Celtics take down Pistons for eighth straight win, Lakers claw past 76ers

LOS ANGELES: The league-leading Boston Celtics, fuelled by 33 points from Jaylen Brown, beat the depleted Detroit Pistons 129-102 to push their NBA winning streak to eight games on Friday (Mar 22).

With teammates Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday all out, Brown ably filled the void connecting on 13 of 19 shots from the field.

"(I) just tried to be aggressive coming out," Brown - who notched his sixth game since the All-Star break of 30 or more points - told NBC Sports Boston. "I know we had some guys out."

Brown said he tried to keep his teammates involved, and even though he ended up with zero assists Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he was doing all the right things.

"He's getting the shots he wants, both for himself and his teammates," Mazzulla said. "He's playing very well-rounded basketball and it has been fun to watch."

Payton Pritchard added 20 points and Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis scored 19 apiece for Boston, who improved their league-best record to 56-14.

Tatum sat out the first game of a six-game road trip to rest a troublesome ankle. Horford was sidelined by a toe injury and Holiday by an arm injury.

But against last-placed Detroit - who were without half a dozen players after Jalen Duren was ruled out shortly before tipoff with back spasms - the Celtics were still too strong.

James Wiseman got his first start of the season for the Pistons and scored a team-high 24 points.

The Celtics held Detroit scoring leader Cade Cunningham to 15 points on six of 17 shooting as they extended the league's longest active winning streak.

The Oklahoma City Thunder edged back ahead of the defending champion Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference lead with a 123-103 victory over the Raptors in Toronto.

Oklahoma City's