Celtics at Lakers
THE STORY: They may not resemble your father's Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics – nor even the caliber of the squads that met in the NBA Finals following the 2008 and 2010 seasons – but the longtime rivals still manage to generate a healthy buzz and put on a good show. That was evident in the Lakers' one-point overtime win at Boston last month that snapped a five-game winning streak by the Celtics. Boston will look to avenge that loss Sunday as they kick off an eight-game road trip.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CELTICS (21-18): Boston enters its marathon road trip well rested – although not entirely by design. After absorbing a 32-point beating by Philadelphia, the Celtics built a 35-point halftime lead vs. Portland on Friday, allowing their aging core to play limited minutes. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce scored 22 points apiece to help Boston improve to 6-1 since the All-Star break. Allen is averaging his lowest point total (14.7) since his rookie season, but he has a career mark of 20.4 points against the Lakers.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (24-16): Amid (false) reports that forward Pau Gasol had been traded, Los Angeles avoided a winless three-game road trip by squeezing out a 105-102 win at Minnesota on Friday. The victory came on the heels of coach Mike Brown apologizing to superstar Kobe Bryant and others for publicly questioning their shot selection in a stunning loss at Washington on Wednesday. Center Andrew Bynum admitted to “loafing” against the Wizards, but he played with a purpose Friday by scoring 26 points and snatching 10 boards.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Bryant scored 34 points against Minnesota to become the fifth player in league history to surpass 29,000 points. The others are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone.
2. Pierce became the third player in franchise history to play in 1,000 career games, joining John Havlicek (1,270) and Robert Parish (1,106). Kevin Garnett moved past Parish for the second-most career defensive rebounds in NBA history with 10,122.
3. The Lakers are one-tenth of a percentage point from being the worst 3-point shooting team in the league, while the Celtics rank last in offensive rebounds per game (8.4).