Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: VCG
Jayson Tatum and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics thwarted a furious late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday to win 122-118 in overtime and snap a two-game losing skid.
The Celtics bounced back from defeats to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco and the Clippers in Los Angeles, but they needed every ounce of energy and will to avoid their first three-game losing streak this season.
"Oh, man, last game of the road trip, we've been going for, like, 13 days, second night of a back-to-back," Tatum said afterward. "But we found a way.
"We needed that," noted Tatum, whose 44 points included a game-tying turnaround jumper over LeBron James that sent the contest to overtime. "We found a way to get back on track."
Jaylen Brown added 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Marcus Smart scored 18 points for the Celtics, who appeared to be heading to victory when they took a 20-point lead on Tatum's floater with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
But the Lakers, with 37 points from Anthony Davis and 33 from James, roared back, putting together an 18-0 run from late in the third period that was capped by a James three-pointer that put Los Angeles up by four with 8:55 remaining in the fourth.
The Lakers pushed their lead to 13 points before the weary Celtics were able to respond.
Russell Westbrook put the Lakers up by four with two quick baskets to open overtime, but the Celtics scored on four straight possessions to take the lead for good.
"It was big," Tatum said of the win, which pushed Boston's league-best record to 22-7. "[It] showed the character of our team."
The Milwaukee Bucks stayed on the Celtics' heels atop the East, improving to 20-7 with a 128-111 victory over reigning champions Golden State.
The Warriors, coming off their convincing victory over the Celtics, again found themselves inexplicably struggling on the road.
They fell to 2-12 away from home, 14-14 overall, in a testy encounter between the last two NBA champions that saw the frustrated Warriors assessed five technical fouls.
Three of those came in the first quarter, when Stephen Curry was furious at the lack of a foul call when he was shooting a three-pointer and head coach Steve Kerr continued the argument to earn a "T."
"I was already mad at several non-calls in the paint," Kerr said. "I felt like we were on the bad end of things to start the game. And then Stephen Curry gets hit on the head on a three-point shot.
"That needs to be called." 
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo gets past Golden State Warriors' Moses Moody on December 13, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: VCG
Trailing by 14 early in the second quarter, the Warriors pulled within six before the Bucks closed the first half on a 6-0 scoring run on the way to a 12-point halftime lead.
The third quarter brought no relief, the Bucks jumping to a 26-point lead midway through the period.
Milwaukee, led by 30 points and 12 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo, outscored the Warriors 48-30 in the paint and outrebounded them 55-37.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Utah Jazz ended the New Orleans Pelicans' seven-game winning streak, downing the Western Conference leaders 121-100.
Malik Beasley scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Jazz, draining five of their 15 three-pointers.
It was an emotional night in Houston, where head coach Stephen Silas returned to the sideline two days after the death of his father, three-time NBA champion and longtime NBA coach Paul Silas.
The Rockets handed the reeling Phoenix Suns a fifth straight defeat, 111-97.
The injury-plagued Suns got more bad news in that department as starting center Deandre Ayton and guard Cameron Payne both left the game with injuries.
