The Boston Celtics on Saturday edged the Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 in an overtime battle tinged by controversy, while Philadelphia 76ers big-man Joel Embiid out-dueled the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic as NBA rivalries took center stage.
The league-leading Celtics came out on top in a game that featured 19 lead changes, snapping a three-game skid.
The Lakers led by seven midway through the fourth quarter, but Jaylen Brown converted a three-point play to tie it up at 105-105 with 4.1 seconds left.
Photo: AFP
He went on to score 11 points in the extra session after LeBron James’s drive to the basket at the end of regulation ended in a miss, with James and the Lakers pleading for a foul call after Jayson Tatum brushed his arm.
The call did not come and Boston prevailed, withstanding a 41-point performance from James — who jumped up and down in frustration at the non-call before kneeling on the court.
“The best player on Earth can’t get a call — it’s amazing,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who spoke of the “agony” of losing such a huge game.
“I don’t understand it,” James said, adding that he did not think it was the first time a non-call proved costly to the Lakers this season.
Los Angeles star Anthony Davis said the Lakers were “cheated,” and officiating crew chief Eric Lewis told reporters after the game that the crew had “missed the play.”
“There was contact,” Lewis said. “At the time, during the game, we did not see a foul.”
Brown preferred to focus not on officiating or the rivalry, but on Boston’s quest to remain the dominant team in the East.
“It was a much-needed win,” he said. “We lost the last three, so we wanted to come out and get a win.”
Ham said that any game between the Celtics and Lakers — who have faced each other a record 12 times in the NBA Finals — is “always hotly contested.”
Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said that “generational” rivalry made his team’s crosstown rivalry with the New York Knicks look puny — an impression that only increased when the Nets notched a ninth straight win over the Knicks, 122-115.
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points, coming alive with 21 fourth-quarter points as the Nets held on, even after the Knicks — who trailed by as many as 19 — cut the deficit to three points with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left to play.
Irving posted his sixth straight game of 30 or more points.
Things were perhaps more personal in Philadelphia, but Embiid, who finished runner-up to Jokic in voting for Most Valuable Player in the past two seasons, said there is no “rivalry” between him and the Nuggets star.
“I love the big fella,” Embiid told broadcaster ABC after pouring in 47 points to lead the 76ers to a 126-119 victory.
Embiid also grabbed 18 rebounds to help the Sixers erase a 15-point halftime deficit on the way to a seventh straight win.
Elsewhere, Chris Paul scored 31 points and Mikal Bridges added 25 as the Phoenix Suns spoiled San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s 74th birthday with a 128-118 overtime victory.
In Atlanta, Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and Paul George added 23 to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to 120-113 win over the Hawks.
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