The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics tonight in the second game of their Grammy road trip. Check out our game recap:
1st Quarter
The Lakers started their usual lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Luol Deng, Tarik Black, and Timofey Mozgov. The Celtics countered with Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, and Al Horford.
The Celtics jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead behind baskets from Horford and Thomas. Russell got Los Angeles on the board with two baskets of his own to stop Boston’s early momentum. Both teams then began trading baskets on both ends of the floor until the Lakers finally pulled ahead on a few made three-pointers by Deng and Young.
Marcus Smart entered the game of the Celtics and immediately registered a steal and took it the basket for an easy layup to cut into the Lakers lead.
Around three minutes left in the quarter, the Los Angeles bench entered the game and made their presence known. A good steal by Zubac led to a Larry Nance Jr. getting fouled on the ensuing possession, leading to two free throws to give the Lakers a 29-26 lead.
Before the quarter ended, Terry Rozier knocked down a three-pointer for the Celtics as time expired. That capped a very entertaining first quarter. The Lakers lead after one, 30-29.
2nd Quarter
Boston again began the quarter by scoring two quick baskets to regain the lead, but a Young three-pointer, his fourth of the night, got Los Angeles going. After Jaylen Brown connected on a three of his own for the Celtics, Lou Williams found Nance Jr. for an easy slam dunk.
Returning from a timeout, the lakers defense came away with a steal and resulted in a Williams three-pointer. on the next offensive possession for Los Angeles, Williams threw a bad pass that was stolen by Marcus Smart and led to a Kelly Olynyk dunk that got the fans on its feet.
A 16-6 run put the Celtics ahead nine points with six minutes remaining in the half. As the Celtics were starting to slip away, Ingram scored on a midrange jumper and a three-pointer to give the Lakers much needed offensive production.
The middle of the quarter got a bit sloppy as both teams struggled to score and turned the ball over a few times.
Smart broke the Celtics scoring drought when he drilled another Boston three-pointer to extend their lead to seven points with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter, leading to Lakers timeout. Thomas ended the quarter on a nifty play when he dribbled between two Los Angeles defenders for an easy layup.
The Lakers trail at halftime, 62-51.
3rd Quarter
Both teams began the quarter trading baskets as the Celtics steadily held on to a nine-point lead. Los Angeles finally got a bit of momentum when Young stole a pass and Russell scored on the fast break. A Horford missed three-point attempt resulted in a Young three-pointer for the Lakers on the other end of the floor that cut the lead to seven and forces a Boston timeout.
After the timeout, Crowder scored on an and-one to put the Celtics back up 10 points. An 8-0 run extended Boston’s lead to 15 points with four minutes reaming in the quarter. The Lakers struggled to get any offensive rhythm during the quarter.
Clarkson added to the Los Angeles third quarter woes when he passed up a potential three-pointer and instead tried to dribble his way toward the basket and threw an errant pass that ended up in the hands of Thomas who was fouled at the other end.
The Lakers finally were able to gain a bit of momentum as Williams scored on an and-one and Ingram scored two straight baskets to bring the Lakers back within 10 points with a minute left in the third quarter.
An 11-2 run to end the period go the Lakers within striking distance heading into the fourth quarter. The Lakers trail, 82-74.
4th Quarter
Thomas began the quarter hot, scoring eight points in the first four minutes to keep the Celtics lead at ten. A couple of baskets by Nance Jr. keeps Los Angeles within striking distance, but they continue to leave guys open and Terry Rozier made them pay by drilling a three-pointer.
The bench of the Lakers continued to keep them in the game as Nance Jr. scored on a putback when Young missed a three-point attempt and then stole the ball on the next possession for a fast-break slam dunk. Three made free throws by Williams brought the Lakers within seven points with four minutes remaining.
Los Angeles had four chances on the same possession to cut the lead to five or four points but were unable to score the ball.
The Lakers played well but had stretches where they were unable to find good looks at the basket. That ultimately cost the game. Thomas led Boston with 38 points (2 shy of setting a franchise record of three straight 40-point games) and Williams led the Lakers with 21 points. The Lakers fall to the Celtics, 113-107.
