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Celtics Take It to the Lakers

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Celtics to a 126-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA’s featured game on Christmas Day.

Porzingis, who did not play in Boston’s win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday because of an ankle injury, helped the Celtics overcome a 40-point performance by Lakers center Anthony Davis, who shot 15 of 26 from the field. Davis also pulled down 13 rebounds.

The Lakers trailed by nine points after three quarters and trailed by at least eight points throughout the fourth. Los Angeles never led by more than two points.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Celtics also received 18 points and 11 assists from Derrick White, 19 points from Jaylen Brown and an 18-point effort from Jrue Holiday.

Taurean Prince (17 points), LeBron James (16), Rui Hachimura (12) and Austin Reaves (11) also scored in double figures for the Lakers. James, who had nine rebounds and eight assists, collided with Brown with 4:02 remaining in the first half, but both returned to the game.

It was the final game of Boston’s four-game California road trip. The Celtics went 3-1 in those contests.

The Celtics scored the game’s first 12 points. The Lakers didn’t get on the scoreboard until Cam Reddish sank a 3-pointer with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Boston extended its lead to 32-14 with 3:11 left in the opening quarter, but Los Angeles ended the frame with a 9-0 run and trailed 32-23 after 12 minutes.

The Lakers tied the game, 52-52, on a Prince 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining in the second quarter, but Boston led 58-57 at halftime.

Los Angeles had its first lead of the game after a James basket made it 59-58 24 seconds into the third quarter. The Celtics outscored the Lakers 41-33 in the period, however, and had a 99-90 advantage entering the fourth.

After making a total of 47 3-pointers in their previous two games, the Celtics were 13 of 42 from deep on Monday.

–Field Level Media

Nuggets Take 3-0 Lead Over Lakers

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LOS ANGELES – Denver’s Jamal Murray was the knockout closer in Game 2 and his role changed drastically for Game 3.

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The Denver guard was filling up the basket early and often Saturday night and scored 30 of his 37 points in the first half as the Nuggets maintained control of the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The victory gave Denver a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.

Murray, who scored 23 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2, carried the momentum into Game 3. He had 17 points in the first quarter and added 13 more in the second.

“If a guy has got it going, we’re going to ride that guy,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.

Nikola Jokic scored 15 fourth-quarter points to help Denver take that 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven series against the Lakers. The two-time MVP finished with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Nuggets are one victory away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. They can clinch Monday night when Game 4 is held in Los Angeles.

“Every game is a must-win I think,” said Jokic, not wanting to engage in any series is over talk. “We came here with a really good mindset and we played really good.”

The Lakers are very aware that no team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

“We got to get one, just get one at a time,” Los Angeles star LeBron James said. “Just focus on Game 4, that’s all you can think about. Obviously, this game is over with. We had some opportunities and we didn’t come through. … It’s a one-game series for us.”

Of course, stopping Murray will be a big focus for the Lakers in Game 4. And Murray left the floor yelling that his club has five more wins to go.

“Just trying to keep everyone in the moment,” Murray said. “You need 16 wins to win a championship and we have five more to go. The Lakers are in our way and they’re going to do everything they can to fight. They’re not going to lay down and let us beat them on their home floor.”

Anthony Davis recorded 28 points and 18 rebounds for seventh-seeded Los Angeles. James added 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, and Austin Reaves had 23 points and seven rebounds.

Davis expressed similar sentiments of those James conveyed.

“Take it one game at a time,” Davis said of the 3-0 hole. “Come Monday, leave it all on the floor and try to get a win. … That’s all you can really do.”

James was 3 of 9 from 3-point range on Saturday and is 3-for-19 in the series.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points, Bruce Brown added 15 and Michael Porter Jr. registered 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the top-seeded Nuggets. Denver had 30 assists and just six turnovers.

The Nuggets made 50 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 17 of 41 from 3-point range. Murray made five treys while Caldwell-Pope and Porter each made four.

Los Angeles connected on 45.2 percent of its shot attempts and was 10 of 32 from behind the arc. Rui Hachimura added 13 points.

Hachimura made two free throws to give Los Angeles a 94-93 edge with 7:48 left before Denver answered with 13 consecutive points. Jeff Green, Brown and Murray all made 3-pointers, Brown added a tip-in and Jokic converted a layup as Denver took a 12-point lead with 4:50 remaining.

“That was the game,” James said. “We had back-to-back turnovers and they made back-to-back threes and we never got back in rhythm.”

Los Angeles was unable to make a sustained charge. When Porter drained a 3-pointer to make it 117-103 with 1:06 left, the silence in the arena made it clear that the Lakers couldn’t avoid their first home loss of the playoffs.

The Nuggets led 58-55 at halftime. Caldwell-Pope scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a trey that gave the Nuggets an 81-74 lead with two minutes left.

