MANILA – Boston Celtics survived an endgame surge by the Los Angeles Lakers for a 121-113 victory in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The Celtics seemed headed to the victory after leading 113-86 with seven minutes left, but the Lakers mounted a huge run to come to as close as 110-115 with over a minute left.
Jaylen Brown steadied the ship for the Celtics with back-to-back baskets to make it 119-112 before Marcus Smart iced the victory for Boston with two free throws.
Brown finished the match with 40 points and nine rebounds, while Smart and rookie Payton Pritchard added 15 markers apiece as the Celtics improved to a 30-26 win-loss slate.
Tristan Thompson and Jayson Tatum contributed 14 markers apiece and Kemba Walker chipped in 12 points as the Celtics romped to its fifth consecutive victory.
Talen Horton-Tucker tallied 19 points, while Marc Gasol and Ben McLemore scored 18 and 17 markers, respectively, as the defending champions Lakers dropped to 34-22.
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors (28-28) recorded its fourth straight win after a 119-101 domination over Cleveland Cavaliers (20-35) at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Holding to a slim 81-77 lead late in the third, the Warriors leaned on the exploits of Curry for an 89-79 edge before widening it to 117-95 in the fourth on hits by Juan Toscano-Anderson and Andrew Wiggins.
Curry finished with 33 points, Wiggins added 23 markers, and Toscano-Anderson contributed career-high 20 points as the Warriors won its fourth straight game.
In other results, Milwaukee Bucks (35-20) notched its third straight win by beating Atlanta Hawks (30-26) 120-109; while Phoenix Suns (40-15) eclipses Sacramento Kings (22-34), 122-114.
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 121 – Brown 40, Pritchard 15, Smart 15, Thompson 14, Tatum 14, Walker 12, G. Williams 4, Kornet 3, Langford 2, Edwards 2, Ojeleye 0, Wagner 0.
LOS ANGELES 113 – Horton-Tucker 19, Gasol 18, McLemore 17, Kuzma 13, Harrell 12, McKinnie 10, Schroder 8, Caruso 6, Matthews 3, Cacok 3, Caldwell-Pope 2, Antetokounmpo 2.
QUARTERSCORES:
31-23, 61-48, 91-79, 121-113./PN
