Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and Clippers was highly entertaining. Boston required overtime to win despite having Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White in the lineup. The Clippers were down four starters (James Harden, Norman Powell, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac), but the available players didn’t use that as an excuse.

The Clippers, missing Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, fall just short against Boston.

Get real-time NBA basketball coverage and scores as Boston Celtics takes on Los Angeles Clippers. We bring you the latest game previews, live stats, and recaps on CBSSports.com

The Celtics opened the five-minute extra session with 3-pointers by White, Tatum and Brown that stretched the lead to 112-105. The Clippers twice cut the deficit to two points, the last time on Coffey's three-point play with 30 seconds to go.

The Celtics had to sweat out an overtime win over the Clippers on Wednesday, but wouldn't have done it without Jaden Springer and his defensive intensity.

The Celtics outlasted the severely shorthanded Clippers 117-113 in overtime, getting key contributions from a surprise source.

Playing without six of their top eight rotation players, Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr and Amir Coffey lead a gutty effort as the hosts push the reigning champs until the end in a 117-113

The Los Angeles Lakers stand five games above .500 at the midway point of their schedule, and a pivotal stretch of six straight road games is right around the corner. That makes Thursday night's nationally televised home game against the Boston Celtics feel even bigger.

The Celtics nearly blew a gimme on Wednesday, but they pulled themselves together in overtime and defeated a short-handed Clippers team 117-113. Here are the takeaways.

The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime. Both teams were shorthanded in this contest and Los Angeles nearly pulled off a shocking win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 123-114 home win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Neither team led by double digits until the Thunder pulled away in the last three minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics make up the most iconic East-West rivalry in the NBA. And as part of NBA Rivalry Week, the two sides are facing off in their first matchup of the season with both teams looking to stay on the right track after some difficult recent play.