Boston secures top pick

NEW YORK — The Celtics won by beating out the Lakers, giving the draft lottery an old NBA Finals feel.

Yet, obvious by Magic Johnson's smile, the hated rivals were both winners.

The Celtics won the lottery Tuesday night to continue another amazing basketball springtime in Boston, capitalizing on a trade they made with the Brooklyn Nets four years ago.

A night after winning Game 7 against Washington to

secure an Eastern Conference finals matchup with Cleveland, the Celtics cashed in their 25 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick in the June draft.

“Game last night, Game 7, a tough Washington team.

Game (today) against a tough Cleveland team. And now we squeeze in the lottery and win the pick. I don't know what's happening here. It's pretty amazing,” said Wyc Grousbeck, a Celtics owner.

The Lakers moved up one spot to second to hold onto their pick. They would have had to trade it to Philadelphia if it fell outside the top three.

“When (Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum) called out No. 4 and he said it wasn't us, I said ‘Um, that's it, that's all I care about,'” said Johnson, the Hall of Famer in his first year as Lakers president. “I didn't know where we were going to land from there, but I was like ‘OK, I can breathe now.'”