Tonight served as a double gut punch for the Celtics (10-8 overall, 5-3 home) at TD Garden as they had two late shots that would have won it but neither fell as they lost 96-95 to the defending champion Lakers (15-6 overall, 11-2 road). Even worse than that, Boston's guard Marcus Smart (7 assists, 2 steals) went down with a scary looking injury that the team called a "left calf injury" but all the wannabe medical experts on social media were quick to theorize that it was a dreaded Achilles injury. Smart will get an MRI tomorrow as we await word on their defensive leader and one of the true heart and soul players of the team. After they forced a steal from Lakers star Anthony Davis (team-high 27 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals), the Celts got a great look at a game-winning stepback jumper for guard Kemba Walker (1-of-12 for 4 points) but it missed and center Daniel Theis' (14 points, 7 rebounds) rushed followup also rimmed out as time expired.
This would have been a great signature win for the Celtics because forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (28 points) actually outplayed Davis and superstar LeBron James (21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) who is still one of the best players in the league in his 17th season which is absurd on many levels. I'm not saying that Tatum and Brown are better than AD and LBJ, that's preposterous but this was tangible proof that they belong in the conversation for one of the best duos in the NBA right now. Point guard Dennis Schroder (12 points, 7 assists) was the only other Lakers starter to score in double-figures. Center Montrezl Harrell (16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and small forward Kyle Kuzma (11 points, 6 rebounds) were both good off the bench for LA.
Boston's bench was terrible as they got outscored 35-15 by LA's bench. Five substitutes played for the Celtics but center Robert Williams (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) surprisingly was the only one to really do anything positive. It was a tight game basically the whole way as the Lakers were up 28-24 after the first quarter and the Celtics got a little closer by halftime, trailing by three points (52-49). Boston made their move in the third quarter (29-19) but they wilted under the pressure of the fourth quarter as the Lakers avoided their third straight defeat with a solid final frame (25-17). Boston shot almost five percent better from the field (48.8%-44.0%) but Los Angeles hit three more 3-pointers (9-6) and four more free throws (13-9) along with grabbing three more rebounds (45-42) including four more offensive boards (13-9). The C's had four more assists (24-20), two more steals (10-8) and two more blocked shots (6-4) which shows you how close the margin for defeat turned out to be.
Boston is about to embark on by far their toughest (and longest) road trip of the season: their next game isn't until Tuesday (10, TNT) as they visit Golden State (11-9) which kicks off five games in a row in California, Arizona and Utah. They see the top two teams in the Western Conference-the Jazz (15-4) and the Clippers (15-5)-and Phoenix (10-8) should be a playoff team this season as well. The only bad team on the trip is the Kings (8-11) but it's the night after the Warriors game so all bets are off there. Any way you slice it, these next few weeks could be very rough for the Celts and they might easily return home (their next game at the Garden is Feb. 11 vs. Toronto) with a losing record. Yikes!
UPDATE 1/31/21: Hello everybody, good news on Marcus Smart's injury. Today, the Celtics said that it's a Grade 1 strain of his left calf. The team said that he'll be out for two to three weeks. Given how serious it appeared to be last night, this is a very positive development. Get well soon, Marcus!
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