LeBron James bemoaned the Los Angeles Lakers suffering from a "weird" NBA review call as the Golden State Warriors triumphed on Saturday.

The Lakers trailed 124-120 with 1:50 remaining of the fourth quarter when a delay started after Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham challenged an out-of-bounds call that granted the Warriors possession.

Ham's questioning was proved correct as the Lakers were granted the ball but, in the process, the Lakers were punished for points after the officials reviewed LeBron's earlier three-pointer.

LeBron was deemed to have been in contact with the paint when shooting from the corner, with his three-point conversion reduced to two by the officials.

"I've never seen that be called before like that, in that particular time," said James, who finished with 40 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds.

"That was kind of weird. It took some momentum away from us. I didn't believe I stepped on the line.

"I knew how much space I had over there. And when I shoot, I shoot on my tippy toes, so it's kind of hard for me to have a heel down."

NBA official David Guthrie explained the call after the game, though that did not quell the frustrations from either side.

"James' left foot is out of bounds as he begins to shoot," Guthrie said. "Yes, it is reviewable at that time.

"The rule is Rule 13, Section II(f)(3): Whether the shooter committed a boundary line violation, the replay center official will only look at the position of the player's feet at the moment they touch the floor immediately prior to the release of the shot. This can be applied during other replay triggers as well."

Despite profiting from the review, even Golden State coach Steve Kerr was unsure of the ruling.

"I also don't like the rule that you can go back and look at an out of bounds, or LeBron's 3," Kerr said. "That seems to happen once or twice a year. I'd love to see that rule go away.

"I think we're trying so hard to get everything just right, at the expense of the flow. Who cares if a guy's foot is half an inch on the line?

"Is that worth going back 45 seconds and changing everything, with the unintended consequences? It's not my favourite rule, for sure."

Although Kerr surprisingly took the side of the opposition, LeBron was content to prioritise fairness rather than lament the method of replay reviews.

"At the end of the day, you want to get it right," LeBron said. "So, it's unfortunate what happened. But you want to try to get it right, obviously.

"And our crew has a job to do, which is the referees, they have a job to do, and they have to do it at the best they can. So, all good."

If the review decision was not bemusing enough, the last two minutes of the game took more than 20 minutes due to additional shot-clock malfunctions.

The Lakers twice tried to restart play but the shot clock was not in cohesion, leaving the stadium announcer to count the time down due to the technology issue.

"It was bizarre," Kerr added. "It seems like a few times a year you get clock issues. That's about as extreme as I've been a part of where the backup unit doesn't work either.

"It's unfortunate. I felt bad for the fans. That was a great game, and then the last two minutes everyone is just kind of looking at each other wondering what to do."

The Philadelphia 76ers had reason to celebrate after Saturday's victory over the Charlotte Hornets and Nick Nurse's side will have further joy incoming as Joel Embiid continues his recovery from injury.

Center Embiid was forced into meniscus surgery for a left knee issue at the end of January but Nurse suggested his star man could return before the NBA playoffs.

"I'm still hoping so and pretty confident, yes," the 76ers coach said when asked if Embiid would feature in the postseason.

"I think there's always stages of how these things progress. Everyone wants to know 'Well how long is it going to be?'

"And they give a wide range because of that because everyone heals differently. We're just trying to take it as it comes, get him healthy and get him back when he's ready to go."

Embiid has missed 21 games since tearing his meniscus against the Golden State Warriors, with the 76ers slipping down from third to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers man was at least in attendance as Philadelphia downed the Hornets 109-98, with that victory coming after Embiid offered a boost when returning to on-court training.

"He looked pretty good to me," said Cam Payne. "For my first time seeing him, he looked pretty good, man. He attracts a lot of attention out here. So it's probably going to make our job a little bit easier."

Against Charlotte, Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 as the 76ers withstood a fourth-quarter comeback for victory.

Buddy Hield also had 14 points and Paul Reed contributed 11, though the 76ers are still 8-13 without key player Embiid.

"I thought Buddy kept us going there for stretches in the second half," Nurse said. "He got some good spots and got some good looks.

"We only scored 109 points, but I thought the offense was really good."

Charlotte have now lost six straight to Philadelphia, though coach Steve Clifford was not too disheartened.

"We were right there with three and a half minutes left," Hornets coach Clifford said.

"We had a couple blown sets where we got a little disorganized there, but we got back into the game and I would say that we played well for about 43 minutes.

"The second quarter, we had a couple of minutes there where the ball didn't hit the paint and we took a couple of OK shots and put a lot of pressure on the defense."

