Basketball

LOS ANGELES (AP) — D'Angelo Russell scored 30 points, Austin Reaves added 27 and the Los Angeles Lakers rode a spectacular 87-point first half to a 139-122 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and sparked a third-quarter rally to help the NBA-leading Boston Celtics get their 40th win of the season, 133-129 over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Doc Rivers won his 1,099th regular-season game to move into eighth place on the NBA's list, Damian Lillard scored 26 points in his return from a two-game injury absence and the Milwaukee Bucks cruised past short-handed Charlotte 120-

TORONTO — There's going to be games when the Toronto Raptors have to learn on the job. Veteran centre Jakob Poeltl is eager to be part of those lessons.

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and sparked a third-quarter rally to help the NBA-leading Boston Celtics get their 40th win of the season, 133-129 over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trae Young scored 37 points and hit several key shots in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks held on to beat the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 127-121 on Friday night.

TORONTO (AP) — Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points, RJ Barrett had 21 and the Toronto Raptors held on to beat Houston 107-104 on Friday night for their fourth straight home win over the Rockets.

TORONTO — There was no need for Kelly Olynyk to plug Scotiabank Arena into his GPS before coming to his first-ever game as a Toronto Raptor. He grew up around the arena with both of his parents working for the team.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey expressed optimism on Friday that reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid would return from a knee injury in time for a possible postseason run.

The 19-foot, 4,000-pound statue of Kobe Bryant in downtown Los Angeles is just the latest example of a sports team honoring a player with this kind of larger-than-life presence. The Crypto.