LeBron James didn’t sound overly concerned about the strained groin that he suffered in the waning minutes of Los Angeles’ loss to Boston.

Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-101.

With Celtics fans in a frenzy throughout TD Garden after the Boston Celtics blitzed to a 25-3 lead over the Cavaliers in the final matchup of Eastern Conference frontrunners, Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell didn’t panic.

Donovan Mitchell had 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

This will be an actual All-Star matchup.

There was a conversation that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic during last year’s All-Star Game that went viral, since microphones picked up the exchange.

LeBron James got drafted No. 1 again.

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and the Boston Celtics showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a 112-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

Jayson Tatum scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-110.

The NBA All-Stars have been selected.

NBA coaches are obviously convinced: Victor Wembanyama is one of the league’s very best players.

The Houston Rockets have been one of the NBA’s more surprising teams this season.

Amen Thompson hit a game-winning floater with 0.7 seconds left and finished with 33 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18 and the Boston Celtics handed the Golden State Warriors their most lopsided home loss in 40 years with a 125-85 victory.

Joel Embiid popped up from a pregame fall and scored 27 points with nine rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-114 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Joe Mazzulla’s Christmas greetings were costly.

Thursday had a little of everything in the NBA.

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown took issue with back-to-back technical fouls called on coach Joe Mazzulla and himself late in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Ice Cube could have chased trends to keep up with today's rap sound for his latest release, but instead, he stayed loyal to his signature style since the N.

Jaylen Brown had 28 points with nine assists and Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth victory in 10 games, a 130-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak with a 115-111 victory over the Celtics in the second intense matchup between the Eastern Conference’s top teams this season.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to offer a handshake to Jaylen Brown after committing an offensive foul against the Boston Celtics wing — only to pull his hand back at the last moment.

The Boston Celtics tied the NBA record by making 29 3-pointers in their victory over the New York Knicks.

Jayson Tatum continued Boston’s Banner 18 celebration by scoring 37 points and making eight of the Celtics’ NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers as Boston ran away with a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks on opening night.

The Boston Celtics have raised Banner 18 to the rafters.

Jayson Tatum has agreed to a five-year, $314 million contract extension to remain with the Boston Celtics, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The Boston Celtics have celebrated their 18th NBA championship with the customary duck boat parade through the city.

It took more than a decade, savvy front office and draft moves, and some free agency growing pains for the Celtics to ultimately build the roster that ended their 16-year championship drought.

In 2008, the Celtics ended a 22-year championship drought led by a Big 3.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to claim the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.

The Boston Celtics’ catastrophic performance in Game 4 of the NBA Finals gave them a chance to clinch their unprecedented 18th championship under the banners already hanging in the TD Garden rafters.

The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.

Luka Doncic fouled at when the Dallas Mavericks were making a furious comeback attempt in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics held off a furious Dallas rally to reach the brink of a record 18th championship with a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks for a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Joe Mazzulla is a big fan of UFC matches and splices highlights of fights into some of the basketball video he shows the Boston Celtics for their video sessions.

The Boston Celtics had the NBA Finals in mind when they went out and acquired Jrue Holiday.

Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum made up for a rough shooting night with 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Jason Kidd couldn’t figure out how to stop the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 20 in his first game in more than a month and the Boston Celtics powered past the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics prepare to tip off the NBA Finals and the four biggest names in the series are looking at this moment through different lenses.

Joe Mazzulla was thrust into a job he didn’t expect to have following former Celtics coach Ime Udoka’s suspension just days before the start of training camp last season.

Kyrie Irving returning to Boston.

The Boston Celtics completed one quest Monday night by making it back to the NBA Finals.

Derrick White’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Boston the lead and the Celtics closed out a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers 105-102 to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.

Jrue Holiday overcame an illness to convert the go-ahead three-point play with 38 seconds left, then make the game-saving steal to help the Boston Celtics rally from an 18-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-111 on Saturday night for a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Indiana Pacers are a perfect 6-0 at home in this season's playoffs.

Jaylen Brown matched his career playoff high with 40 points and the Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 126-110 to open a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Indiana All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton left in the third quarter because of left hamstring soreness and a chest injury in the Pacers’ 126-110 loss to Boston on Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jayson Tatum scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime after Jaylen Brown’s tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Boston Celtics rallied just in time for a 133-128 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

So much about the journey the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers have taken to the Eastern Conference finals has been about who – they haven’t had to face to get to here.

