Hours after unveiling Pat Riley’s statue, the Lakers hit a new low this season as they were run off the floor by the Celtics on Sunday, 111-89.
After a back-and-forth game for most of the contest, the Lakers put up a pathetic display in the fourth to allow Boston to blow the game open. The Celtics set the tone physically from the start and the officials allowed the teams to play.
The result was LA being bullied for much of the night as Boston was the aggressor. LA finished the night shooting 39.1% from the field and 30% from three.
LeBron James opened the game on a personal 4-0 run, giving the Lakers an early edge. Boston started cold, missing their first three shot attempts. Baylor Scheierman jump-started the Celtics’ offense with a 3-pointer. Luka Dončić also started heating up, scoring six points for LA.
Sam Hauser knocked down two 3-pointers that helped tie the game and also led to a Lakers timeout.
Out of the break, a turnover by Los Angeles ended in a Jaylen Brown dunk. Jaxson Hayes returned the favor with a dunk of his own. The Lakers eventually went up by four after triples from Luka and Luke Kennard.
Boston had snatched the lead back, going up by three, before Austin Reaves knocked down three free throws to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
Neither team could score early in the second period until Payton Pritchard drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. Deandre Ayton scored on a hook shot to jumpstart the offense for LA. A 7-0 Celtics run, which included two technical fouls assessed to Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart, shifted the momentum in favor of the green.
Luka converted on a floater to stop some of the bleeding.
Boston’s defense was making LA stumble, forcing seven turnovers. The Celtics ended the half with Pritchard scoring five points, three of which came at the buzzer, yet again..
At halftime, the purple and gold were down by 10. Hayes was also ruled out for the rest of the game with a right ankle injury.
After both teams missed a few buckets, Brown converted on a 3-pointer for the Celtics to start the scoring in the third period. LeBron responded with a triple on the other end for Los Angeles. Emotions remained high as the officiating frustrated the Lakers, leading to more free throws for Boston.
At the 6:53 mark, the Celtics were up by 11.
LA did not know how to defend Pritchard, who was now shooting 71% from behind the arc. He knocked down two more triples before finally missing his eighth attempt.
Aside from Luka and LeBron, no other Laker was in double figures. The closest was Reaves with nine points. The offensive struggles made it difficult for the team to string together a meaningful run.
Going into the fourth, Los Angeles was down by 13.
The final frame began with LA trying to make a push, cutting the deficit to single digits. Reaves, LeBron and Rui Hachimura combined for a quick six points. Pritchard then scored six in a row, putting a dent in Los Angeles comeback attempt.
LA continued to struggle throughout the quarter on both ends of the floor while Boston certainly did not. The Celtics blew the game open on the backs of Pritchard and Brown, who combined for 62 points, to run the Lakers off their home court.
Key Player Stats
Luka finished with 25 points, five rebounds and three assists. LeBron notched 20 points with four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Reaves had 15 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.