Final: Celtics 125, Lakers 121 - Jaylen Brown dominates stretch in wild win

Game 51: Celtics (-8.5) vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m., TD Garden, ABC

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari, Marcus Smart (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE- Robert Williams (ankle)

L.A.: OUT- Austin Reaves (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE- Lonnie Walker (knee), LeBron James (ankle)
PROBABLE- Anthony Davis (foot)

Lakers probable starters: LeBron James, Troy Brown, Jr., Anthony Davis, Patrick Beverley, Dennis Schröder

Refs: Eric Lewis (#42), Jacyn Goble (#68), Andy Nagy (#83)

Last time they played: Celtics 122, Lakers 118 (OT), December 13- The Celtics came out pretty strong, piling up points by attacking the basket, and then watching Jayson Tatum go off to help give the Celtics a comfortable lead. In fact, everything was looking pretty great when the Celtics finally took a 20 point lead in the third quarter. Then, the Celtics relaxed, turned the ball over a ton, and not only let the Lakers back into the game, they took a 13-point lead with 4:25 to go. Boston staged a furious late comeback after that, tied the game, and ran away with it in overtime. 

A little something about this game: The Lakers have won three out of four heading into this game. They recently acquired Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards. He made his debut in their most recent game, a win over the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 12 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in 21:31. Tatum had 44 against the Lakers in their first meeting. This is an ABC game at 8:30, so the building will definitely have a playoff vibe.

How the Celtics win: The rim protection is lacking, especially if the Celtics are able to pull Anthony Davis away from the rim with Al Horford. Once again, the story is to attack the rim first and then worry about shooting 3-pointers later. I know it’s easier said than done sometimes with these guys, but the points in the paint battle might be where this game is won tonight. I feel like whichever team wins that, wins the game. 

Which means defensively, protect the rim at all costs, especially in transition on misses. The Lakers love to run off misses, so if the shots aren’t falling, they have to get back on defense instead of hanging their heads or yelling at the refs. 

How the Lakers win: LeBron hitting 3-pointers is going to win them games. If he’s hitting from deep, it’ll be hard to overcome because you’re looking at a 40+ point game from him and everyone else will feed off that. The Lakers actually score more in losses than in wins, so if they're able to keep Boston to 110 or less, it’ll likely mean a Lakers win.

Things I’m looking for:

- Jaylen Brown bounceback game: He was pretty down on himself after the loss to New York. Between the missed shots and the missed free throws, Brown put a lot of the loss on himself. That tends to be a motivating factor, but the question then becomes, will he be trying to do too much? Brown is at his absolute best when he lets the game come to him while also being aggressive -- which means attack, probe the defense, but give the ball up when you get cut off and then work to get it back in a more advantageous position. He can be aggressive yet patient at the same time and trust that he’ll get his shots.

Jayson Tatum vs. the Lakers: He’s averaging 32.4 points per game against the Lakers in seven games since January of 2020. Considering this game is so close to the passing of Tatum’s basketball hero, Kobe Bryant, this might be another monster scoring night. 

Hachimura’s impact: It’s one thing to debut against the Spurs and ease your way into things, it’s quite another to face the Celtics, at the Garden, on national TV. Hachimura obviously knows the Celtics well from his Washington days, but he could be in for a rough night if he’s a step slow while trying to get acclimated to everything the Lakers do. This could be an opportunity for the bench to pile up some easy points off turnovers or put a run together off stops when he’s in the game. 

The rivalry: Celtics-Lakers is always a big deal. Fans will have had a few hours to get "psyched up" for he game a local watering holes, and the buzz of national television will create an incredible atmosphere. This will be a raucus one from the start. If the Celtics can start out on something like a 10-2 run, the building might crumble. This could be the ultimate home role players thrive/road role players struggle kind of game. 

Want to pass some time until the game? Check me out on the latest Locked On Celtics podcast talking about the loss to New York, changing Jaylen’s shot profile, and Joe Mazzulla scoring some points in the debate over timeouts: 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.