A short time later, James made his first two 3-pointers of the series after missing his first 13. The two treys came in a span of less than 19 seconds and pulled Los Angeles within 83-82 with 25.9 seconds left in the period.

Denver led 84-82 entering the final stanza but the Lakers moved ahead on a 3-pointer by Hachimura 60 seconds into the quarter.

–Field Level Media

Nuggets Hold Homecourt, Defeat Lakers in G-1

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DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Denver Nuggets tried to run the Lakers out of the arena early behind another big game from Nikola Jokic, but the experienced Los Angeles team didn’t flinch — and nearly stole Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

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The Nuggets built an 18-point halftime lead in front of their home crowd and were up by 21 in the third quarter but had to hold off a furious Los Angeles rally to pull out a 132-126 win on Tuesday night.

Jokic had 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists for his third straight triple-double, and teammate Jamal Murray scored 31 points despite battling an ear infection.

“The whole playoffs he is playing amazing,” Jokic said jokingly of Murray. “Maybe he faked it, he doesn’t want to practice just to get a couple of days off.”

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 21 points, Bruce Brown had 16, Michael Porter Jr. added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Aaron Gordon finished with 12 points for the Nuggets.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night in Denver.

Anthony Davis had 40 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron James finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Rui Hachimura put up 17 points for the Lakers, whose second-half rally came up short.

“We’ll go back and look at the film, see what we need to clean up,” Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham said. “Take a good look at that second half, see what went well, try to sustain the good stuff and alleviate and repair the bad stuff.”

The Lakers lost Game 1 for the first time this postseason.

“It’s the playoffs, we need to be aggressive, we need to win the game, especially in front of the home crowd,” Jokic said. “They won two Game 1s.”

Los Angeles chipped away at the large deficit, getting within three points three times in the final four minutes. Denver responded by scoring the next points each time.

The Lakers opened the fourth on an 8-2 run to pull within 108-100 with 10:10 left.

Porter and Jeff Green hit corner 3-pointers and Murray scored on consecutive possessions to make it 118-104.

Los Angeles got within 124-118 with 3:53 left, and a Nuggets turnover led to a Reaves 3-pointer that made it a three-point game. Denver got the margin back to six, but another Reaves 3-pointer made it 127-124 with 2:18 left.

James had a chance to tie with 45 seconds left but missed a 3-point attempt, and Jokic closed it out at the line.

“I think we did a good job of just making shots and weathering the storm,” Murray said. “But that’s why it’s a series. Both teams will make adjustments.”

Denver used a 36-13 edge in rebounding to take a 72-54 lead into halftime. Jokic had 12 rebounds in the first quarter and finished with 16 for the half to go along with 19 points and seven assists.

“It took us a half to get into the game, and that was pretty much the ballgame,” James said.

Murray hit a pair of 3-pointers at the start of the third, giving the Nuggets a 78-58 lead. Jokic notched his triple-double when he fed Caldwell-Pope for a floating jumper midway through the third quarter. It is his 12th postseason triple-double, the most by a center in NBA history.

Jokic put the Nuggets ahead 93-72 with a 3-pointer and fed Caldwell-Pope for another before Los Angeles closed the third strong. The Lakers went on a 16-7 run, but Jokic drained a 28-footer at the quarter buzzer to make it a 14-point game entering the fourth.

–Field Level Media

LeBron James Passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as NBA’s All-Time Top Scorer

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James parlayed his offensive versatility over 20 seasons into the NBA all-time scoring record, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Tuesday for most points in league history.

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James eclipsed Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387 career regular-season points on a fallaway shot with 10.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers’ Tuesday game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.

He stepped back from the defense of Kenrich Williams near the foul line and sank the record-breaking jumper.

Abdul-Jabbar, who was sitting courtside, stood and applauded as James celebrated. The former Lakers star and NBA commissioner Adam Silver both shook James’ hand and gave him brief hugs at center court.

James then got on a microphone and said, “Everybody that has ever been a part of this run with me the last 20-plus years, I want to say thank you so much because I wouldn’t be me without all y’all. All y’all helped. All y’all’s passion and sacrifices helped me to get to this point.

“And to the NBA, to Adam Silver, to the late great David Stern, thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of something I always dreamed about. I would never in a million years dreamt this to be even better than what it is tonight. So (expletive) man, thank you, guys.”

James ended the night with 38 points, leaving his career total at 38,390 points, but the Lakers lost 133-130.

Silver subsequently released a statement that read, “Congratulations to LeBron on breaking one of the most hallowed records in all of sports by becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. It’s a towering achievement that speaks to his sustained excellence over 20 seasons in the league. And quite amazingly, LeBron continues to play at an elite level and his basketball history is still being written.”

