Lakers fans watch Celtics thrash team
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles fans took advantage of relaxed rules on attending sporting events on Thursday with a limited number of spectators allowed into Staples Center for the first time in over a year to watch the Boston Celtics beat their Lakers 121-113.
Thursday night was the first time that NBA fans were allowed to watch a game in person at Staples Center since March 10, 2020, when the Lakers lost 104-102 to the Brooklyn Nets.
Health officials in Los Angeles County recently relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, clearing the way for about 2,000 people to pass through the turnstiles.
The first of the lucky few that managed to snag tickets began arriving outside the arena in downtown Los Angeles a couple of hours prior to tip-off.
That included season ticket holder Timothy Ferguson who said he was tired of watching games on TV.
“There’s nothing like live. I mean we watch it on our wide-screen at home but there’s nothing like live,” Ferguson said.
Unfortunately, the 1,915 fans didn’t have much to cheer about as Boston rolled to a one-sided victory.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown finished with 40 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Celtics who roared out to a 14-2 lead in the first quarter and stretched their lead to 27 points at one stage of the fourth quarter.
At Atlanta, Jrue Holiday scored 23 points, Brook Lopez 19 points and 12 rebounds and Milwaukee slowed the surging Hawks to earn their third straight win with a 120-109 victory.
A balanced scoring effort, with seven Bucks finishing in double figures, powered Milwaukee to a lead they held almost the entire night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a six-game absence caused by a knee injury to score 15 points, almost 14 fewer than his season average.
At Phoenix, Deandre Ayton scored 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting and collected 11 rebounds to lead the red-hot Suns to a 122-114 victory over Sacramento.
Devin Booker added 23 points as Phoenix won their fourth straight contest and 14th in their past 16 games.
At Cleveland, Stephen Curry once again led Golden State, scoring 33 points to help the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 119-101 for their fourth straight win.
Curry recorded his ninth consecutive game with 30-plus points. He also finished with five assists, four rebounds and two blocks.