BASKETTBALL

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Oklahoma City stretched the NBA's best win streak to 13 games with a home victory Thursday while the reigning champion Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot win at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98 at Oklahoma City, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5.

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Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks edged Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 in a thriller at Madison Square Garden. French star Wembanyama put up 42 points with 18 rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs but Bridges took the glory with a brilliant 15-point fourth-quarter display that left him with a season-high 41 points and the win.

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Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points as the Pacers turned the tables on the NBA champion Celtics with a confident 123-114 victory in Boston on Sunday. Two days after Jaylen Brown's 44 points propelled the Celtics to a 142-105 blowout victory over the Pacers, Indiana got their revenge.

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LeBron James (39) and Steph Curry (36) served up a Christmas Day feast as their rivalry delivered another classic with the Los Angeles Lakers edging the Golden State Warriors 115-113 on Wednesday.

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The Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets have agreed, pending final paperwork and NBA acceptance, on a trade involving several players and future draft picks. As ESPN's Sams Charania has revealed, D'Angelo Russell is the big name that will change teams. He will no longer be LeBron James' teammate, but will now be under the command of Spaniard Jordi Fernández. He will be joined in New York by Maxwell Lewis.

The Nets, who will also receive three upcoming second-round draft picks, will send Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to LA. The Lakers, forced to trade up to give James and Anthony Davis a chance at another ring, will vary the roles of some of their current players, such as Reaves, who had a career-high 16 assists and will play more point guard in the absence of Russell.

Finney-Smith will also help with his 43.5 per cent to improve the perimeter and raise the defensive tone at small forward. Milton, off the bench, can also contribute points and assists. Meanwhile, Brooklyn, in the midst of rebuilding their roster, are thinking more about the future.

They have accepted the return of Russell, who became an All-Star, because he is in the last year of his contract. Without pressure, the former No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft can improve his current averages to guarantee himself a good contract.

But it will almost certainly not be with the Nets. As for Lewis, it remains to be seen if they keep a very residual player whose only virtue seems to be his low contract as a second-round pick.

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Denver's NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic shook off a slow start to post a 27-point triple-double Sunday as the Nuggets rallied to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 132-129 in overtime.

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NBA superstar LeBron James celebrates his 40th birthday on Monday, the milestone carrying him to yet another first in a league in which he has starred for more than two decades - with the clock still running. The Los Angeles Lakers great will become the first NBA player ever to play in his teens, 20s, 30s and 40s.

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Philadelphia's Joel Embiid (30) was ejected after confronting a female referee in the 76ers' 111-106 victory over San Antonio in a wild Monday of NBA action. An expected big-man showdown between Cameroonian Embiid and France's Victor Wembanyama ended late in the first half, leaving Tyrese Maxey to produce 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in sparking the win. "It's big time," Maxey said of getting the win for Embiid. "We're learning to play without him... We've got to change the game, come a little faster, play a little harder and gain rebounds."