The Boston Celtics snapped the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 8-game winning streak by beating them 111-101 at TD Garden on Saturday. The Lakers were in a position to pull off a stunning comeback win as they trimmed a 22-point Celtics lead down to four in the fourth quarter, but they were unable to get the job done in LeBron James‘ absence.
James put up 22 points (11-23 FG), 14 rebounds, and nine assists before he had to exit in the fourth quarter due to a groin strain. Luka Doncic carried the load in his absence and finished with 34 points (11-22 FG), eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal. The two stars didn’t get much help on the night, though, with Austin Reaves, who had 16 points (5-12 FG), three rebounds, two assists, and one steal, being the only other Laker to hit double digits for points.
Lakers fans were disappointed to see their winning streak come to an end but remained optimistic about the team’s chances moving forward.
“We will beat this team in a 7-game series idc, they are NOT scary at all,” one Lakers fan is confident they would beat the Celtics if the teams met in the Finals.
“Scheduled loss not gonna lie. This was their Game 7; they’d been resting for it for days, and Adam Silver even sent his 2 handpicked refs to secure the win,” one fan claimed the Celtics treated this as a Game 7 and were bailed out by the officials.
“Missing 3 starters and only down by 4 near the end. We are still winning the chip. I bet my life on that,” one fan remains confident that the Lakers will win it all this season.
“We have a decent 3rd quarter, and Rui, we win that easy,” one fan thinks the outcome would have been different if Rui Hachimura had played and they didn’t go cold in the third quarter.
“One game doesn’t make a season. It’s been a great run, and the best is yet to come,” a Lakers fan is optimistic about the future.
The Lakers certainly deserve a lot of credit for fighting their way back into that game after going down big in the third quarter. They could have thrown in the towel then or after James exited, but they kept fighting.
As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum led the way with 40 points (12-28 FG), 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and a block. His co-star Jaylen Brown had a big night too, with 31 points (12-25 FG), six rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Tatum and Brown completely outplayed James and Doncic on the night to help the Celtics improve to 46-18 this season.
The Lakers, meanwhile, have now dropped to 40-22, but the loss isn’t their biggest concern at the moment. That, of course, would be James’ status, and it’s looking like he’s going to miss multiple weeks. That would be a huge blow for the Lakers, and it will be interesting to see how they fare without him.
The Lakers will be in action next against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Monday at 7:30 PM ET. You’d expect them to win that one, even without James.
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