Isaiah Thomas scored 38 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a milestone win over the Los Angeles Lakers Friday, a 113-107 triumph that earned Boston's Brad Stevens an All-Star coaching job. Thomas produced his usual fourth-quarter pyrotechnics, scoring 21 points in the final frame to help the Celtics stretch their NBA winning streak to six games. And they took the franchise's total of NBA regular-season victories to 3,253 — taking the all-time lead in wins from their longtime rivals the Lakers. It was the first time since the 2000-01 season that Los Angeles hasn't at least been tied atop the list of all-time victories. Before the game, Celtics coach Brad Stevens called it "unbelievable" that the clubs who boast a long and storied rivalry came into the contest tied at 3,252 wins apiece. "I think it's a unique enough rivalry that 100 years from now it will probably be tied again," he said. But the current Lakers and Celtics players are far removed from the 12 championship series between the two clubs — a rivalry that flowered first in the 1960s and again in the 1980s and the 2000s. The Lakers are still trying to find their way after plunging to a franchise worst 17-65 record last season. The win had an extra repercussion for Stevens. Less than an hour earlier, the Toronto Raptors fell 102-94 to the Orlando Magic. That means the Celtics are assured of second place in the Eastern Conference as of Sunday, so that Stevens will coach the East in the All-Star Game this month. The honor would go to Tyronn Lue, coach of East-leading Cleveland, but he coached in the midseason exhibition last year and therefore isn't eligible this time around. Lou Williams led the Lakers, who lost their 11th straight road game, with 21 points, 13 in the fourth quarter. D'Angelo Russell had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for Los Angeles. Thunder 114, Grizzlies 102: Russell Westbrook tallied his 25th triple-double of the season to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook racked up 38 points, 12 assists and 13 rebounds. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 31 points and eight assists. Mike Conley added 18 points. Rockets 121, Bulls 117 (OT): James Harden scored 42 points, including the deciding free throws in the final 36 seconds of overtime, as the Houston outlasted Chicago. Harden also pulled down 12 rebounds and had nine assists for the Rockets. Houston also got 21 points off the bench from Eric Gordon, 14 from Clint Capela and 10 from Trevor Ariza. The Bulls (25-26) were led by Michael Carter-Williams' 23 points, while Taj Gibson added 20, Wade hit for 19, Doug McDermott scored 12 and Paul Zipser and Nikola Mirotic scored 11 points apiece. Pacers 106, Nets 97: Paul George and Jeff Teague scored 24 points apiece as Indiana squandered a 19-point lead but made enough plays down the stretch to record a win. George shot 9 of 22 from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds. Teague handed out at least seven assists for the 17th straight game. Pistons 116, Timberwolves 108: Marcus Morris scored a career-high 36 points to lead Detroit over Minnesota. Jon Leuer supplied 24 points for the Pistons. Andre Drummond contributed 12 points and 18 rebounds and Tobias Harris chipped in 14 points for Detroit. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Magic 102, Raptors 94: Serge Ibaka and Evan Fournier each scored 20 points and Orlando defeated Toronto. Orlando opened the third quarter with a 10-1 run. Nikola Vucevic scored 14 of his 18 points in the quarter. He alone outscored the Raptors 14-12 as Toronto made just 4 of 21 shots from the field in the quarter. Other results: Nuggets 121, Bucks 117; Suns 105, Kings 103; Mavericks 108, Trail Blazers 104. — Agencies
