Celtics

Doc Rivers agreed to a five-year contract extension that would not only give him another run at an NBA title as coach of the Celtics, but also could keep him in Boston to help rebuild the franchise when the Big Three era is done. "I think Doc is the best coach in the league. So it's great for us," General Manager Danny Ainge said. "There's nobody I'd rather have as my coach than Doc. " Rivers' contract was set to expire — he had an option for next season — and he said after the Celtics were eliminated by the Miami Heat on Wednesday night that he was "leaning heavily" toward coming back.

The Lakers know Game 7s, whether painful or prolific. Do they ever. There have been 24 of them in Lakers history, the latest taking place Saturday against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Their first-round series ended too late for this edition, though the historical odds were in the Lakers' favor . . . mainly because they weren't playing Boston. The Lakers were 15-8 in Game 7s before Saturday, though only 1-4 against Boston in such showdowns. The most agonizing Game 7s in Lakers history are easy to pinpoint, primarily because the Celtics are almost always involved.

The most storied rivalry in the NBA had some sizzle again, and the Lakers were hot when it mattered in the final minutes. The Lakers scored the last eight points of the game during a 97-94 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center, with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum coming up big at the end. Bryant made a couple of jumpers and Bynum had a layin off an alley-oop feed from Bryant and scored on a hook shot to gave...

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Celtics to a 90-84 overtime victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Friday night and give Boston a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Game 4 is Sunday night. Ray Allen returned after missing almost a month and scored 13 points in 38 minutes. Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 21 points one game after leading Boston with 36 points and 14 rebounds.

The conflicting messages tug at the Lakers' franchise. A day before the Lakers were eliminated in a four-game sweep by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Western Conference semifinals, Magic Johnson argued owner Jerry Buss needed to "blow this team up" to contend for future championships. Once that early playoff exit became official, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak expressed confidence that the current roster could win a title. Once the NBA lockout ended, Kupchak reiterated those sentiments, but later changed his mind after seeing what he called an "opportunity.

The Celtics stink, and their fans pretty much know it. They waited until after Game 2 before e-mailing their obscenities and asking, "What do you have to say about Boston now?" A more confident lot would have e-mailed before the game, but no doubt they didn't think this was possible. Goes to show you Celtics fans aren't all that swift either, forgetting the NBA motto "where amazing happens," as if there was any way the NBA wasn't going to fix things and stretch this dream matchup out as long as possible.

at Atlanta 100, Boston 91: Joe Johnson scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks beat Boston to complete their first season sweep of the Celtics in 11 years. Cleveland 94, at Indiana 73: LeBron James finished with 22 points, a season-high 13 assists and nine rebounds, the third time in five games that he missed a triple-double by a single rebound. Chicago 108, at New Orleans 106 (OT): Luol Deng scored 26 points, including a putback with 0.2 of a second left in regulation to force overtime.

at Boston 107, Miami 102: Rajon Rondo had 22 points and 14 assists and the Celtics won their second straight game after losing three in a row. Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 13 assists for the Heat. Phoenix 109, at Denver 97: Amare Stoudemire had 20 points and 17 rebounds and the Suns ended the Nuggets' nine-game home winning streak. at Toronto 108, New Jersey 99: The Raptors topped 100 points for the 15th consecutive game and the Nets fell to 4-44, still on pace for the worst record in NBA history.

at Boston 96, New Jersey 87: Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, helping the Celtics overcome a slow start and pull away from the Nets (4-45). Minnesota 117, at Dallas 108: Jonny Flynn scored 19 points and the Timberwolves finished the game on a 13-2 run to end a losing streak against the Mavericks at 13 games. Dirk Nowitzki didn't start because he was late for the shoot-around before the game. Phoenix 114, at Sacramento 102: Steve Nash had 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and the Suns completed a 4-0 trip.

