Celtics cruise over Lakers 126-105 to win fourth straight game



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The Celtics dominated the Lakers for all 48 minutes in a 126-105 victory to win their fourth straight game and 9 of their last 11. Without LeBron James and Luka Dončić, the Lakers struggled to hit shots all night and had no answers for Boston's potent offense. 

The Celtics quickly jumped out to a 39-17 lead in the first quarter, playing some of their most efficient offense of the season. From the field and from three, they shot 63% and assisted on 13 of their 14 made field goals. 

Without Luka Dončić, and LeBron James, the Celtics would hound Austin Reaves and the rest of the offense, holding them to just 17 points on just 23% shooting from the floor. Jordan Walsh in particular was giving Austin Reaves problems, picking him up full court and not giving him any easy shots, holding him to 0/5 shooting in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, the Lakers would keep themselves in the game with free throws, shooting 15 to just 14 field goal attempts. The Celtics would continue playing efficient offense, scoring 30 points on 46% from the floor and 43% from three, assisting on 9 of their 11 made shots to take a 69-46 halftime lead. 

Jaylen Brown would take over in the third quarter, scoring 15 of the Celtics 28 points. Austin Reaves would match him, scoring 16 of the Lakers 36 points. The Celtics would continue to give the Lakers easy points, committing 6 turnovers and 6 fouls, which led to 8 free throw attempts. The lead was now down to 15 at 97-82 heading into the fourth. 

After a few minutes, it was clear the Celtics were going to take this one, extending the lead to 23 with 6:38 left to play before L.A. put in their bench unit for the rest of the game.  The Celtics would go on to win the quarter 29-23, giving them a dominant 126-105 win over their biggest rival to win their fourth straight game. 

The good

The entire offense was on fire for the second night in a row, with 6 players scoring in double digits and shooting at least 45% from the floor. One night after they had 35 assists, they followed it up with a 31-assist performance. The ball was flying around all game, and the Lakers could not keep up, giving the Celtics a ton of easy shots inside the paint and beyond the arc. 

Jaylen Brown scored 30 points for the fifth time in six games, along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. His patience and decision-making have taken huge leaps throughout the years, and it was evident again tonight, passing up good shots for better ones but still being aggressive when he needed to. 

Derrick White scored 19 points on 50% from the floor and from three and has now shot over 50% from the floor in four of his last 5 games. On top of his efficient shooting, he also grabbed 5 rebounds, with two being offensive rebounds, and dished out 6 assists. It is too early to say, but this was another highly encouraging game from White, who is slowly getting back to his old self. 

After having a career game, scoring 24 points on 8/8 shooting, Jordan Walsh followed it up with a 17-point game on 6/7 shooting and 4/5 from three, along with the best defense he's played all season. 

Walsh was picking up Austin Reaves all 24 seconds the entire first half, making his life hell, picking up a steal and two blocks for the game. On offense, he was bailing the Celtics out with multiple last-second catch-and-shoot threes and hitting tough shots at the rim. 

Payton Pritchard bounced back after shooting under 40% in his last two games with 15 points and 6 assists. Pritchard was patient in finding his shot while finding the open shooter over and over, particularly in the first half, to help mount the big lead. 

The bad 

The only thing the Celtics did not excel in was fouling, committing 20 personal fouls, which led to 29 free throws for the Lakers. In particular, they could not stop fouling Austin Reaves, putting him at the line for 17 free throw attempts. 

Across the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the Lakers had their two best offensive quarters, largely due to free throws, with 20 of their 65 points coming at the line. This has been a problem for the Celtics all season, and they got away with it against the Lakers, but it still kept the game in the balance longer than it should have. 

Conclusion 

The Celtics are one of the hottest teams in the NBA at the moment, winning 9 of their last 11 games, including their current 4-game win streak, and have won their last two games by a combined 66 points. 

The ball movement has been excellent, Derrick White is finding his stride, and Jordan Walsh has completely changed the offense and defense. The Celtics will fly to Toronto to face the third-seeded Raptors in a Sunday afternoon game. They will have a chance to climb even higher in the standings and solidify themselves as a true threat in the Eastern Conference. 

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