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Jayson Tatum added 24 and the Boston Celtics rallied past the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday night when both teams were missing key players. Derrick White added 20 points ...

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum added 24 as the visiting Boston Celtics pulled out a 117-113 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Inglewood, Calif., on a night when key players were missing from both sides.

Boston's backcourt starters combined for 40 points on 13-for-28 shooting and nine 3-pointers in a quality win over the Mavericks

The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime. Both teams were shorthanded in this contest and Los Angeles nearly pulled off a shocking win.

The Celtics outlasted the severely shorthanded Clippers 117-113 in overtime, getting key contributions from a surprise source.

The Boston Celtics showed their resilience in a hard-fought 117-113 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. With key players Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis unavailable,

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 and the Boston Celtics rallied past the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime when both teams were missing key players.

One night later, Boston players all but shrugged their shoulders after falling to the Lakers 117-96 on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristaps Porziņģis, who has been critical of the Celtics after their worst games recently, sounded ready to dump the latest poor result into the nearest trash can and forget about it for good.

Playing without six of their top eight rotation players, Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr and Amir Coffey lead a gutty effort as the hosts push the reigning champs until the end in a 117-113

Boston has been inconsistent for weeks — a stark difference from last season’s joyride — but is still among the best defending NBA champions of this century.

The Celtics have lost six of their 11 home games during the stretch, after losing four at home all of last season. That includes a fourth-quarter collapse against the Bulls, a blowout loss to the lowly 76ers on Christmas Day, and another blown lead leading overtime loss to the Hawks.