Lakers need overtime to beat Celtics
February 10, 2012 18:13:43 UK
Pau Gasol blocked the potential winning shot from Ray Allen in overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 88-87.
Gasol had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 27 as the Lakers moved to a game and a half behind the Clippers with the win.
Allen was 9-of-20 for the Celtics and had a team-high 22 points and Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo combined for 32 more, but the Celtics couldn't stretch their winning streak to six games.
The Lakers are 7501.00 to be crowned NBA champions this season, with the Celtics 9.00 and the Detroit Pistons 7501.00.
Also scoring 22 points on the night was Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings who pulled out a surprising 106-101 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sacramento shot just 40% from the field but managed to take 22 more shots than the Thunder in securing the win.
The NBA's other Northern California team the Golden State Warriors also pulled an upset beating the Nuggets in Denver 109-101.
Stephen Curry had 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and rookie Klay Thompson came off the bench to chip in with 19 more on 8 of 11 shooting as the Nuggets lost their fifth in a row.
In the only other game on the slate the Houston Rockets went into Phoenix and beat the Suns 96-89 as Houston's bench outscored the Suns 57-13.
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