Stephen Curry scored 31 points in his return and the Golden State Warriors overcame LeBron James’ 40 points and 13 rebounds in a 128-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Curry was 12 of 24 from the field and had six rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes after missing three games due to a sprained right ankle.

Klay Thompson scored 26 points, Jonathan Kuminga had 23 and Draymond Green added six points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists after he missed the last game due to back soreness.

D’Angelo Russell tallied 23 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who played the final three quarters without Anthony Davis, who suffered an eye injury.

Golden State inched ahead of Los Angeles by a percentage point into ninth place in the West after winning a game that dragged to the finish because of a pair of replay reviews and a malfunctioning clock.

Brunson’s big game lifts Knicks

Jalen Brunson scored 42 points for his second straight 40-plus effort and the New York Knicks pulled out a 98-91 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Brunson, who had 45 points in Thursday’s win at Portland, registered his seventh 40-point game of the season. He’s the first Knicks player to reach that total in consecutive games since Carmelo Anthony on Feb. 19 and 21, 2014.

Brunson joins Hall of Famers Bernard King and Patrick Ewing as the only other Knicks to score 40 in back-to-back games.

Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 14 rebounds for his 49th straight double-double but Sacramento lost for the second time in six games.

Streaking Rockets down Cavaliers

Jalen Green had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points to lead the Houston Rockets to their fifth straight win, 117-103 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Amen Thompson scored 18 points and Fred VanVleet contributed 13 points and 16 assists for the Rockets, who have won seven of eight to stay in contention for a play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Caris LeVert scored 21 points and Donovan Mitchell added 13 in his second game back from a seven-game absence. Mitchell appeared to sustain a bloody nose in the second half and sat for much of the fourth quarter.

The Cavs dropped their third in four games and fell one game behind Milwaukee for second place in the Eastern Conference.  

Zion Williamson wants to take ownership of the situation as the New Orleans Pelican hunt down the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Williamson finished with 34 points as the Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 on Friday.

That victory moved them to within two wins of the Clippers, who occupy fourth spot in the West.

Williamson was drafted by the Pelicans as the first overall pick in 2019, though has so far been unable to deliver in big games, in large part due to injuries. He wants that to change now.

"It's just getting to that part of the season," he said.

"Just trying to let my teammates know, 'I'm here. I with y'all.

"Whether it's diving on the floor on defense, passing or scoring."

Pelicans coach Willie Green added: "It's great to have him on the floor, playing as well as he's playing."

Williamson has scored 99 points across the Pelicans' four meetings with the Clippers this season, a series New Orleans lead 3-1.

"All three games they've won this year, he [Williamson] dominated," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

"We did some good things to come back and make it a game but our margin for error was very slim at that point.

"I like our fight. I like the way we competed. We just came up short."

The Clippers have now lost three of their last four games, while the Pelicans have won six of their last eight.

Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.

The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span. 

Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.

Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.

Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.

Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach. 

The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.

Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid

Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.

Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.

The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.

Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.

Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot

Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.

Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.

Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.

The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.

Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.

The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.

Cameron Payne felt the Philadelphia 76ers found "the right juice" against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but it wasn't enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo led the championship hopefuls to victory.

Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds as the Bucks rallied for a 114-105 win over the 76ers, who had led 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the Bucks inched ahead of their short-handed visitors with eight minutes on the clock, then AJ Green added three free-throws and a 3-pointer to open up a commanding lead.

The Sixers have now lost 13 of 20 games without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who hopes to return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

However, both Payne and head coach Nick Nurse sought to take the positives from Thursday's performance. 

"I feel like we had the right juice today. We had fun and it showed on the court," Payne said after finishing with 13 points in support of Tyrese Maxey, who had 30. 

Nurse echoed that view, saying: "I think the effort was really good. We were doing a lot of things we wanted to do. We turned them over a bunch in the first half. 

"Probably the difference in the game was that we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second. But I thought we did a lot of really good things."

The victory – Milwaukee's third in a row on home turf – improved the Bucks to 43-24, a record which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 52-14 Boston Celtics. 

"They were the instigators throughout the entire first three quarters," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought in the fourth quarter it flipped."

Jaylen Brown scored 37 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 as the league-leading Boston Celtics rolled to a 127-112 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, becoming the first team to clinch a playoff spot.

Al Horford had 24 points with six of Boston’s season high-tying 25 3-pointers as the Celtics defeated Phoenix for the second time in a week to win its fourth straight.

Tatum and Brown combined for 43 of the Celtics’ 65 first-half points and Boston broke open the game with an 18-6 run in the third quarter for a 97-78 cushion.

Devin Booker scored 23 points and Bradley Beal added 22 and seven assists for the Suns, who have lost four of six on the road.

