Final: Celtics 120, Lakers 107 -- Kyrie puts on a show as C's cruise to third straight win

LOS ANGELES -- Kyrie Irving was well rested for his showdown with LeBron James after a one-game absence and he played one of his best games in weeks, scoring 19 of his team-high 30 points in the second half to help carry the visitors to a comfortable win. The Lakers were feisty early on despite playing without three starters (Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma) but the Celtics slowly began to lock down on defense in the second quarter on their way while finding their rhythm on the offensive end for the final three quarters. Six different players scored in double figures for Boston, as Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris (16 points each) and Gordon Hayward (15 points) outpaced an undermanned squad in which LeBron James scored 30 points despite playing just 28 minutes.

The Celtics are now 3-0 on their west coast trip with a chance to sweep the LA times on Monday night at Staples Center against the Clippers.

Second Quarter Notes

• Horford remains a steady offensive presence whenever he’s in the game.


• 18-4 on points in the paint, 8-0 Fast break points in favor of Lakers


• C’s still taking way too many jumpers early on, not attacking the basket or making the extra pass.


• Rozier, Baynes, Rozier are culprits of forced jumpers in transition


• Lakers keep burning C’s in transiton when they are slow to match up with shooters


• Better locked in defense from the starting unit, forcing the Lakers to take tougher shots in the half court


• More patient offense led to better shots in the second quarter, from the starters unit with Hayward playing in place of Tatum. They close out the half on a 7-0 to give C’s double digit lead heading into half


• Lots more points coming in the paint for C’s (18 in second quarter) as reliance was reduced on jumpers a bit.


• LeBron plays just 13 minutes in the first half. Big man Jonathan WIlliams (10 points, 5 rebounds) giving C's problems on the glass but they are containing everyone else nicely.

• C’s red hot from the field to start, going 6-of-8 to begin the game with five of those shots coming from outside the paint.


• Al Horford in rhythm while dealing with McGee who struggles to get out on him on the perimeter (3/3 FG)


• Tatum burned a couple of times by LeBron going to the hoop, but not much defense being played by this lineup


• C’s missing six of their first eight 3s


• Lakers really getting out in transition and C’s were not good in matching up a couple of times, leading to an early timeout in a 6-0 run.


• C’s hucking up way too many 3s early taking 12 of their first 22 shots from downtown. Cold shooting in that department (3-of-12) is hurting the offense and allowing transition points for Lakers


• Not great shot selection from the young guys in first quarter


• Horford remains a steady offensive presence whenever he’s in the game.

• The Lakers announced on Saturday afternoon that starting forward Brandon Ingram will be out for the remainder of the season with a DVT injury (blood clot) in his arm that was found after testing. Lonzo Ball and Tyson Chandler are also out. Kyle Kuzma is questionable with a sprained ankle.


• Kyrie Irving will be back in the lineup for the Celtics after sitting out with a thigh injury on Wednesday night in Sacramento. Boston will try to improve to 3-0 on the trip after taking down Golden State and Sacramento.


• Despite the Lakers losing four straight games, Brad Stevens remains on high alert about the prospect of a trap game even with LA being shorthanded after how things ended in Boston between the two squads last month. “You know what, we won five in a row the last time we played them, and everybody was talking about them struggling so bad on the trade deadline day,” Stevens explained. “And we played great for about 18 minutes, and then we got really loose with how we played, and they took advantage of it. They made every shot, LeBron was dominant, and we didn’t respond. And Rondo ended up hitting that game winner. Our guys know, everybody paying attention to the news and you see the talk about LeBron’s minutes and all that stuff, we know it’s not the case tomorrow against the Celtics in a national TV game on Saturday night. At the end of the day, we’re going to have to play really well to win. We have a lot of respect for the team, we have a lot of respect for all their guys, and they beat us last time, and they thoroughly outplayed us for 30 minutes of that game.”


• Irving also talked about the prospect of dealing with the prospect of blocking out the noise on a night like this when facing his former teammate in LeBron James. “It’s not hard. It’s not hard at all,” Irving said. “It’s just another game but going against a great competitor, a teammate like ‘Bron is always fun. You just understand that these head-to-head matchups probably will happen for a few more years and you just want to take advantage of them. Just the great players you get a chance to play against in our league you always want to play well.”