NBA: Without Doncic and LeBron, Lakers melt down against Celtics

(AFP) With key players missing,The Los Angeles Lakers were routed 126-105 by the Boston Celtics on Friday in the first matchup of the season between the NBA's most storied franchises.  

The Lakers and Celtics, the aristocracy of the NBA, starred in one of their most underwhelming duels in recent times.

The Lakers took the court at the TD Garden without Luka Doncic and LeBron James while the locals are still without their leader Jayson Tatum for many more months.

Doncic, for personal reasons, was not at the venue but LeBron, who the day before had starred in a much applauded altruistic gesture in the win against the Toronto Raptors.

On the last possession of the game, King James assisted for Rui Hachimura's game-winning three-pointer instead of looking for a shot of his own.

The small forward was thus left with 8 points for the night and saw one of his most astonishing records broken, that of 1,297 consecutive games scoring at least 10 points.

A day later, James received a rest due to his sciatica problems. From the bench, he watched as his teammates were outscored from start to finish by a Celtics team that built a 29-point lead.

Jaylen Brown, Boston's other star, scored 30 points and converted three of the Celtics' torrent of 24 3-pointers, shooting a phenomenal 53%.

Austin Reaves reached 36 points for the Lakers who, after seven straight wins, now add two stumbles in the last three games.

Speaking to reporters, coach J.J. Redick expressed confidence that Doncic and James will be back for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Wednesday, the Lakers face the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup hosting the San Antonio Spurs.

Durant enters exclusive company

In Houston, the Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns 117-98 to snatch second place in the Western Conference from the Lakers.

The Rockets, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, had the top scorer in young point guard Amen Thompson, with 31 points.

Still, the figure of the night was Kevin Durant who, with his 28 points, became the eighth player in history to cross the 31,000 mark.

The 37 year old forward has coincidentally accomplished it in the same games as LeBron James, a total of 1,141.

Only two players reached 31,000 points faster: the mythical Michael Jordan (1,011 games) and Wilt Chamberlain (1,015).

The other members of this club are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki.

Triple double at halftime

In Atlanta, the Denver Nuggets fell to the Hawks 134-133 on a night when Jalen Johnson challenged Nikola Jokic, the reigning triple-double king.

In Atlanta, the Denver Nuggets fell to the Hawks 134-133 on a night when Jalen Johnson challenged reigning triple-double king Nikola Jokic.

Against the Serbian, Johnson was able to sign a triple double at halftime, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Only four players, including Jokic, had reached double digits in three sections in the first half of a game.

Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis and Luka Doncic were the others to achieve this statistic since the NBA began play-by-play records in 1997.

Johnson, the Hawks' quarterback in the face of Trae Young's injury, finished the game with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.

Jokic, on his side, came close to his 12th triple double by finishing with 40 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Fourth-ranked in the West, Denver lifted a 23-point deficit in an explosive second half in which it scored 80 points on a devastating 65% shooting from the field.