
Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in a crushing injury setback.
Embiid reaggravated the injury in the Sixers’ loss to the Golden State Warriors this week, with an MRI confirming an “injured lateral meniscus in his left knee,” per NBA reporter Chris Haynes.
The star centre will be out through the weekend, with the team to provide on him “while a treatment plan is finalised,” but likely faces several weeks on the sidelines.
Under new rules brought in by the NBA this season, Embiid, who’s already missed 12 games, will now almost certainly be eligible to win back-to-back MVP awards. The new rules require players need to play a minimum 65 games to be eligible for the major awards as well as All-NBA selection.
Philly will meanwhile now navigate a tough part of its schedule without its franchise cornerstone. Nick Nurse’s currently sits fifth in the East at 29-17, having dropped its last four-straight games.
The outright MVP favourite prior to his setbback, Embiid had been in the midst of a career-best season. He led the NBA in scoring at 35.3 points per game (shooting 53 per cent from the field and 88 per cent from the free throw line) to go with 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks.
Just last week Embiid blew up for a career-best 70 points in arguably his most dominant ever display in Philadelphia’s win over the San Antonio Spurs in his first showdown with No. 1 pick phenom Victor Wembanyama.
The Sixers play Utah later on Friday.
ALL RESULTS
PACERS 105 KNICKS 109
LAKERS 114 CELTICS 105
CAVALIERS 108 GRIZZLIES 101
76ERS – JAZZ