East contenders make moves; Davis must wait

Toronto, Milwaukee and Philadelphia made their moves. Anthony Davis will have to wait until the summer for his.

The New Orleans Pelicans held onto Davis but dealt Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks, one of the Eastern Conference contenders who fortified their teams Thursday before the NBA trade deadline.

The Raptors are getting former All-star center Marc Gasol from Memphis. The 76ers, a day after acquiring forward Tobias Harris from the Clippers, sent Markelle Fultz to Orlando and will hope Jonathan Simmons can provide some production where the former No. 1 pick couldn’t.

A busy swap season that included Dallas’ acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis from New York ended without a move for Davis, the player who dominated the discussion in recent weeks. The Pelicans didn’t find a deal for Davis, who requested a trade and informed the team he wouldn’t sign a contract extension this summer.

But the Lakers couldn’t put together a strong enough package to the Pelicans’ liking for the All-star forward, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, left, will have to wait until summer to learn if he will be traded after the Pelicans rejected offers before Wednesday’s deadline. who will go back into the trade market after the season ends.

Boston didn’t jump into the trading deadline fray but may try to get involved in the summer.

For now, the Celtics appear to feel they have enough to win the East.

The other conference contenders looked for upgrades — and went out and got some that likely will fit well.

Milwaukee (4013) already has the NBA’S best record and Mirotic’s outsideshooting ability for a big man would appear to fit perfectly in a lineup around superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Two games back of the Bucks, the Raptors sent center Jonas Valanciunias to Memphis to acquire Gasol.

Levert set to rejoin Nets after injury

Caris Levert is set to rejoin the Brooklyn Nets on Friday against Chicago after missing nearly three months with a dislocated right foot.

Levert, from Pickerington Central, was leading the Nets in scoring with 18.4 points per game when he sustained a gruesome-looking injury Nov. 12 at Minnesota.

LAKERS 129, CELTICS 128: Rajon Rondo hit a 20-foot jumper as time expired to lift Los Angeles over Boston. Lebron James had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma added 25 points and Rondo had 17 points and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving led Boston with 24 points and eight assists.