The Los Angeles Lakers walked out of the Crypto.com Arena with a convincing 117-96 win over the reigning NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics didn’t stand a chance despite being favored to win as the Lakers rode hot-shooting and great defense to a signature win this season.
The Lakers’ two superstars delivered on the night. Anthony Davis put up 24 points (9-18 FG), eight rebounds, and three blocks while LeBron James had 20 points (9-20 FG) with 14 rebounds and six assists. Austin Reaves had 23 points (7-13 FG) with six assists while Gabe Vincent had a strong bench showing with 12 points (4-8 FG). Dalton Knecht broke out of a slump for 13 points (5-7 FG).
Fans were ecstatic to see this game turn out this way.
“Well, excuse the hell outta me Lakers. I thought for sure yall were going to get yall asses kicked tonight,” said Kendrick Perkins who was shocked to see the Celtics get blown out.
“Congrats to LeBron James for being named an All-Star starter and for leading the Lakers to a dominant victory over the Celtics tonight,” said Skip Bayless who couldn’t criticize LeBron after this performance.
“The Lakers are blowing out a team so bad that they actually emptied their bench early in the 4th quarter. That team happens to be the Boston Celtics. Am I dreaming?” said one fan who was shocked at how easy this win was for the Lakers.
“I don’t care how big the lead is, run up the scoreboard, Lakers,” said some fans who wanted to send a message to their longtime Bostonian rivals.
“They knew what they were doing scheduled the Lakers on the 2nd night of a back-to-back,” said one Celtics fan trying to blame the schedule for this loss.
“Lakers really smoking the Celtics, I can’t believe it,” said one fan who was stunned at this outcome.
“Lakers blowing out the Celtics gonna used as an excuse for Rob to not make any trades,” some fans are worried this game will lead to Rob Pelinka justifying why the Lakers don’t need to make trades before the deadline.
The Celtics just couldn’t compete amidst an ice-cold shooting night. Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points (9-16 FG) and seven rebounds, while Jaylen Brown put up 17 points (7-19 FG) and eight rebounds. Jayson Tatum struggled with 16 points (5-12 FG), with no other Celtic reaching double-figures. They shot 35-91 (38.5 FG%) from the field in their worst team shooting performance of the season.
The Lakers improve to 24-18 with this win, the most games they’ve been above .500 this season. The team is establishing itself as a Playoff threat, although their ability to contend for a title will be under scrutiny unless they make some trades. The West is competitive and the Lakers are in the thick of it. They legitimately might be a few moves away from threatening the rest of the West.
The Celtics are 31-14 with this loss, losing this game on a back-to-back after defeating the Clippers last night in a shock OT outcome. They’ve looked shaky in their last 19 games, going 10-9, allowing the Cleveland Cavaliers to run away with the No. 1 seed. They’re still one of the biggest Playoff threats in the NBA, but their recent regular season slump is concerning.
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