LOS ANGELES — The Celtics will be without three rotation players on Wednesday night as they face off against a shorthanded Clippers squad at the Intuit Dome.

The Boston Celtics narrowly defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in overtime Wednesday night, grabbing a 117-113 road victory.

The hero in the Celtics' OT win over the Clippers wasn't Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but an unheralded star off the bench.

Los Angeles Clippers' star Kawhi Leonard will miss the game against the Boston Celtics due to recurring injuries, having played only five out of 42 games this season. The Clippers face further challenges with seven players on the injury list.

The Boston Celtics got key contributions from the bench guys as they narrowly best the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime.

One night later, Boston players all but shrugged their shoulders after falling to the Lakers 117-96 on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristaps Porziņģis, who has been critical of the Celtics after their worst games recently, sounded ready to dump the latest poor result into the nearest trash can and forget about it for good.

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.

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.

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

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 and the Boston Celtics rallied past the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday night when both teams were missing key players. Derrick White added 20 points and Sam Hauser had 15,

You never know when you’re going to play,” Jayson Tatum said. “Game’s not going the way it’s supposed to or we expect. Joe calls your number to come and shut somebody down and give us a spark off the bench,

The Celtics were a bit short themselves on the front end of the back-to-back with Jrue Holiday and Al Horford out injured and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined by illness. All three could be available for Thursday’s matchup on national TV.