LOS ANGELES — The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is one of the greatest in sports. From the moment the doors to the Crypto.com arena opened, its weight could be felt. The media presence at the arena exceeded that of a high-profile playoff game, not a regular season game in January. Every seat in the building was filled.
And, Lakers head coach JJ Redick shared his perspective on participating in the deep-rooted rivalry.
“The preparation, approach, mentality — none of that changes,” Redick said pregame. “I think it’s more just the feeling of gratitude that you get to participate in this rivalry, which goes back a long, long time, and you get to be part of this current generation of players and coaches.”
But, all the hype of the match-up quickly wore off as the Celtics fell behind by 11 in the first quarter and were never able to cut it to single-digits the rest of the way.
Whether it was tired legs from playing less than 24 hours after an overtime win against the Clippers, or another inexplicable lackluster effort, Boston was outplayed in nearly every aspect of the game. Anthony Davis led the way with 24 points, Austin Reaves added 23, and LeBron James finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Lakers largely forced the Celtics into difficult two-point shots rather than open threes, and the Celtics shot just 38.5% on the night.
“We had a gameplan, and we executed it,” said LeBron James. “For the majority of the 48 minutes, we executed it against a great team — the defending champions, great players, and they’re going to put you in situations that are uncomfortable, but you’re going to have to be uncomfortable in order to compete.”
Here are five observations from a disappointing Thursday night at Crypto.
Celtics largely attribute poor performance to themselves, not the Lakers
Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis both acknowledged after the game that it didn’t help that the Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back — while also noting they simply didn’t have it on Friday.
“You can give them credit, but I just think we came out flat, we kind of looked tired,” Brown said. “Maybe you could say from the game from last night going into overtime carried over, but on both sides of the floor, they just had more energy than us. We tried to ramp it in the third quarter, but it just wasn’t there tonight.”
Porzingis, who didn’t play on Wednesday against the Clippers, pointed to the team’s overall low energy from the opening minutes.
“They were really efficient, and we didn’t have our best game, to put it into simple words,” Porzingis said. “We played a little bit low energy in the first half. Second half, I felt like we came out better, but they already had a good lead and I think there was one good moment we had where we could’ve made it to seven or nine [points]. Missed the free throws, and then again, they went on a little run and it slipped out of our hands, so it was not a good night for us and a good night for them.”
Jaylen Brown reveals an ankle injury is impacting his play
Brown told reporters he rolled his ankle in the Atlanta game on Jan. 18, and re-injured that ankle on Wednesday night against the Clippers. He finished the game with 17 points on just 7-19 shooting (and 0-3 from the free throw line) and noted afterward that the ankle was bothering him.
“It was alright — I’m still trying to get my burst, my explosion back,” Brown said when asked about the injury. “Didn’t finish a lot of baskets around the rim because it’s messing with me a little bit, but it will get there.”
He emphasized his disappointment with his finishes around the rim twice in his postgame media availability.
“I missed a lot of baskets around the rim,” Brown said. “My team needs me to make those. I gotta be able to produce for my team.”
In all, Brown is having the most inefficient season of his career, through 45 games. He’s averaging 23 points per game — the same as last season — but is shooting 45.1% from the field and 32.6% from three, both career lows. He’s dealt with a slew of injuries this season — a shoulder strain, a hip strain, an ankle sprain — but it’s not clear how much of his shooting struggles can be attributed to not being at his best physically.
Kristaps Porzingis increasingly looks and feels like himself — it just hasn’t translated into sustained winning
Porzingis was responsible for the best individual performance by any Celtic, finishing the game with 22 points on 9-16 shooting alongside 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.
But, although he had it going, the Lakers were happy to live with the results of his scoring.
“I thought that was one of, if not our best, games in terms of executing our defensive gameplan,” Redick said. “Not overreacting to Porzingis making a few turnaround jumpers. Like I said pregame, you have to be willing to live with stuff.”
Brown was encouraged by Porzingis’s offensive flow, but acknowledged that everything needed to come together for the Celtics.
“KP’s been taking advantage of his match-ups,” Brown said. “He’s been a lot more efficient in his post-ups. We try to get him going, I’m always trying to look for him. KP’s been playing well, he’s been hitting shots, he’s been guarding the rim. Him coming back is good for us, we just gotta put it all together and get ready to peak at the right time.”
Porzingis said he’s feeling more like himself — and that he’s confident that the Celtics will be fine. That’s been his consistent messaging this season, sans the Raptors loss that saw him express more disappointment.
“I just feel it,” he said. “I feel how we are. I’m getting into my rhythm and we’re finding a rhythm as a team. There’s nights like this that, of course, happen. It happened last year. It’s happening this year a little bit more, but I don’t think we’re too far off of where we need to be. We just need to keep our head down, keep working and I believe we’ll peak at the right moment.”
Brown said the same.
“I’m not concerned, but it’s a part of navigating the year,” Brown said. “Anything can happen, we just need to finish through All-Star break strong, and then get ready to gear up going into towards playoffs — continue to stay with it, stay with it, stay the course, because I feel like we still the best team out there, we just gotta put it all together.”
Jayson Tatum talks being voted into the All-Star game
Earlier Thursday, the NBA announced Jayson Tatum as one of five Eastern Conference All-Star starters. It’s the third straight year Tatum has earned the honor — and fifth start overall.
“It means a lot,” Tatum said after the loss to the Lakers. “Being an All-Star is a hell of an accomplishment. Being a starter — just knowing that the fans support you and appreciate you and want to see you out there — it is just something I dreamed about as a kid. Six All-Star [appearances] at 26 is something that I do not take for granted.”
Jayson Tatum finished 2nd in player voting, 2nd in fan voting, and tied for 1st in media voting among East forwards.
Jaylen Brown finished 6th in player voting, 5th in fan voting, and tied for 5th in media voting among East forwards. pic.twitter.com/0iq9vfbD4O
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) January 24, 2025
Joe Mazzulla acknowledged pregame how Tatum balances individual accolades with a desire to play winning basketball.
“He stays hungry on getting better,” Mazzulla said. “He listens to it, he believes it, but he doesn’t let it distract him from what’s the most important thing — and it’s continuing to get better and winning championships and being a great teammate. And so, those things are important, those affirmations — because that’s what the guys work hard for. But you just have an understanding of what the bigger picture is, but that those things play a part in that.”
Brown, asked about Tatum’s play postgame, said his co-star was performing at a high level.
“Jayson’s been playing great this year,” Brown said. “He’s been shooting the ball well, I think that was an emphasis for him going into the year.”
A confident Jaden Springer in garbage time
Jaden Springer, fresh off his best performance as a Celtic on Wednesday night against the Clippers, was effective in his fourth-quarter minutes. He posted 10 points on 4-5 shooting in 9 minutes, and hit both of his three-point attempts. With the Celtics back at full health against the Lakers, Springer didn’t get any run in the first three quarters, but seemed to build off his rhythm from Wednesday night into productive minutes Thursday.
