The Boston Celtics certainly had their fair share of struggles following the All-Star break. However, the Celtics are finding their stride as they're coming off a pair of victories against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. Kyrie Irving missed the Kings game with a thigh injury, but is back in the lineup for Saturday's tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is seeing its playoff chances slip further and further away and now LeBron James is being placed on a minutes restriction. In addition to that, both Lonzo Ball (ankle) and Brandon Ingram (shoulder) will miss the rest of the season with injuries.
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks are coming off a very impressive win over the Indiana Pacers and continue to look like the top team in the conference. They'll look to continue their positive momentum against the Charlotte Hornets. On the other hand, the Hornets only find themselves one game out of the final playoff spot in the East, so they could be looking to play a spoiler role.
NBA schedule for Saturday, March 9
*All times Eastern
Young gets first triple-double
Trae Young has come on very strong in the past few weeks, and he kept his hot streak going on Saturday night against the Nets. The rookie point guard recorded his first career triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in defeat.
LeBron goes strong to the rim x2
LeBron James brought some early excitement to the Lakers' matchup with the Celtics by throwing down two big slams in the game's opening minutes.
KAT rocks the rim
Karl-Anthony Towns showed off his athleticism by driving strong to the rim and throwing down a big slam over Jeff Green, who tried to take a charge.
Young finds Carter for the slam
Trae Young is already one of the league's best passers, and he showed off his vision against the Nets. Spotting Vince Carter cutting backdoor, Young hit him with a perfect bounce pass through traffic and Vinsanity finished with the throwback jam.
Fox erupts for 30 points against Knicks
Kings guard De'Aaron Fox led the charge with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting while also dishing out a game-high eight assists. Sacramento outscored New York 54-48 in the second half to earn the comeback victory.
