The Lakers were punched in the mouth today despite inspiring words from Pat Riley on his special night as they lost 89-111 at the Crypto.com Arena. JJ Redick spoke to the media after the game and reflected on the loss tonight to their rivals, the Celtics.
“I think you know, going against this team and their offense, made the subs at 3:22 in the fourth quarter. They’ve got 105 points, and they’re 12 for 32 from three, and they’re shooting 47%.”
“We did a good job limiting their fast break points, and did a good job limiting their points in the paint under 50. So we did enough defensively. We were just awful offensively tonight,” said Redick in a candid initial reflection on the main difference between the teams tonight.
“Yeah, I mean, there were opportunities, I think, to put more pressure on the rim. Particularly in the first half, we took 11 non-paint twos. We were 13 for 29, on paint twos, non- rim paint twos. So that’s not normally what we shoot.”
“And then got some good looks from three. We didn’t knock them down. So, just, you know, you got to make shots in this league,” Redick further elaborated on what the Lakers could have done better tonight.
“We took care of the basketball… I think a lot of times when teams are in that deeper drop versus, you know, all our guys that play pick and roll, as you know, it kind of puts you a little bit in a bind of not having the obvious choice to pass, if that makes sense. Um, so we, you know, we just got to do a better job of just, you know, finding guys and moving the ball.”
Offensively as a team, the Lakers were indeed not at par with the standards they needed to meet to counter the Celtics’ heavy three-point shooting style offense. The Lakers were 34-87 from the field as a team (39.1 FG%), 9-30 from the three-point line (30.0 3P%), and 12-18 from the free-throw line (66.7 FT%).
In comparison, the Celtics were 40-83 from the floor (48.2 FG%), 14-36 from beyond the arc (38.9 3P%), and 17-21 from the free-throw line (81.0 FT%). While the shot-making for both teams is their own responsibility, the officials are the ones who are key in determining the free-throw differential between the two teams.
Redick and the Lakers, overall, were puzzled with the officiating tonight that resulted in three technical fouls being assessed to them throughout the game. At one point, Redick came onto the court during a timeout to demonstrate a goaltending violation from the Celtics’ Neemias Queta.
JJ Redick showing the refs what they missed 😭 pic.twitter.com/TJr24DB95u
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) February 23, 2026
During the press conference, the Lakers’ head coach was asked about how the technical fouls impacted the flow of the game for the team, and Redick used the opportunity to scrutinize the puzzling officiating tonight.
“There was maybe one possession in the first half, you know, I thought we did a better job in the second half despite my technical,” said Redick on the impact of the technicals on the Lakers’ offensive rhythm.
“Yeah, I mean, they missed a blatant LeBron layup that was goaltended off the backboard, and Queta stuck his entire- I can’t jump that high,” said Redick in reference to his viral demonstration. “He stuck his entire hand through the rim, not just grabbed the net, but like stuck it through the cylinder.”
“So that’s typically a goaltend, not tonight, obviously. And they recognized that he did that, and they said that’s not a goaltend. So, I’ll get some clarification on the rule of that cuz that’s honestly a great way to defend floaters.”
The Lakers have fallen to 34-22 following this loss to the Celtics, who improved to 37-19 for the season. The team in purple and gold will now end an eight-game stretch at home by hosting the Magic on Tuesday, February 24.
Meanwhile, the Celtics are now headed to Phoenix for a Tuesday-night matchup against the Suns, who are also subsequently hosting the Lakers on Thursday, February 26.
