Celts hold off Kobe-less Lakers

Ray Allen scored 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter and made 10 of his first 11 shots, leading the visiting Boston Celtics to a 87-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

It was the defending NBA champions' first loss in five games since Kobe Bryant went down with a sprained left ankle. Paul Gasol scored 22 points, and Lamar Odom had 13 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Nuggets 118, Cavaliers 116, OT: Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points, including the winning basket, and visiting Denver overcame LeBron James' triple-double and ended Cleveland's 13-game winning streak.

James had his triple-double by the end of regulation, finishing with 43 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists, but Anthony matched him shot for shot, hitting the winner on a deep jumper over an outstretched James with 1.9 seconds left.