The Los Angeles Lakers used big games from their All-NBA First Team duo of Lebron James and Anthony Davis to push past the struggling Celtics, 96-95.
Only a week after scoring a season-high 37 points in a win over the Bulls, Davis was rolling again early. The Lakers big man scored 12 points and added eight rebounds in just the first quarter. He spent much of the game battling Celtics Center Daniel Theis, who scored 10 points, including 2 three-pointers in the first quarter.
The two storied franchises fought back and forth in a close first half. The Celtics finished the half on a 9-2 run to drop their deficit to just three points going into the break, 49-52.
The third quarter was all Celtics, who held the defending champions to just 19 points. Jaylen Brown scored 11 of his 28 points in the third, and led the Celtics to a 7 point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Brown’s high scoring game made him the game’s second-leading scorer, behind only teammate Jayson Tatum (30). It also marked Brown’s 10th straight game with more than 20 points. This is just the latest installment in an excellent season for Brown, who’s averaging 27.1 points a game, nearly 7 more than last year.
The fourth quarter saw this old-school rivalry game go down to the wire. Montrezl Harrell scored 6 of his 16 points in the final quarter. He was joined off the bench by forward Kyle Kuzma, who added 11 points.
It was All-Star Jayson Tatum’s 8 points in the final frame that was most influential. He scored six of the Celtic’s last 8 points, making it a one-point game with 32.8 remaining in the game.
The Lakers called timeout and drew up a play. The possession ended with Davis backing down Theis, trying to take a fadeaway with 10 seconds left. Kemba Walker knocked the ball away from Davis in a hectic sequence of events, throwing it ahead to Brown.
The ball again found Walker, who took his patented step-back mid-range jumper for the win. The Celtics, however, fell just short as the ball rimmed out, giving the Lakers the win.
Walker was 1-12 from the field, scoring just 4 points. In his worst statistical game of the season, the final miss of the game hurt the most.
The Lakers won the seventh of their last 10 games, planting them third in the Western Conference. At just a half-game behind the Clippers and 1 game behind the Jazz, the West is shaping up to be as hard-fought as anticipated.
The Celtics, however, continue to struggle. Despite high hopes for the season, the loss drops them to 10-8, fifth in the Eastern Conference. With 5 losses in their last 7 games, they will look to rebound against the 10-9 Warriors on Tuesday.
However, the Celtics’ biggest loss may prove to be the injury to Marcus Smart early in the fourth quarter. An awkward fall left the Celtics guard clutching at his left calf, and he did not return to the game. He is set to have an MRI, the results of which the Celtics nervously await.
