The Celtics survive against the Pacers after a stretch and a tough win over the Nuggets

Celtics star Jayson Tatum had a record 55 points in the All-Star game last weekend and led Boston with 31 points, including the last four.

Returning to competition for the first time since the All-Star break, Tatum didn’t get off to a perfect start, but he added 12 rebounds and finished with a “double-double.”

Jaylen Brown added 30 points for the Celtics, who extended their record to a league-leading 43-17, one game ahead of the recently resurgent Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference.

The game was tied 125-125 with 1:45 left in regulation time. Tatum and Brown both missed the ball, and Indiana’s Tyreese Halliburton missed the final shot with seconds to steal the win.

Matters were no different in overtime, and the two teams were tied 138-138 with 56.2 seconds left, but Tatum hit two free throws and then followed up with another attempt to steal the contest with his fingers from under the basket with 10.4 seconds left.

In Cleveland, Michael Porter Jr. scored his seventeenth hat trick for the Nuckets of the evening with 2:15 to go.

Porter and Kentavious Caldwell-Pop combined for 10 triple-doubles, while Serbian star Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for his 22nd triple-double of the season.

In Philadelphia, Tobias Harris scored a hat trick with 39.1 seconds left in the contest to give the Seventy-Sixers the lead over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies for the first time since the first minutes. 105.

The Los Angeles Lakers opened their last campaign to qualify for the playoffs with a 124-111 win over the defending champions and their host, the Golden State Warriors.

LeBron James added 13 points and Anthony Davis 12 for the Lakers, who were led by Malik Paisley’s 25 points and 68 points from reserves against the Warriors, Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins.

The Lakers got bad news early when rookie D’Angelo Russell left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.