Brunson’s big game powers Knicks

Jalen Brunson poured in 45 points and the New York Knicks rolled to a 105-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brunson shot 14 of 30 from the field and was 2 of 10 from 3-point range while making 15 of 17 free throws. He reached the 40-point mark for the sixth time this season.

Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby each added 12 points for the Knicks, who won consecutive games for the first time since a nine-game streak from Jan. 17-Feb. 1.

Deandre Ayton had 31 points and 14 rebounds as Portland completed a 2-4 homestand.

Antetokounmpo leads Bucks over 76ers

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to propel the Milwaukee Bucks to a 114-105 win over the struggling Philadelphia 76ers.

Brook Lopez had 19 points and seven rebounds and Damian Lillard added 17 points and seven assists for the Bucks, who returned home after losing three of four on a West Coast swing.

Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for the 76ers, who have lost 16 of their last 23 games.

LeBron James believes the Los Angeles Lakers are still playing "good ball", despite a 120-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

The defeat leaves the Lakers at 36-31, ninth in the Western Conference and three games back of the Kings, who currently occupy the sixth seed and would avoid the play-in tournament were the season to finish now.

The Kings' win on Wednesday means they have swept the Lakers 4-0 this season. Domantas Sabonis starred for Sacramento with 17 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists, while Harrison Barnes also hit seven 3-pointers as James finished with just 18 points.

The Lakers need an upturn in form if they are to avoid the play-in tournament, but despite suffering a defeat to a playoff rival in Sacramento, James still feels his team played well in some spots.

"We already knew we were in the gauntlet of our schedule," James told reporters.

"We already knew we had all the teams that were coming in, everybody positioning and jockeying, some of the best teams in the league. We knew it was a tough stretch for our ball club.

"But even with the loss to Denver, even with the loss to Sacramento both times, we've still been playing some good ball."

The win for Sacramento means Sabonis has now played against fellow center Anthony Davis 10 times during his career, winning all 10 of those clashes.

However, Sabonis hopes the growing talk of his impressive record against nine-time All-Star Davis quietens down, joking: "I don't pay attention to that.

"The more you guys bring attention to that, it makes my life harder. If anything, it will light a fire under him, so stop mentioning anything, please!"

Sports foundations and grassroots clubs must continue to act as a vessel to help guide youngsters away from anti-social behaviour and crime within inner-city communities, according to former Great Britain basketball international Justin Robinson.

The 36-year-old point guard grew up in Brixton before going on to further his career in the United States collegiate system, also taking in spells playing across Europe ahead of a move back to the UK in 2017 with London Lions.

As he recovered from a serious knee injury suffered during the British Basketball League playoffs in April 2022, Robinson launched his own community interest company, centred around engaging young people using basketball to help tackle social issues.

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Robinson, who returned to action for the 2023-24 season with Surrey Scorchers, believes such mentor initiatives like those he was able to access at childhood club team Brixton Topcats can play a crucial role.

“It is no secret, Brixton has its ills, on the other hand it is a vibrant community and one of love, but of course there are aspects that need to be changed,” Robinson told the PA news agency.

“I am from these same streets. These kids look like me, they speak like me, they live the life that I lived, so who better to go into these schools and speak to these kids, using basketball as a vessel?

“But this is so much bigger than basketball. We are teaching life lessons: anti-gang, anti-grooming and anti-drug.

“The main fact of me just being in their presence is a level of hope for them. They can be going through a lot at home, there could be a lot of problems in their area with gangs, so there is a lot for the kids to deal with today.

“I was fortunate enough to have that support at Brixton Topcats, I had so many male and female mentors who kind of kept me on the straight and narrow. I am just trying to give back what was done for me.”

Robinson added: “When I was growing up in the mid-1990s to 2000s, there was a lot going on in the area. There was a real big drug problem with lots of gangs, it was a lot more ‘in your face’ and stuff being done out in the open.

“Now what we are seeing is a lot of these kids are getting younger and younger, with the addition of social media too, so we have to grab them from a young age, from years four, five or six – these are pivotal ages where they can go the wrong way or the right way.”

The JJROB Foundation works in partnership with Lambeth Council and local organisations such as Juvenis, which offers bespoke support and training for young people who are having difficulties at school, at home or in the community.

Robinson is confident those relationships between local government and community groups can continue to grow.

“It is hard. There is the cost of living (crisis), the economy is in trouble, there are so many factors we have to think about, but from my interactions with them, they are sincere, want to help and have been,” he said.

Robinson, a two-time BBL League MVP, admitted there were periods during his recovery from a ruptured patella tendon and broken kneecap when he wondered if he would ever play again.

