Celtics beat the Lakers 113-107 behind 38 from Isaiah Thomas



The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers faced-off tonight with the all-time NBA win title on the line, and the C's were able to knock off their west coast rivals 113-107 behind 38 points from Isaiah Thomas and some superb defense from Marcus Smart. The Celtics and Lakers were locked up with 3,252 wins a piece heading into today. The C's were in control for most of the game, and a late game Lakers surge was held of by Isaiah's 17 points in the 4th to close out the game.

Lou Williams led the Lakers with 21 points, and D'Angelo Russell had a solid line of 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, but Russell shot only 2 for 9 from three. Larry Nance Jr had himself a nice night with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds as well.

The game started like a track meet, but both teams settled in midway through the first quarter. Terry Rozier buried a wide-open three at the buzzer to bring the Celtics with 1 at the end of the 1st (30-29):


Smart was the burst of energy off the bench the Celtics needed on the defensive end, and he helped set the tone. He managed 5 steals on his own and although he didn't have his best shooting night (3-10, 9 points) he dished out 7 assists. After the Celtics took the lead early in the 2nd behind another Rozier bucket they never gave it back. They headed into the break up 62-51 behind this ridiculous Isaiah drive and finish:


The Celtics continued to play tough defense in the 3rd quarter and built themselves a 17 point lead with 3:24 to go in the frame, but a 11-2 run to close it out by the Lakers put them within striking distance heading into the 4th.

Unfortunately for them the King in the Fourth isn't on their team. Isaiah dropped 17 points himself in the 4th (somehow that's his LOWEST total of the week) and was able to fend of the Lake Show. The C's managed to hang with the Lakers on the boards for most of the game, but there was one sequence late in the game where they gave up three offensive rebounds on one play - luckily for them LA missed 4 consecutive threes on that same exchange.

All in all a solid performance for a lot of Celtics. Besides Thomas and Smart, Jae Crowder had another solid night with 18 points and Al Horford had a near triple double with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Celtics welcome Paul Pierce home for the final time Sunday afternoon as they take on the Clippers in a matinee before the Super Bowl. Tipoff is at 2pm.


Photo Credit - Celtics.com

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