BOSTON — Somewhere between Jason Terry's 25-foot three pointer in the first half and Dwight Howard fouling out in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles realized this wasn't going to be their evening. The short-handed Boston Celtics steamrolled the Lakers 116-95 Thursday behind a potent offense, including Paul Pierce's 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jeff Green scored 19 points off the bench, while Terry and Kevin Garnett added 15 apiece for the Celtics who shot 53 percent from the field and led by as many as 32 points in the second half. The Celtics won again despite missing all-star Rajon Rondo, who is out with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Boston has won all six games since guard Rondo went down with the knee injury. They are also without rookie starter Jared Sullinger, whose first season ended with back surgery. The contest was hyped as a battle between two of the most storied franchises in the NBA but it ended up being a mismatch. It marked the worst loss of the season for the Lakers, who fell behind 103-71 with 8:16 left in the fourth and looked listless despite getting center Dwight Howard back. The Lakers came into the contest having won all three games Howard missed with a shoulder injury. Howard was a non-factor against the Celtics, fouling out with just over five minutes left in the fourth. He finished with just nine points and nine rebounds. Kobe Bryant had 27 points as the Lakers dropped to 3-2 on their seven-game road trip. It marked just the third time this season Bryant did not record an assist. The Lakers got more bad news just prior to the opening tip off as they learned forward Pau Gasol suffered a tear of the plantar fascia — on the bottom of his right foot — and will be out for a minimum six to eight weeks. Nuggets tame Bulls The Denver Nuggets rolled to their eighth successive win with a 128-96 demolition of the Chicago Bulls at home. Denver improved to 32-18 on the season with victory over the Bulls (29-20), who were blown away by a third-quarter blitz. Leading by just five at halftime, the home side posted 37 points in the third term while holding the Bulls to just 16, ending the game as a contest. Wilson Chandler led the way from the bench for the Nuggets with 24 points, including 5-for-5 from three-point range, while Kenneth Faried added 21 points and 12 rebounds. “Most of our offense was created by good defensive plays,” Denver coach George Karl said. “Wilson got the three-ball in the game for us, Kenneth had that great energy and we were an unselfish team. Wilson and Kenneth... what a performance.” For Faried, his team's latest impressive display represented a message to the rest of the NBA. It is the first time since Jan. 2010 that the Nuggets have won eight in a row and they are now ranked fourth in the Western Conference, having won 14 of their last 16 games. Evans to defend dunk title Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans will go for back-to-back wins by throwing his name into the hat for the 2013 slam dunk event during the annual NBA all-star game Feb. 16 in Houston. Joining the 2012 champ Evans in the dunk competition will be Eric Bledsoe of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, Gerald Green of the Indiana Pacers, Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors and James White of the New York Knicks. There is a change in the format for the Saturday event with three players from the Western Conference facing off against the three from the Eastern Conference. The top player from each conference will then battle for the individual crown. The three-point contest will feature Indiana's Paul George while San Antonio's Tony Parker seeks to defend his title in the skills challenge. — Agencies
