My how things have changed in a little over a week for the Celtics (30-26 overall, 13-16 away). They polished off a perfect West Coast road trip with a fun 121-113 victory tonight at the Staples Center against the Lakers (34-22 overall, 16-12 home). Sure this win will have two very large asterisks attached to it since two of the best players in the NBA-LeBron James and Anthony Davis-were sitting in street clothes by LA's bench area but when it comes to this rivalry, who cares who is suiting up? It always matters when these teams meet, regardless of records or rosters. Boston was led by shooting guard Jaylen Brown (game-high 40 points, 9 rebounds) who had one of his best games as a pro, shooting an absurd 17-of-20 from the floor in 32 minutes. The Celtics return home tied with Atlanta (30-26) for fourth-place in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of sixth-place New York (29-27) and most importantly, 1.5 games ahead of seventh-place Miami (28-27) and out of the play-in round.
All of Boston's starters scored at least 12 points; guard Marcus Smart had 15 points and six rebounds, swingman Jayson Tatum (5 rebounds, 5 assists) and center Tristan Thompson (6 rebounds, 5 assists) both notched 14 points while point guard Kemba Walker added 12 points and seven assists. Rookie guard Payton Pritchard also put together his best performance in weeks with 15 points and seven rebounds in 20 impressive minutes off the bench. All you need to know about the scrubs that the Lakers rolled out this evening was that something called Talen Horton-Tucker (19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) was their best player, followed closely by the ghost of Marc Gasol (18 points). For once, LA head coach Frank Vogel had to work but what could he really do? Scrap heap guard Ben McLeMore added 17 points off the bench, small forward Kyle Kuzma struggled to get 13 points, center Montrezl Harrell (12 points, 8 rebounds) and small forward Alfonzo McKinnie (10 points) were the other Lakers reserves to score in double figures.
The Celts reached 30+ points in every quarter: they were up 31-23 after the first quarter and 61-48 at halftime. LA took the third quarter (31-30) by the narrowest of margins and they outscored Boston 34-30 in the fourth quarter but that was all window dressing, it was never really in doubt for the visitors who led by as much as 27 points. Thanks to Brown's NBA Jam like outing, Boston shot almost 12% better than the Lakers from the field (56.5%-44.9%). Boston hit two more 3-pointers (14-12) and grabbed 12 more rebounds overall (48-36) including 16 defensive boards (41-25!) which led to 14 more points in the paint (64-50). The Celtics also had five more assists (33-28) and three times as many blocks (6-2) as the Lakers.
Boston returns home for three important games starting with a primetime matchup with the Warriors (28-28 overall, 11-18 away) on Saturday night (8:30, ABC). Then they host Daniel Theis and the Bulls (22-32 overall, 12-15 away) on Monday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston), I can't wait for his tribute video! Chicago's star guard Zach LaVine went into the league's health and safety protocol earlier today so don't expect to see him for that matchup. Finally, the Celtics take on the Suns (40-15 overall, 17-7 away)-one of the NBA's biggest surprises this season-on Thursday (7, NBC Sports Boston). Steph Curry is liable to drop 50 points on their head but with the way that the C's are playing now, they should take care of Golden State and Chicago setting up a juicy rematch with Phoenix who beat them 100-91 on Super Bowl Sunday in the desert.
UPDATE 4/16/21: The Celts signed former No. 2 pick Jabari Parker to a two-year deal and to make room on the roster, they waived center Mo Wagner.
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