Knicks topple Celtics, keep fight for second place in East alive

The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 112-106 on Thursday in an intense clash between Eastern Conference contenders, while Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron James defeated a Golden State Warriors side missing Stephen Curry.

In front of their home crowd at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks earned a win that puts pressure on the Celtics heading into the regular-season closing weekend. Boston, which has a record of 54 wins and 26 losses, was confident of distancing itself Thursday from the Knicks (52-28) and securing second place in the Eastern Conference behind the unreachable Detroit Pistons (58-22).

But with New York lurking, the Celtics will likely have to employ their star players in their final games, Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans and Sunday against the Orlando Magic.

Jayson Tatum was on the court 40 minutes Thursday to make up for the absence of his partner, Jaylen Brown, because of Achilles tendinitis. Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in his first game at Madison Square Garden since rupturing his Achilles tendon on that court in May 2025 in a playoff game.

The forward, who was in rehab until last March, played the role of playmaker for the Celtics, who found their other two offensive weapons on the bench: point guards Payton Pritchard (23 points) and Baylor Scheierman (20).

This extremely close match, with the lead changing hands as many as 16 times, the game was decided in the final minute by two clutch three-pointers from Josh Hart. "I liked how we stayed consistent with what we were doing. We kept fighting, stayed calm and made shot after shot," Jalen Brunson, who had 25 points and 10 assists for the hosts, told AFP.

Rockets put pressure on Jokic's Nuggets

In the West, the Houston Rockets added their eighth straight win by beating the Philadelphia 76ers 113-102. Kevin Durant, with 29 points, remains on fire in the Texas team's late push to unseat the Denver Nuggets for third place in the conference.

With two games left to play, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets hold a one-win lead over the Rockets but face a much tougher schedule this weekend.

No Curry-LeBron reunion on the court

Should they remain in fourth place, the Rockets will collide in the first round against the Lakers, a team hurt by the recent indefinite losses of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

After three straight losses, the Los Angeles franchise took a breather Thursday night by winning comfortably on the Warriors' home court 119-103. The Warriors, shackled in 10th place in the West, rested most of their starters, depriving fans of another reunion between Stephen Curry and LeBron James, the stars that have marked the last decade of the NBA.

Lakers breathe after three straight losses without Doncic and Reaves

Curry watched the game from the Warriors' bench as a precautionary measure because of the knee injury that side-lined him from February to March. LeBron, who chatted animatedly with his friend Curry on the court, did suit up in shorts to lead the Los Angeles win with 26 points and 11 assists.

"It was a very professional win, understanding what we're facing right now and the week we've had," said KingJames, who continued to play after injuring his right hand on a spectacular block against the backboard in the third quarter.