Celtics legend ‘was flabbergasted’ by trade with Timberwolves

Entering Saturday’s game in L.A., the Kings had the edge in the recent history of this intra-state rivalry. Sacramento swept the season series last year, had won five straight and eight of the last nine matchups overall, including four straight at Crypto.com Arena.

Entering the 4th quarter, the Kings led by seven as they looked to keep their streak alive.

LeBron James was not going to let that happen. He scored 16 points during a 21-0 Lakers run to open the 4th quarter to tilt the game back in L.A.’s favor. | Recap

• Vintage LeBron: His first three buckets of the run had the same script – grab the defensive rebound, push in transition and score. First it was a 28-foot 3, then a 16-foot jumper, then an and-1 inside the paint that had the crowd on its feet
• He kept it going with two more deep 3s, with a dime to Jaxson Hayes for a dunk sandwiched in between, before closing the run with a reverse layup
• Coach JJ Redick On LeBron: “To get that performance to start the 4th for LeBron, what can you say?
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• After going scoreless for more than four minutes, the Kings finally got on the board in the 4th on a De’Aaron Fox 3-pointer with 7:43 left. Sacramento rallied back to make it a two-point game with 56 seconds left, but once again the Lakers answered.
  • Another One: Anthony Davis drained a clutch 3 with 38 seconds left to give him his third straight 30+ point game to open the season. That was followed by a Rui Hachimura dunk served on a platter by LeBron before an AD free throw sealed the win with 11 seconds left
  • Double Triple-Doubles: LeBron (32 pts, 14 reb, 10 ast) and Domantas Sabonis (29 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast) each posted triple-doubles. LeBron is fifth all-time (113), while Sabonis entered the top 10 by tying Larry Bird with his 59th
  • AD’s Key To The 3-0 Start: “Minnesota, Phoenix, Sac. A tough way to start but we found a way to get it done … LeBron Raymone James.”
• Suns 114, Mavericks 102: Kevin Durant notched another scoring milestone on Saturday, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 29,000 career points as he scored 31 to help the Suns overcome a 40-point game from Luka Dončić. | Recap
  • KD On Reaching 29K: “I got more to do.”
  • Supporting Stars: Devin Booker (21 pts, 5 ast) and Jusuf Nurkić (18 pts, 14 reb) combined to add 39 for Phoenix, while Kyrie Irving (22 pts, 5 ast) and Klay Thompson (19 pts, 5 3s) had 41 for Dallas

  Clippers 109, Nuggets 104: Norman Powell scored 22 points of his 37 points in the 4th quarter as he and James Harden combined for 60 points to help the Clippers survive a 41-point effort from Nikola Jokić to earn their first win of the season. | Recap

  • LA Best: Powell’s 37 points were his most as a Clipper and his seven 3-pointers matched his best effort in two-plus seasons in LA. Harden’s 16 assists were his highest as a Clipper
  • Joker For 3: Jokić set a career-high with seven 3s made, becoming the first player in Nuggets history to post at least 40 points and seven 3s in a game
• Celtics 124, Pistons 118: The defending champs opened the season with a pair of 20+ point wins and appeared headed for a third – leading by 23 points in the 1st half – but the young Pistons battled back, took the lead late in the 4th quarter and gave Boston its first dose of clutch time.

  After Jrue Holiday’s back-to-back 3s tied the game, Jayson Tatum scored eight of his game-high 37 points in the final 2:15 to help secure the win to go to 3-0. | Recap

  • Record Breaking 3s: With 22 3-pointers on Saturday, the Celtics have made 68 3s through their first three games of the season – shattering the previous record held by the 2021 Knicks (54)
  • Shooters Everywhere: Tatum’s six triples led the Boston onslaught, with Payton Pritchard (5), Al Horford (5), Jaylen Brown (3), Holiday (2) and Xavier Tillman (1) helping Boston shoot 45.8% from deep
  • Getting Closer: Jaden Ivey (26 pts, 6 ast) and Cade Cunningham (21 pts, 10 ast, 6 reb, 4 blk) combined for 47 points as Detroit fell to 0-3 with losses by a combined 24 points to the Celtics, Pacers and Cavs – teams with a combined 159-87 record last season

  

  Cavaliers 135, Wizards 116: Make it three straight double-digit wins for the Cavs to open the season. Behind Donovan Mitchell’s game-high 30 points with six 3s, and 23 points apiece from Jarrett Allen (on perfect 10-of-10 shooting) and Darius Garland, Cleveland rolled in DC. | Recap

  • DC’s French Duo: Bilal Coulibaly (team-high 23 pts, 6 reb) and No. 2 pick Alex Sarr (12 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk) combined for 35 points for the Wizards, who had seven players score in double figures

  Thunder 114, Bulls 95: OKC used a balance effort to get past the Bulls on Saturday as Jalen Williams (24 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl) and Chet Holmgren (21 pts, career-high 16 reb) all scored 20+ points in the win. | Recap

  • Welcome Back: After playing with the Bulls the past three seasons, Alex Caruso returned to Chicago for the first time with OKC and was greeted with a standing ovation before posting three points, two boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 22 minutes

  3. ROUNDUP: SPURS & HEAT HOLD ON, WOLVES & GRIZZLIES NEVER TRAIL