Lakers center Jaxson Hayes dunks as Boston’s Al Horford, left, and Peyton Pritchard look on Thursday night at TD Garden. The short-handed Lakers won, 114-105. Steven Senne/Associated Press
BOSTON — Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers to help a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis stun the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday night.
James sat out because of a left ankle injury, and Davis was sidelined by an Achilles tendon issue and left hip spasms.
Reaves was 7 of 10 from beyond the arc. The Lakers hit 19 of 36 3-pointers, holding off the NBA-leading Celtics to end a two-game losing streak.
D’Angelo Russell added 16 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. Jaxon Hayes had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points for the Celtics, who had 15 turnovers. Boston has lost three of its last five at home since starting the season 20-0 at TD Garden.
Boston never got closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.
Lakers big man Jarred Vanderbilt had 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes. But he limped off the floor in the final minute of the first half as he tried to turn up court following a strip of Tatum. He sat out the rest of the game because of what the team said was right foot soreness.
Much of the anticipation for the nationally televised meeting between the longtime rivals was tempered hours before tipoff after James and Davis were ruled out.
It didn’t stop the young Lakers lineup of Russell, Reaves, Taurean Prince, Vanderbilt and Hayes from taking an early 11-point lead, powered by an 11-point first quarter from Reaves. The young Lakers crew made 13 first-half 3s on the way to a 60-46 lead.
The Celtics came alive with a 12-2 run in the third quarter that included four straight 3s to cut it to 77-71. Tatum brought the crowd to its feet during the surge after he dove onto the floor to tie up Rui Hachimura, forcing a jump ball.
Thursday marked the first time this season both James and Davis have sat out the same game for Los Angeles as it tries to improve its standing in a tight Western Conference playoff race. The Lakers began the day in ninth place.
Coach Darvin Ham said before the game that the injuries are things both players have dealt with throughout the season. It is unclear how long either will be sidelined. James has played 44 of 49 games this season. Davis has appeared in 46 games.
NOTES
ALL-STAR GAME: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers were chosen as All-Star reserves Thursday, while the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks also had two players selected.
Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves will be going to the Feb. 18 game in Indianapolis. Stephen Curry of the Warriors is an All-Star for the 10th time, while the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Devin Booker of Phoenix rounded out the West reserves.
Jalen Brunson was selected for the first time and was joined by teammate Julius Randle from the Knicks. The East had two other first-time selections in Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, with Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and Boston’s Jaylen Brown joining them.
The West is the far more experienced squad. Curry tied Hall of Famer Paul Arizin’s Warriors franchise record for most selections, while Davis and George – who will be returning to his original NBA home in Indiana – are All-Stars for the ninth time. Leonard is a six-time selection.
The starters were announced last week. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard will be joined in the East by Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton.
The West starters are the Lakers’ LeBron James, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant of Phoenix in the frontcourt, along with guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City and Luka Doncic of Dallas.
The reserves were selected through voting by head coaches in each conference. They had to choose three frontcourt players, two guards and two other players, regardless of position.
76ERS: Philadelphia center Joel Embiid has an injured lateral meniscus in his left knee and will miss games at least through the weekend.
Embiid hurt his left knee Tuesday night in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. He underwent an MRI that revealed the injury. The 76ers are still finalizing a treatment plan.
Earlier Thursday, the 76ers were handed a $75,000 fine for failing to include Embiid on their injury report “in an accurate and timely manner” before their game at Denver on Saturday.
Embiid wasn’t included on the 76ers’ injury report, but the reigning MVP was scratched from their lineup minutes before tipoff after he had discomfort in his left knee during warmups.
His injury prevented a highly anticipated matchup between Embiid and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic in a game the Nuggets won, 111-105. Embiid also sat out the 76ers’ 130-104 loss at Portland two nights later.
NBA officials said the fine took into account Philadelphia’s prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules. The league review concluded that there was no violation of the league’s player participation policy because Embiid’s absence was because of a confirmed injury.
KNICKS: Julius Randle will miss at least two weeks because of his dislocated right shoulder, knocking the forward out of the lineup at least through the All-Star break.
Randle was hurt Saturday after a hard fall on a drive to the basket late in the Knicks’ victory over Miami. He underwent testing and has been receiving treatment options.
The Knicks said Randle would be evaluated again in two to three weeks. They play their last game before the break on Feb. 14 and don’t play again after that until Feb. 22.
Randle was playing at an All-Star level again, averaging 24 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. The Knicks went 14-2 in January and had won eight straight heading into their game Thursday against Indiana.
GRIZZLIES: The Memphis Grizzlies plan to retire Marc Gasol’s No. 33 jersey during an April 6 game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Gasol played for the Grizzlies from 2008-19 and remains the franchise’s all-time leader in minutes played (25,917), starts (762), baskets (4,341), free throws made (2,701), defensive rebounds (4,624), total rebounds (5,952) and blocks (1,135). He ranks second in franchise history in games played (769), points (11,684), assists (2,639), offensive rebounds (1,318), double-doubles (194) and triple-doubles (5). He’s third in steals (708).
He was named the NBA’s defensive player of the year in 2012-13, becoming the first European to win that award. The center from Spain was a first-team all-NBA selection in 2014-15, making him the only player in franchise history to receive that honor. Gasol appeared in three All-Star Games and was a second-team all-NBA pick in 2012-13.
Gasol last played in the NBA in 2020-21 and announced his retirement this week. He spent most of his career in Memphis, but also played for the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Gasol will become the second player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired. Zach Randolph’s No. 50 was retired on Dec. 11, 2021.
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