Fans willing to pay the exorbitant ticket prices were treated to one heck of a basketball game Saturday night at TD Garden.
In a matchup that was both the latest entry in the NBA’s greatest rivalry and a possible NBA Finals preview, the Celtics defeated LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers 111-101 amid a playoff atmosphere on Causeway Street.
Jayson Tatum played 45 of the 48 minutes and finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block. Jaylen Brown played 42 and scored 31. Al Horford was excellent across his 37 minutes, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. Derrick White made two winning plays late to help Boston withstand a furious fourth-quarter comeback from the Lakers, who’ve been one of the league’s toughest outs since swinging a blockbuster trade for Doncic in early February.
Doncic scored 34 points against an aggressive Celtics defense in his first visit to Boston since last season’s Finals. James had 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists but suffered a groin injury that sidelined him for the final six-plus minutes, during which LA’s comeback bid stalled out.
The Celtics and Lakers entered the game ranked second in their respective conferences. Nosebleed seats in the Garden’s upper deck were selling for north of $500 on the secondary market.
The Celtics, who were playing without starting center Kristaps Porzingis (illness) for the fifth straight game, sought to attack the paint in the opening minutes with frequent drives against Lakers guard Austin Reaves. But their paint touches were disjointed, and LA — also down its top center with Jaxson Hayes out with a knee contusion — built an early 14-6 lead.
After Joe Mazzulla called his first timeout, the Celtics pivoted their approach and unlocked their offense. Their next five possessions: 3-pointer by Tatum, 3-pointer by Brown, foul-line jumper by Jrue Holiday, 3-pointer by Horford, 3-pointer by White.
Boston also used swarming defense to stymie Doncic. Brown, Payton Pritchard and Horford all picked the former Mavericks star’s pocket during a single two-minute span, leading to three fast-break buckets at the other end. On the second, Horford threw down a transition dunk and then leveled a trailing Doncic with a knee to the face while he swung from the rim.
Doncic had six such giveaways in the game, and the Celtics scored off four of them.
Tatum ended a highly entertaining first quarter with back-to-back threes to tie the game at 33-33. He and Brown both played the entire quarter — a departure from Mazzulla’s usual personnel strategy — and combined for 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Both teams’ offensive efficiency dipped in the second quarter. The Celtics missed eight consecutive 3-point attempts, and the Lakers had a four-and-a-half-minute stretch with just one made field goal. But Boston caught fire shortly before halftime, scoring on six of their final eight first-half possessions to take a 58-54 lead.
Tatum provided the last two of those makes, drilling a three and then flying down the court for a buzzer-beating fast-break dunk after Horford forced a James miss with tight interior defense.
During that Celtics flurry, Brown was called for his third foul when his elbow struck Doncic’s jaw on a short jumper in the lane. The call incensed Brown, who had to be restrained by Celtics staffers while he pleaded his case. His anger earned him a technical foul, but his gripe was valid. The Celtics successfully challenged the ruling, wiping out Brown’s foul and counting his basket.
The first half alone featured nine lead changes and five ties. The third quarter belonged to Boston.
Beginning shortly after Brown’s overturned foul, the Celtics launched into a 29-4 run that broke the game open. They scored 19 of the first 21 points after halftime, with all five Celtics starters contributing at least two. Holiday shot his basket (a midrange jumper from 13 feet) with his left hand, compensating for the mallet finger injury to his right pinky that kept him out of the previous four games.
Defensively, Boston was downright dominant in the third quarter, holding LA to just 13 points on 21.7% shooting. The Celtics registered six steals/blocks in the frame while the Lakers made just five field goals. Horford had two of those steals and was a difference-maker at both ends for Boston. The 38-year-old also narrowly missed what would have been his grandest highlight of the season, lofting a 63-foot buzzer-beating heave that clanged off the rim.
The Celtics took an 87-67 lead into the fourth quarter, then faced a fierce Lakers charge. LA staged a 16-2 run — interrupted only by a powerful alley-oop slam by Luke Kornet — to make it a seven-point game with seven minutes remaining. Two Doncic foul shots cut it to 96-92 with 5:06 to play.
White then drew a foul on a corner three and made all three free throws. Doncic responded by banking in a 3-pointer at the other end, only for Brown to answer in kind with a three of his own that made it 102-95. After the Lakers came up empty on their next two trips, White corralled an offensive rebound, and the ball found its way to Tatum, who buried a three to put Boston up 10.
The Celtics held that lead for the final 2:30 to lock down the win.
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