The Celtics held off the Lakers in a marquee matchup of red-hot teams with LeBron James leaving early due to a groin injury.
Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late rally to end the Los Angeles Lakers' eight-game winning streak, 111-101 on Saturday night.
With LeBron James in the locker room with a strained groin, the Lakers cut a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit to single digits. But Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored Boston's final 12 points to preserve the win.
Brown added 31 points as the Celtics earned their fourth straight victory.
James finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists before exiting midway through the fourth quarter.
Luka Doncic had 34 points and eight rebounds in his first game in Boston since he and the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals as Boston clinched its 18th championship.
The TD Garden crowd was brought to its feet with 3:50 left in the first quarter when Brown stripped Doncic, led a fast break and found a streaking Al Horford for a two-handed slam.
Horford's momentum caused him to swing forward, and he inadvertently kneed a trailing Doncic in the head as he swung back. No foul was called on the play, though Doncic was clearly irritated by the collision.
Green lifts Warriors as Curry hits milestone
Draymond Green hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, then secured a loose ball moments later and converted a free throw, Stephen Curry surpassed 25,000 points and the surging Golden State Warriors held off the Detroit Pistons 115-110.
Curry made four 3-pointers and needs seven to become the first player in NBA history with 4,000. He had 32 points, making all 12 of his free throws.
Jimmy Butler scored 15 points in the third and made a jumper with 1:22 to play on the way to 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Warriors won their fourth straight and ninth in 10. Golden State is 11-2 since Butler made his debut Feb. 8 - 11-1 in games he played.
Cade Cunningham scored 31 points and gave Detroit a lead on a layup with 50 seconds remaining before Green delivered.
Curry became the 26th NBA player to reach 25,000 points and reached the milestone with a 3 at the 8:32 mark of the third quarter.
Magic cool Bucks to snap skid
Paolo Banchero scored 29 points, Cole Anthony added 22 and the Orlando Magic beat Milwaukee 111-109 to end a five-game skid and snap the Bucks' four-game winning streak.
Orlando took the lead for good just over three minutes into the game and led 95-80 with less than nine minutes left before the Bucks rallied.
The Magic were clinging to a 111-109 lead when Milwaukee's Taurean Prince stole the ball from Anthony, a backcourt turnover that led to the Bucks inbounding the ball from in front of Orlando's bench with 6.6 seconds remaining. AJ Green passed the ball to Damian Lillard, who missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer while being guarded by Franz Wagner and Banchero.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who lost for just the second time in their last 10 games. Lillard added 26 points.
Milwaukee trailed 109-106 when Lillard drove to the basket and had his shot blocked by Orlando's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as the ball went out of bounds with 34.8 seconds left. Officials initially granted possession to Milwaukee, but Magic coach Jamahl Mosley challenged the call. A replay review determined the ball went out of bounds off Lillard, and Anthony found Caldwell-Pope for a dunk that made it 111-106 with 25.9 seconds remaining.