The Los Angeles Lakers faced their first big test against the East’s No. 3 team on Thursday and passed. They they faced their second big test Saturday night against the East’s No. 2 team and did not pass.
In a much-hyped rivalry game against the defending champion Bostons Celtics, the Lakers got overwhelmed by a team that looked a lot more ready for LeBron James and Luka Dončić than L.A. was for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The two teams played fairly evenly until the start of the third quarter, when Boston built up a 22-point lead in about seven minutes.
The Lakers managed to inch to as close as four points in the middle of the fourth quarter, but another small Celtics run dashed any hope of a comeback. The Lakers were also dealt a blow when James was ruled out in the fourth quarter with a groin strain.
“Not much concern,” James told reporters after the game. “Obviously, we go day to day, look at it each day, see if it gets better and take the proper measurements to see what we need to do moving forward.”
Tatum finished with 40 points on 12-of-28 shooting, 12 rebounds and eight assists, while Brown had 31 points and six assists. Dončić had 34 points, hit five 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds.
Notably, both teams were shorthanded. Celtics starting center Kristaps Porziņģis was ruled out an hour before the game with an illness, his fifth straight game missed, while the Lakers were down starting center Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion) and starting power forward Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy).
The Lakers responded by starting Jarred Vanderbilt at center, and Al Horford had a great game at center for Boston with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also proved he could still defend at a high level and effectively switch when asked to.
“We wanted to attack their bigs in space, but we wanted to attack their smalls in tight spaces,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of L.A.’s gameplan. “Frankly, Al Horford’s awesome still.”
The loss pushes the Lakers down to No. 3 in the Western Conference standings, with the Denver Nuggets now a half-game ahead of them, thanks to Nikola Jokić’s heroics Friday night. The Lakers are still on quite a run since acquiring Dončić (and were on one right before him as well), but they might have some more developing to do before they enter the elite tier of NBA teams.
The Celtics, meanwhile, are now 46-18, strengthening their hold on the second seed in the East.
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Celtics too much for Lakers as LeBron leaves with injury
It got interesting there for a bit, but the Celtics held on for a 111-101 win over the Lakers on Saturday night, snapping LA’s eight-game winning streak.
LeBron James left with a little more than six minutes remaining because of a groin injury, which he has struggled with in the past.
Jayson Tatum led the way with 40 points, 6 3-pointers, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, and Jaylen Brown added 31 points, 3 3-pointers and 6 assists.
James posted 22 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists before leaving the floor, and Luka Doncic had 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting with 5 3-pointers and 8 rebounds.
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Lakers’ LeBron James has a groin strain and is out for rest of game against the Celtics.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 9, 2025
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It is now a 4-point game as the Lakers have outscored the Celtics 25-9 in the 4th. The Celtics’ biggest lead was 23.
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LeBron James is out of the game and going back to the locker room with 6:44 to go.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 9, 2025
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Jaylen Brown is one of the few defensive players who has the strength and body control to make stuff tough for Luka.
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) March 9, 2025
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LeBron 0-6 on threes but 6-6 on hitting the front rim.
— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) March 9, 2025
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Lakers defense has a higher ceiling and more buy in but we needed to see what happens when they can’t keep the ball in front and that help is more of a reaction than a scheme.
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 9, 2025
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Luka Doncic is 3-for-6 in the second half, and has all 9 of the Lakers’ points.
The rest of the Lakers are a combined 0-for-11 in the third quarter, including 0-for-7 from 3.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 9, 2025
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LeBron has uh gone at the Derrick White matchup
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 9, 2025
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