Celtics top Lakers in 139-107 thrashing
C’s quiet concerns with signature win over Lakers
The Boston Celtics were in need of a signature win.
They needed to prove to folks that their impressive first half of the 2019-20 season was not a mirage. They needed to show that they will indeed be a factor once May rolls around and they aren’t just a team that can win 50-plus games only to fade away into dust once the the postseason arrives.
Monday night presented that opportunity with a nationally televised Martin Luther King Jr. Day contest against the rival Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden. The Lakers made their only trip to the Garden fully equipped with the best record in the Western Conference, the second-best record in the NBA, and superstars Lebron James and Anthony Davis.
The Celtics responded to the moment with a playoff-worthy effort in front of a sellout crowd and walked away with the signature victory that they were so desperately in need of. In fact, signature isn’t a strong enough word, as the C’s rolled to a 139107 win.
This was an absolute drubbing. It was the Celtics at their very best against a short-list NBA favorite that was at full strength. It was a sign that Boston’s best would be good enough to win an NBA title, although, of course, it would have to be packaged consistently into a seven-game series.
But that’s months away. Let’s keep the focus on the now, and
in the now the Celtics and their fans needed this morale boost. Prior to Monday, they had lost three straight and six of their last eight games. They had dropped from the No. 2 spot in the East to the No. 4 spot and didn’t have a lot of breathing room from the No. 6 spot. Green Teamers were experiencing an unsettling blend of worry and doubt.
Then Monday night righted the ship. Five players scored in double-figures, led by Jayson Tatum’s game-high 27 points (10-for-18, 5-for-8 from deep). Six players had at least three assists. Boston’s two big offseason acquisitions showed up in a huge way. Point guard Kemba Walker had 20 points (8-for-13) and seven assists in 30 minutes. Center Enes Kanter had 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
The Celtics dominated the glass (48-36) and made 16-of-34 3-pointers. Perhaps most impressive of all was the C’s defense shutting down the mighty Lakers. James, who earlier in the day was in Springfield watching his son Bronny play in the
Hoophall Classic, had a relatively quiet 15 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. Davis got into early foul trouble and finished with just nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes. Old friend Rajon Rondo gave LA 13 off the bench and played well, because, well, that’s what he does when a game is on national TV. But the Lake Show was essentially a noshow.
Credit the Celtics for that. The C’s had allowed 116 or more points in their three previous games. But they committed themselves to locking down an explosive Lakers squad.
Boston won each quarter. It led 69-55 at the half and by as many as 34. Jaylen Brown (20 points, six assists, four rebounds) flushed an emphatic twohanded dunk right over James to put the C’s up 8163 with 8:29 left. Brown stared down James after putting him on a poster as if to say “this one is all over.” And it was.
The Celtics have had some impressive wins this season — Oct. 30 over Milwaukee, Dec. 6 over Denver, Dec. 18 at Dallas and Christmas Day at Toronto. A 32-point victory over the Lakers, their most lopsided loss of the season, ranks in a class by itself.
It was needed.