The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed the Boston Celtics to Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night as part of the NBA’s annual Rivalry Week.
The defending champions presented a good challenge for JJ Redick’s team, and they were up for the task as the Lakers cruised to an easy 117-96 victory over the Celtics for their best victory of the season.
Max Christie got the night started with a corner triple although that was immediately matched by Kristaps Porzingis. Jaylen Brown also hit a couple of early 3s, but Christie then hit another from the opposite corner to put the Lakers up 15-9.
Boston responded with a 7-0 run to take its first lead. Anthony Davis went to work inside from there though and then Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent both connected from deep. LeBron James ended the quarter with a thunderous dunk, putting the Lakers up double digits at 34-23.
The Celtics opened the second quarter with fiver straight points before Vincent hit another triple. James then had a pair of buckets to make sure the lead stayed at double digits, forcing a Boston timeout.
L.A. had a stretch late in the second quarter where no one could miss from deep with Vincent, Dalton Knecht and Rui Hachimura all connecting to extend the lead even more. After a three-point play by Davis to end the half, the Lakers went into the locker room with a comfortable 67-48 lead.
The Celtics came out with much better energy in the third quarter, starting it with an 8-2 run to stay within striking distance. After a triple by Jayson Tatum, Redick called a timeout as the lead was quickly cut to 12.
While the Lakers were in a long drought offensively, they were aided by the Celtics’ stars missing four straight free throws. That allowed L.A. to regroup and quickly get the lead back to 18, although Boston scored to end the quarter to make it 83-68 going into the fourth.
The Lakers came out strong in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight points with James leading the way. The Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back and were clearly playing with some tired legs in the second half.
After yet another triple by Vincent, the Lakers’ lead was up to a game-high 25, forcing another Celtics timeout. Boston started to empty its bench from there as there was no comeback to be had with L.A. easily closing out the victory.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now head out on the road, taking on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night to end Rivalry Week.
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