Tatum leads Celtics past Cavs; Lakers maul Clippers

LOS ANGELES – Jayson Tatum scored 22 points as the Boston Celtics laid down a postseason marker against the high-flying Cleveland Cavaliers with a 112-105 victory on the road on Tuesday.

In a heavyweight showdown between the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers and the second-ranked Celtics, Boston produced a clinical display to seal a deserved win.

Tatum led the Boston scoring but it was the Celtics’ balanced offense that proved too much for the Cavaliers.

Tatum was one of five Celtics players to finish in double figures, while Derrick White’s 20-point contribution – which included six three-pointers – played a key role in securing a Boston victory.

Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 while Donovan Mitchell led the Cleveland scoring with 31 points.

Elsewhere, Los Angeles Lakers recruit Luka Doncic looked on from the bench as his new teammates demolished the Los Angeles Clippers 122-97.

LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with 26 points while Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves added 20 points apiece.

The Lakers improved to 29-19 with the win and are sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

“We’re just trying to play good basketball and keep stacking days, tonight was another one,” James said. “We came out with the right mindset, we had a great scheme and we executed that.”

In another game, Kyrie Irving scored 34 points but it was not enough to stop the Dallas Mavericks from slipping to a 118-116 defeat against a Philadelphia 76ers line-up buoyed by the return of Joel Embiid.

Embiid, who has missed the past month with a knee and foot injury, produced a superb triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and scored the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds remaining to help the Sixers claim a precious win.