What a crime thriller in Boston! The Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 in overtime, but benefited from a blatant wrong decision by the referees. This made the strong LeBron James furious, and the Lakers made too many mistakes in overtime.
Boston Celtics (36-15) – Los Angeles Lakers (23-27) 125:121 OT (BOXSCORE)
James defended himself with 41 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists with only 2 ball losses, sinking 15 of his 30 shots from the field and was also hot at times from a distance (6/12 three-pointers). Patrick Beverley contributed 15 points, Dennis Schröder 13 (0/5 threes). Anthony Davis put on a double-double from the bench (16, 10 rebounds, 6/15 FG), Russell Westbrook largely disappointed (12, 4/14 FG).
The Lakers were particularly disappointed by the performance of the referees, who made several bad decisions. This was particularly bitter: With an equal score, they overlooked a clear foul against LeBron in the final seconds of regular time. Instead of a Lakers victory, it was called overtime, which Jaylen Brown dominated.
The Celtics guard scored 11 of his 37 points in overtime, with Malcolm Brogdon providing strong support from the bench (26, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals). Jayson Tatum didn’t get into his rhythm for a long time, but still ended the game with 30 points (8/25 FG) and 11 rebounds. Boston secured a much-needed win after three straight losses.
The Lakers relied on the same starting five from previous games, so Davis came off the bench again. Boston, on the other hand, was without Robert Williams (ankle) and Marcus Smart was also still missing. Initially, the Celtics’ offensive engine stuttered a bit while LeBron marked 10 of the first 19 Lakers points. However, things weren’t going well with the bench in LA either – Westbrook in particular had problems against the deeply sinking defense – which Boston took advantage of with a 7-0 run. 28:27 for the home side after the first 12 minutes.
The start of the second period belonged to the Celtics, but Boston went four and a half minutes without a point of their own. A total of nine threes went wide before Grant Williams hit again from the corner. Boston only hit 30 percent of his shots from the field, and Tatum (8, 2/9 FG) had not yet arrived in the game – 54:48 Lakers at halftime.
Ref controversy and wild finish: Lakers lose
The Celtics actually came out of the break better, but that didn’t last long. An 11-0 run thanks to several LeBron triples put the guests from Hollywood back a little distance. After all, Tatum now found new life, Boston had turned the game again in no time. Tatum scored 15 points in this round, but a fast break dunk by Rui Hachimura after a perfect AD pass put the score at 81:81 just before the buzzer.
While Brown conceded his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, it was again LeBron from the parking lot who gave the Lakers a slight advantage. Tatum, on the other hand, missed opportunities again and Schröder brought LA away to +7 with two nice plays. But Boston stayed tuned. Horford shortened from downtown, the Lakers now acted too statically offensively, Brogdon defended well against AD with the help of his teammates. The guard put Boston back in front with the next three three minutes before the end – and LeBron answered directly again from a distance.
The crunch time was in no way inferior to the rest of the game in terms of intensity. Beverley punished a double against LeBron in the last minute, Brogdon equalized from the free-throw line. And then again Beverly, but how! AD failed at the end of a bad Lakers possession with a three before the guard came flying in and with 19 seconds to go hammered the putback through the trap.
Boston went for a quick finish, but Brown put his open three-pointer to the ring. The rebound landed at Beverley, who only sunk one of his two free throws. It just got wilder: Horford set a corner three on the top of the backboard at -3, Brown grabbed the rebound, put the ball in and got the foul. By and-one, the game was balanced again 4 seconds before the end. James pulled to the basket on the last attack, misplaced the layup, but was furious that the foul whistle didn’t come. In fact, it was a clear foul by Tatum. But it went into overtime.
Overtime started with a free throw, as Beverley got a technical foul – he wanted the referee use a photographer’s camera to show the foul in the previous scene. Now Brown took over the game, an and-one followed by a triple for +6. Westbrook, who didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter, but was now on the court for Schröder, shortened again with a putback, and LeBron also kept his team in the game. But Boston did not let the victory be taken away. Mistakes in the Lakers’ sloppy switching game or weak offensive possessions were mercilessly punished, Brown sank more important throws and Brogdon stayed safely off the line.
NBA: Die Stats-Leader bei Celtics vs. Lakers
| Category | Celtics | Lakers |
| Points | Jaylen Brown (37) | LeBron James (41) |
| Rebounds | Jayson Tatum (11) | Anthony Davis (10) |
| Assists | Tatum, Brogdon (you 4) | LeBron James (8) |
| Steals | Tatum, Brogdon (you 2) | Patrick Beverley (2) |
| Blocks | Al Horford (3) | – |