The 36-year-old has gone on to achieve 2,000 Championship points this season, becoming just the sixth active player to reach the milestone as he helps the Scorchers push for the playoffs.

“There are times where I feel like myself and forget I was injured, then there are still times when I have to rein myself in, with a bit of that fear of taking the wrong step or maybe jumping up and landing on someone’s foot,” point guard Robinson said.

“When you are injured, it forces you to slow down a bit and you read the game a bit more. I have surprised myself, but at the same time I have always been confident of my abilities.

“There are still quite a lot of games to play (in the regular season), but so far, so good.”

:: Limited tickets for the British Basketball League All-Star Game at the Copper Box Arena on March 17 can be purchased via www.britishbasketballleague.com/2024allstars/

Luka Dončić’ had his triple-double streak ended at seven games before leaving with left hamstring soreness as the Dallas Mavericks slogged to a 109-99 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Doncic had 21 points, nine assists and three rebounds, ending a triple-double run that included NBA records of five straight with at least 35 points and six in a row with at least 30 points.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd said he wasn’t sure if Doncic would make the trip to Oklahoma City, where the Mavs finish a back-to-back on Thursday night.

Daniel Gafford was 5 of 5 from the field – all on dunks – to extend his streak of made field goals to 33, two shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record, set in 1967. Gafford also had a season-high seven blocks.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 27 points and Andrew Wiggins added 17 for the Warriors, who dropped to 1-2 without Stephen Curry, who is sidelined by a sprained ankle.

Nuggets move atop West

Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and Nikola Jokić had 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 100-88 victory over the sliding Miami Heat in a finals rematch on Wednesday.

Aaron Gordon had 16 points and Jamal Murray contributed 14 for the Nuggets, who improved to an NBA-best 10-1 since the All-Star break to move a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City into first place in the Western Conference.

Bam Adebayo had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Jimmy Butler scored 15 for Miami, which lost its fourth straight and dropped 2 ½ games behind Orlando in the Southeast Division.

Denver is 12-1 in its last 13 games against the Heat, including last season’s NBA Finals.

DeRozan leads Bulls to overtime win

DeMar DeRozan poured in a season-high 46 points, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime, to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 132-129 win over the Indiana Pacers.

DeRozan’s only 3 of the game with 2:18 left in overtime put the Bulls ahead for good, and he added a free throw with 10 seconds remaining before Tyrese Haliburton missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Alex Caruso scored 23 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 20 as Chicago won its fourth in six games.

Myles Turner had 27 points with five 3-pointers and Haliburton finished with 17 points and 14 assists, but Indiana failed to win its third straight.

The Sacramento Kings delivered their most complete performance of the season as they snapped a long winless run against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sacramento won 129-94 on Tuesday, defeating the Bucks for the first time since February 2016.

That 15-game losing streak was the longest active such run of any team in the NBA.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points, while Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and 11 rebounds. He has now set a new Kings single-season record, with what was his 47th successive double-double. 

As good as the Kings' offense was, however, Fox wanted to praise the defense.

"I think defensively we did a great job," Fox said.

"I think that fuelled our offense. Obviously, we scored 130 points, but even if we didn't play that well offensively, if we have an even below-average game, score 110, we still win this game by 15.

"I think this was one of the most complete games that we've played this year."

Speaking of his teammate Sabonis, Fox added: "Night in, night out, he's come up big for us.

"I think people are immune to it. No one outside of basically us talks about it. But that's obviously a hard thing to do and there's not many people have done it. He comes ready to play every night."

While Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 13 rebounds, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said his team did not deserve anything but a defeat, and he took full responsibility.

"We deserved it tonight," said Rivers.

"It's my fault. I didn't get them prepared the way I should mentally. At shootaround, guys were talking about planes leaving.

"As a staff, we talked about it after shootaround that if our focus is not better than this morning, it's going to be a long day. And it was a long day. So that's on us."

Anthony Edwards scored 37 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 22-point deficit for a 118-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added a season-high 28 points and Mike Conley scored 23 with five 3-pointers for the Wolves, who bounced back from consecutive losses to pull within one game of the Northwest Division lead.

Kawhi Leonard left with back spasms between the first two quarters, the Clippers said. He played the entire first quarter, but he was seen leaving the arena during the second quarter.

Faced with a 57-35 deficit midway through the second quarter, Minnesota cut the Clippers’ lead to 63-55 at halftime and took control in the second half for the team’s largest comeback since November 2012.

Paul George scored 22 points for Los Angeles, which has dropped two straight for only the second time since Christmas.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert returned from a one-game absence with a right hamstring injury but then apparently injured his ribs or sternum at some point in the second half, heading to the locker room in pain.