Last hurrah? Quick, catch a glimpse of Boston's big three. It could be shrinking fast. Danny Ainge , the Celtics' president of basketball operations, said this week he would consider breaking up the core of Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen if it resulted in a younger and more dynamic roster. Like, duh It couldn't get much worse, as the Celtics' record fell below .500 and they became fringe playoff contenders. Even more worrisome, the production of all three veterans has dipped from last season, when the team made a not-so-inspiring run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

NEW ORLEANS — Louisville Coach Rick Pitino , after Saturday's NCAA national semifinal defeat, had the courage to compare Kentucky freshman center Anthony Davis to Bill Russell . Sacrilege? "When you see this young man at the collegiate level, you realize why they're so good," Pitino said of Davis. "Not that their other players aren't, but he's so much of a factor. " Davis had 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots in Kentucky's 69-61 win against Louisville.

Quotage Lakers forward Metta World Peace is averaging a career-low of under six points a game while shooting about 35% from the field. He tweeted: "It's amazing people think I'm having a bad season…They expect me to score more…I really appreciate the respect...It's also amazing I can still get minutes without scoring or shooting a horrible percentage…That's how good my defense is. " Sacramento center Jason Thompson said he and teammate DeMarcus Cousins urged Kings Coach Keith Smart to keep his bench players on the floor to close out their 115-99 win over Minnesota last week.

It seems as if the loss of one player has staggered the Clippers, leaving them incapable of making up for his injury. The Clippers are 8-10 since Chauncey Billups went down with a season-ending torn left Achilles' tendon on Feb. 6, the 94-85 defeat to the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Staples Center just another loss along the way. Chris Paul has tried to lead the way since Billups got hurt. But when Paul has an off game, as he did against the Celtics, it makes it tougher on the Clippers.

Once the buzzer struck, the confetti dropped at Staples Center, the 18,997 fans roared and plenty of the Lakers embraced. Andrew Bynum wrapped a bearhug around Pau Gasol, claiming, "We got one. " Kobe Bryant, too, hugged Bynum and then lightly tapped his chest. The Lakers had just finished clawing, defending and making clutch shots en route to a close victory against the Boston Celtics. So it was understandable that the emotions ran high and the excitement boiled. It sounds like everything that transpired after the Lakers' Game 7 victory of the 2010 NBA Finals.

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 23-15, Celtics 21-19. Update: The Celtics started their eight-game trip with a loss to the Lakers on Sunday, falling 97-94 after blowing a late lead. Boston has five players scoring in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (18.4 a game). Dynamic point guard Rajon Rondo ranks second in the NBA in assists (10.0 a game). Keep an eye on the glass: The Celtics rank last in the NBA in rebounds, averaging 38.9 a game, and the Clippers are tied for 11th, grabbing 42.9.

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Countdown to 72: as if Everyone knows the former champions are even better than when they won their title -- so what's to stop them from breaking the Bulls' record of 72 wins? Making it really exciting, it remains to be seen which former champ will do it . . . or if both will . . . because the 2008-09 Celtics and the 2009-10 Lakers started the season thinking they could do it. One Los Angeles newspaper even ran a front-page story speculating on the Lakers' chances.

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 21-38, Celtics 41-15. Record vs. Celtics (2009-10): 1-1. Update: Turmoil for the Celtics. Not words you see often. On Thursday, Boston stunned the league, and many of its players, by trading Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. ? Lisa Dillman

When he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Brown said, he was "always concerned" about Andrew Bynum but never had to focus on him because the Lakers' triangle offense guaranteed the 7-foot center wouldn't get many touches. "And we knew at the end of the game he wasn't going to be on the floor," Brown said. "So we never had a game plan for him except for, 'Hey, box him out,' and that type of stuff. " Brown has a new perspective on Bynum as the Lakers' coach. He not only put Bynum on the floor for the last minutes against the Celtics at Staples Center on Sunday, Brown agreed when Kobe Bryant suggested drawing up a play for Bynum coming out of a timeout with 23.8 seconds left and the Lakers holding a one-point lead.

Lakers Coach Mike Brown and Celtics Coach Doc Rivers face many of the same challenges this season. Both are dealing with an aging veteran roster. Both are coaching a team that faces uncertainty whether their core lineup will be broken up before the March 15 trade deadline. Neither team is hardly dominating their respective conferences. The Lakers (24-16) are fourth in the Western Conference, while Boston (21-18) reamains seventh in the East. But here's one difference: Rivers says he can't fathom having to handle what Brown's been dealt.