Davis, James star as Lakers sweat out victory at Boston

BOSTON — Anthony Davis had 27 points and 14 rebounds in his return to Los Angeles’ lineup, and the Lakers hung on to beat the Boston Celtics 96-95 on Saturday when Daniel Theis missed a follow shot at the buzzer.

LeBron James had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in the season’s first meeting between the longtime rivals. Montrezl Harrell added 16 points for the Lakers, who lost in Detroit on Thursday when Davis rested a right quadriceps contusion.

Jayson Tatum had 30 points and nine rebounds and Jaylen Brown 28 points for Boston, which has lost five of seven.

The Celtics played the final 10:28 without guard Marcus Smart, who was helped off with what the team said was a left calf strain following a collision with Harrell underneath the basket. Harrell tipped in a missed layup and stepped on Smart’s foot as he came down.

The Lakers surged following the injury. James broke an 85-all tie with a 3-pointer with 5:25 to play.

■ Heat 105, Kings 104: At Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 30 points, including the go-ahead layup with 42.1 seconds left, after missing 10 games because of COVID-19 protocols for Miami. De’Aaron Fox scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for Sacramento.

■ Hornets 126, Bucks 114: At Charlotte, N.C., LaMelo Ball had 27 points and nine assists for Charlotte, which dealt Milwaukee its second loss in two nights. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks.

■ Rockets 126, Pelicans 112: At New Orleans, UNLV product Christian Wood scored 27 points for Houston, which won its fifth straight. New Orleans didn’t get closer than eight points in the second half.

■ Trail Blazers 123, Bulls 122:

At Chicago, Damian Lillard hit the last of his eight 3-pointers as time expired and totaled 44 points for Portland, which trailed by five with 11.5 seconds left.

■ Grizzlies 129, Spurs 112: At San Antonio, Ja Morant had 19 points and 11 assists for Memphis, which shot 56 percent and had seven double-figure scorers in its sixth straight win.

■ Suns 111, Mavericks 105: At Dallas, Chris Paul had 27 points and 12 assists for Phoenix, which overcame a 15-point second-half deficit and dealt Dallas its fifth straight loss.

■ Warriors 118, Pistons 91: At San Francisco, Stephen Curry scored 28 points for Golden State, which shot 52.2 percent and dropped Detroit to 1-8 on the road.

Michael Dwyer The Associated Press Lakers forward Anthony Davis eyes the basket between Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and forward Jayson Tatum in the first half of Los Angeles’ 96-95 win Saturday at TD Garden. Davis had 27 points and 14 rebounds.