Kings finally beat Bucks

De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis had 22 with 11 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 129-94, for their first win in the series in over eight years.

Sacramento posted its first win over Milwaukee since Feb. 1, 2016, with the 15-game losing streak being the longest active streak for any team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 13 rebounds as the Bucks finished a 1-3 California swing.

Hart stars in Knicks’ rout of 76ers

Josh Hart registered his fourth triple-double of the season and OG Anunoby scored 14 points in his return from an 18-game absence as the New York Knicks rolled to a 106-79 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hart had 20 points, a career high-tying 19 rebounds and 10 assists, and Jalen Brunson added 20 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who bounced back from Sunday’s loss to the 76ers.

Anunoby played his first game since Jan. 27 due to a right elbow injury that required surgery. New York improved to 13-2 in games that he has played in since his acquisition from Toronto on Dec. 30.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 points and Tyrese Maxey added 17 after missing the previous four games due to a concussion. Philadelphia has lost four of its last five games.

Jaylen Brown is counting his lucky stars as the Boston Celtics man feels blessed with another chance at achieving "something special".

Brown posted 27 points, one more than teammate Jayson Tatum, as the Celtics overcame the Portland Trail Blazers 121-99, despite the absence of injured stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.

That victory over Portland marked the Eastern Conference-leading Boston's 50th of the season for a third straight campaign.

"All the guys laugh because, around this time of year, I say the same thing – how much of an honor it is to be on this team," Brown said.

"I'm grateful to be on a team that's winning, that's been playing the right way, has another opportunity to do something special. That's a blessing."

With a mammoth 18 games remaining, the Celtics have already secured a playoff spot after becoming the first team to hit the 50-win mark this year.

Boston lost the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 before Conference Finals defeat against the Miami Heat the following year, though Tatum remains buoyant.

"At this point of the season, to have 50 wins, it means we're doing something right," Tatum added. "The scary part is, we can get better."

Sam Hauser also finished with a season-high six 3-pointers and 22 points for Boston, who have won an NBA-leading 21 games on the road this season.

"We don't really look at a team's record," Hauser said. "It's the NBA, everybody has talented players.

"You can lose any given night, so we just try to take it one day at a time, once game at a time, and find things that we can get better at each and every day."

The Celtics will hope to keep up their winning run on the road when they visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Luka Doncic was unable to continue his record-breaking NBA run of six straight 30-point triple-doubles but winning is the priority over individual statistics for the Dallas Mavericks star.

That was the message from Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd after Dallas cruised past the Chicago Bulls 127-92 on Monday.

Doncic had 27 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, posting yet another triple-double but this time without scoring 30 for the first time in seven games.

"It's about winning to him," Kidd said. "Numbers, I don't know if they really mean anything to him today.

"But when he does retire, he'll look back to see the game that he was playing was at a different level than anybody else."

Doncic exited the rout midway through the fourth quarter but still boasts seven straight 20-point triple-doubles, joining Michael Jordan (1989) and Oscar Robertson (1961) for the longest such streak in NBA history.

Former Bulls center Daniel Gafford also converted all nine field goals, extending his run of consecutive shots without missing to 28, just seven shy of the NBA record.

"My philosophy for sure is just being consistent, having a mindset of just going to finish everything no matter if there's somebody in front of you or if there isn't somebody in front of you," Gafford said.

"At the end of the day, either dunking it or putting it in the rim."

Onuralp Bitim was a rare bright Chicago spark with a career-high 17 points, while DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each scored 13, though that did not stop Dallas from winning a third straight game.

"We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

"We've got to be more pulled in than we were. ... We kind of were too worried with getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, 'Hey, we're going to take away the roll.'"

The Orlando Magic agreed to a contract extension with Jamahl Mosley on Tuesday, keeping the head coach that has turned the franchise around in the fold through the 2027-28 season.

Mosley was named head coach of the Magic in July 2021 after spending time as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks.

Orlando went 22-60 in his first season in charge in 2021-22 and wound up winning the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Magic used the No. 1 overall pick in 2022 on Paolo Banchero, who went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award last season as Orlando finished 34-48 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

This season, the Magic are 37-28 and currently lead the Southeast Division by 1.5 games over the Miami Heat.

Orlando’s .569 winning percentage is its highest since posting a 52-30 record (.634) in 2010-11.

“Jamahl and his staff have done a tremendous job not only this season, but since we hired him back in 2021,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said.

“His preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players and passion he brings to the job every day brings positive results, both on the court and off.

“We are very happy to have Jamahl lead the Magic for years to come.”