After the game, James said, “I don’t know if it’s hit me. It hit me a little when my family got out on the floor after it happened and I saw all my friends and family, but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. …

“To be able to play at this level, 20 years in and the minutes I played, the games I played, through the regular season and the postseason, to still be at the apex of my game is a really surreal feeling.

“Hopefully I can keep doing it but at the end of the day it’s just been a pleasure to be in this league for 20 years. And however long I can go and however long that can be, I’ve had a hell of a run.”

Asked whether he is the best NBA player of all time, James replied, “I’ll let everybody else decide who that is or just talk about it, but it’s great barbershop talk. Me personally, I’m going to take myself against anybody who’s ever played this game. But everyone’s gonna have their favorite, decide who their favorite is.

“I know what I bring to the table every single night and what I can do out on this floor. I always feel like I’m the best to ever play this game, but there are so many great ones and I’m happy to be just a part of their journey.”

The star-studded crowd included tennis legend John McEnroe, music stars Jay-Z, LL Cool J and Bad Bunny, actor Denzel Washington and former Lakers players Bob McAdoo and James Worthy, among others.

With the skills of a point guard, the shooting prowess of a wing and the strength of a power forward, James entered Tuesday’s game averaging 30 points per game this season and needing 36 on the night to break the record.

James, 38, has averaged 27.2 points per game in his career while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-10, 2014-18), Miami Heat (2010-14) and the Lakers (2018-present).

Not counted in his regular-season record total are James’ 7,631 playoff points, also the most by a player in NBA history. He has played in 266 career postseason games while winning four NBA championships.

James missed his first two shots against the Thunder before scoring his first basket on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter. He had eight points on 3-of-6 shooting in the opening period and 20 points by halftime by going 6 of 10 from the floor, although Los Angeles trailed 76-66 at the break.

In an example of just how consistent of a scorer James has been, he also extended his record streak of double-digit games to 1,140.

James’ record performance wasn’t enough for the Lakers, though, as the Thunder emerged with the win.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, “The guys, they wanted to see Bron do what he did tonight. A lot of times I think the focus was more about trying to get Bron to the record as opposed to just playing natural basketball. We were able to make some good plays and he did what he did, he eclipsed the record. But we just had too many mistakes.”

–Field Level Media

NBA: Lakers Sign Jordan

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Reports) – As expected, the Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan to their roster, completing a deal that was reported when the Brooklyn Nets traded Jordan last week. The Athletic reported that Jordan’s deal  is a one-year deal worth $2.6 million.

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Jordan, 33, was an All-Star in 2017 as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers and has averaged 9.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 13 seasons with the Clippers (2008-18), Dallas Mavericks (2018-19), New York Knicks (2019) and Brooklyn Nets (2019-21). He was a teammate of LeBron James on the USA Basketball national team.

In 2020-21 as a member of the Nets, he averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

He joins a Lakers team that features James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard.

The signing was precipitated by a trade between the Nets and Detroit Pistons Sept. 4, which paved the way for Jordan’s release and eventual signing in L.A.

That deal involved the Nets trading Jordan to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for center Jahlil Okafor and forward Sekou Doumbouya. Okafor was released by the Nets earlier Thursday.

The Pistons also received $5.78 million, as well as second-round picks in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2027.

Celtics Hold on for Win Over LA Lakers

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LOS ANGELES  – Jaylen Brown scored 40 points and the Boston Celtics held on to a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter before settling for an eight-point victory, 121-113, over the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown made 13 of his first 14 shots and hit three 3-pointers and fell two points shy of his NBA career high, to lead Boston who have won eight of 11 and three of three to conclude this road trip.

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Boston led 113-86 with seven minutes to play, shortly after coach Brad Stevens pulled his starters. But Talen Horton-Tucker and Ben McLemore led a 24-2 run by the Lakers that forced Brown and Boston’s first string back into the game.

Guards Payton Pritchard and Marcus Smart added 15 points each for the Celtics, who never trailed despite committing 21 turnovers. Boston also won with just 14 points from All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, whose streak of scoring 20 points in 11 consecutive games ended.

Boston faced a depleted Lakers line-up. In addition to being without NBA All-Stars and MVP candidates Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers faced Boston without newly acquired center Andre Drummond, who has a bruised right big toe, and power forward Markieff Morris, who has a sprained left ankle.

LA Guard Dennis Schröder nearly sat out with an infection on the ball of his right foot, but contributed eight points and eight assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also played through mid-game back spasms, and center Marc Gasol stayed in after dislocating his pinky finger, which got popped back into place during a timeout.

Boston is a bit banged-up as well. Starting center Robert Williams III missed the game with left knee soreness and swelling. The Celtics were 8-2 since he joined the starting lineup at the trade deadline after center Daniel Theis was dealt to Chicago. … Forward Evan Fournier missed his fifth straight game under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.