Everything you need to know about the Celtics beating the Lakers 120-107 with BSJ insight and analysis:
Box Score
HEADLINES
Kyrie puts on a show as Celtics pull away in the second half: The All-Star point guard 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 (12-of-16 FG) 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 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 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 teams on Monday night at Staples Center against the Clippers.
More scoring balance for Boston: For the second-straight game, the Celtics had six different players scoring in double figures. All nine players in the regular rotation scored six points or more while six of those names shot above 50 percent from the field, creating terrific balance within the Celtics offense for the final three quarters. The team shot 51 percent from the field overall and dished out 32 assists, the third-highest total this group has had over the course of 33 road games this season.
A chance to pull into the No. 4 seed: The win improved Boston to 41-26 on the year, putting them just a half-game behind the 76ers for the No. 4 seed in the East and only 1.5 games back of the Pacers for the three seed. The last game of the trip will be no gimme against a surging Clippers squad (four straight wins), but the opportunity will be there to go 4-0 on a Western Conference road swing for the second straight year if they can take care of business in their second visit to the Staples Center.
TURNING POINT
After allowing the Lakers to trim their lead down to six with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics took command of the game once more with a 16-5 run to close out the frame and give them their biggest lead of the night at 17. The Lakers could not climb out of that hole in the final 12 minutes, failing to cut the lead below seven over the remainder of the contest.
TWO UP
Al Horford in the first half: No player on the Celtics has been more consistent than the 32-year-old big man over the past couple months. He was rock solid yet again in this one, making four of his first five shots from the field on the way to 10 first-half points. Boston’s offense just runs so much smoother when he’s out there directing traffic (plus-11 on the night) and that was evident yet again in this one. He also added a team-high eight rebounds and four assists in just 27 minutes.
Kyrie Irving: The All-Star took more of a supporting role on early in this one in his first game back from a thigh injury, distributing over shooting in the first half (just five field-goal attempts). He made the most of those attempts though early on, going 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep in the first half to score a team-high 11 points in the first half. However, he took his offense to another level after intermission, getting red-hot from the field (12-of-18 FG) on his way to a game-high 30 points in what was his best all-around performance since the All-Star Break.
TWO DOWN
Jayson Tatum: A lackluster performance on the defensive end in the first quarter in which he was the victim of a couple backdoor cuts opened the door for Hayward to take some of his minutes in the second quarter with the starters. It was a quiet night for him on the offensive end as well, missing five of his seven shots on his way to six points. He finished with a team-low plus/minus among the regulars (plus-1).
Transition defense: The visitors had trouble getting separation from the Lakers in the first half largely due to lapses in this area. They were outscored 8-0 in the first quarter and 15-4 in the first half on fast breaks points, causing Brad Stevens to call multiple timeouts early on due to an inability to match up properly on transition opportunities.
TOP PLAY
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— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 10, 2019