NBA scores 2017: Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement was the nightcap for an incredible NBA Monday

Celtics-Pacers went wire-to-wire. So did Warriors-Lakers. That’s not all, either. This one’s a night for the books.

Dec 19, 2017, 12:30 PM UTC

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Kobe Bryant watched both his No. 8 and 24 jerseys raise to the rafters as part of an emotional, tear-jerking halftime retirement ceremony for one of, if not the best Laker to ever touch the floor. But Kobe’s jersey retirement ceremony and ensuing speech was just the icing on the cake of an incredible Monday night of NBA basketball.

If you turned your TV only on to watch The Black Mamba’s appearance at Staples Center, here’s what you missed:

Pacers vs. Celtics was a barn burner that went to the very end

The Celtics held a 19-point lead in the third quarter, and against most teams, that’s enough of a cushion for Boston to relax comfortably. But most teams don’t have Victor Oladipo reincarnated as a crunch-time polymerization of Robert Horry, Jerry West, and Bryant. Oladipo activated his clutch Y-chromosome and went off for 16 points in the third quarter:

He then turned it up more in the fourth, making some huge plays that helped Indiana take the lead late in the game:

But there can be only one clutch god walking the flat Earth, and it’s Kyrie Irving, and the Celtics point guard hit a pair of huge threes down the stretch that kept the Pacers at bay:

And with the game on the line, it wasn’t Irving who made the play. It was TERRY ROZIER who swooped in to pick off an awful decision by Bojan Bogdanovic to throw a cross-court pass instead of holding onto the ball with five seconds left:

Man, that was a wild ending.

So was the finish to Rockets vs. Jazz

With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Rockets trailed the Jazz by eight. Here’s a look at the final score:

How on flat Earth did that happen?

Some close calls

The short-handed Warriors (no Draymond Green or Stephen Curry) beat the Lakers by two in overtime thanks to Kevin Durant’s game-winning shot over Lonzo Ball...

Then David West’s game-saving block on who? Lonzo Ball:

The Thunder beat the Nuggets by just one single point thanks to a defense that held Denver scoreless in the final two minutes. This coast-to-coast basket by Russell Westbrook to tie the game at 94 didn’t hurt, either:

The Bulls won their sixth straight — yes, sixth straight — in a two-point win over the 76ers after trailing by nine with just five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Here’s how that one ended:

Oh yeah, and the Timberwolves beat the Trail Blazers, 108-107, after Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford combined for 60 points on the night.

Kobe’s jersey retirement

The highlight of the night was still Bryant, who stole the show when both his No. 8 and 24 jerseys were retired at Staples Center for the rest of eternity. Here’s what you missed if you didn’t watch: