Jaylen Brown

Celtics edge Lakers amid controversy

The Boston Celtics edged the Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 in an overtime battle tinged by controversy on Jan. 28 as Philadelphia 76ers big-man Joel Embiid out-dueled Denver's Nikola Jokic as NBA rivalries took center stage.

The league-leading Celtics came out on top in a game that featured 19 lead changes, snapping a three-game skid.

Depleted Celtics edge Raptors

The Boston Celtics shook off the absence of injured Jayson Tatum and the early exits of Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to beat the Toronto Raptors 106-104 on Jan. 21 and push their NBA winning streak to nine games.

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Grant Williams added a career-high 25 for the Celtics, who improved their league-best record to 35-12.

Tatum scores 34 as Celtics hold off Spurs

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points, including a go-ahead basket with 33.7 seconds remaining on Jan. 7 as the Boston Celtics escaped San Antonio with a 121-116 NBA victory over the tenacious Spurs.

While the Celtics followed up their dominant victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 5, the Mavs bounced back with a 127-117 victory over the