The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season following their 4-1 series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Boston Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their East semifinal series.

Donovan Mitchell did his part for the Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics 118-94 and tie their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Lu Dort was the defensive catalyst as the Oklahoma City Thunder held Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics powered past the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points, Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 102-88 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and the Boston Celtics soundly beat the Miami Heat 104-84 to a take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

Tyler Herro hit six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics and tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

The Celtics spent the regular season racking up superlatives and pulverizing opponents with one of the league’s most versatile rosters.

De’Andre Hunter scored 24 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining, and the patched-together Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 30-point deficit for a stunning 120-118 victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in leading the Denver Nuggets to a 115-109 win over Boston and a season sweep of the Celtics.

Steve Kerr spoiled the Boston Celtics’ last, best chance at another NBA title.

Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Jayson Tatum had 27 on his 26th birthday, and the NBA-best Boston Celtics posted their third-largest winning margin in franchise history, drubbing the weary Golden State Warriors 140-88.

Jayson Tatum made five 3-pointers and scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics overcame Luka Doncic’s second straight triple-double to beat the Dallas Mavericks 138-110 and extend their season-best winning streak to 10 games.

Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks 116-102 for their eighth consecutive victory.

Defense wasn’t really played in the All-Star Game, which explains why the Eastern Conference scored a record 211 points and the game saw nearly 400 points combined on Sunday night.

In Adam Silver’s eyes, the NBA’s new 65-game policy is working.

The NBA has used artificial intelligence for some time.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Boston Celtics withstood a late rally to beat the Miami Heat 110-106.

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points to lead Boston to a 117-98 victory over San Antonio in Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama’s first game on the Celtics’ famous parquet floor.

Jayson Tatum scored 45 points — 14 of them in the fourth quarter and another 12 in overtime — as the Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 in a matchup of the two conference leaders to remain perfect at home.

Jayson Tatum scored 25 points, Jaylen Brown added 24 and the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to six games with a 134-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jayson Tatum added 25 points and the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time in Christmas Day meetings 126-115 on Monday.

Stephen Curry swished a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime on the way to scoring 33, and the Golden State Warriors rallied past the Celtics 132-126 to snap Boston’s five-game winning streak.

All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton recorded the first triple-double of his career and completed a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:33 left as the surprising Indiana Pacers ousted the Boston Celtics from the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 122-112 quarterfinal victory.

Jayson Tatum shook off an illness to have 23 points and 11 rebounds, carrying the Boston Celtics over the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 on Wednesday night in an early showdown of top Eastern Conference teams.

Everyone knows that the NBA In-Season Tournament was put together to give the league an early ratings boost, particularly when the Final Four games get played at Las Vegas on the second weekend of December.

Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 12 rebounds in less than three quarters and the Boston Celtics used a blistering start to pull away from the Indiana Pacers, winning 155-104 on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten.

Jaylen Brown wasn't considered to be a surefire NBA superstar when the was drafted in 2016.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton got questions about the same topic more often than he could remember this summer: The money, the money, the money.

Kevin Durant just got done with his summer vacation.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown wants to win more than championships after inking the richest deal in NBA history.

Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown has agreed to terms on a five-year supermax contract that will pay him up to $304 million.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens sees a team in need of small tweaks, not massive disruption to leadership or its core.

The Celtics' rollercoaster season ended a round short of a return to the NBA Finals.

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Caleb Martin gave Miami 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals to help the Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 and turn back Boston’s attempt at an unprecedented comeback.

The Miami Heat were 0.1 seconds away from a trip to the NBA Finals.

Derrick White scored on a putback as time expired and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, holding off the Miami Heat 104-103 to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Boston Celtics are halfway to history, and that alone has gotten them entry into a very small club.

Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, helping lead the charge as the Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 on to extend the Eastern Conference finals.

The Miami Heat will start Kyle Lowry at point guard against the Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals after starter Gabe Vincent was ruled out with a sprained left ankle.

The Celtics finally found cohesion between their defense and offense in their Game 4 win, capitalizing off 16 Heat turnovers and finding their 3-point shot.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 17 points and the Boston Celtics staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by running away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before.

Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat are now just one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference title series.

Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, including 20 after halftime, and the Miami Heat rallied in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.