Boston Celtics bid to halt modest slide in clash against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets

LOS ANGELES – After the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to five games with a home victory over the LA Clippers on Feb 28, the neighbours will battle for the last time in this National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season on March 2 (March 3, Singapore time).

Luka Doncic continues to round into form for the Lakers, scoring 31 points in the 106-102 victory over a team he has tormented in his career. In 19 career regular-season games against the Clippers, Doncic has averaged 32.5 points with 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists.

LeBron James scored 28 points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 15-3 since Jan 21, while playing without starting forward Rui Hachimura (knee) and losing starting guard Austin Reaves (right calf strain) in the first quarter.

Reaves had an MRI scan which revealed no serious injury, ESPN reported on March 1. He is listed as doubtful and Hachimura as out for the game at Crypto.com Arena on March 2.

Doncic was just one of six from three-point range in the first three quarters on Feb 28, then made two from long distance in the fourth quarter when he scored 10 points to finish off the win. Afterwards, coach J.J. Reddick sounded optimistic that a return to the Slovenian’s high-level form is close.

“It takes a while for a group to develop a collective mentality. There have been a lot of things that have happened this season,” Reddick said.

“I think our group, our ecosystem, (has) been sustained since mid-January. There were flashes of it throughout the early parts of the year, but I like who we are right now as a team.”

Doncic has averaged 21.0 points with 8.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his first seven games with the Lakers, following a