LOS ANGELES — The Celtics finished off their trip to Los Angeles on an ugly note, getting dominated for the better part of 48 minutes in a 117-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in their worst loss of the season.
The hosts took control of the game late I the first quarter with a 10-2 run to build a double-digit lead and did not look back from there. The Celtics fell behind by as many as 21 points in the first half in a dismal offensive shooting from the team’s supporting cast.
Bostonshowed some signs of life at the start of the second half with a 14-7 run from the starters, trimming the deficit to 12 points. Boston’s offense fell flat again from there, going scoreless for a 4:34 stretch late in the third quarter that allowed the Lakers to push their lead back up to 19 points.
Boston got no closer than 15 points the rest of the way as the Lakers led by as many as 27 points in the rout.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Celtics with a team-high 22 points in the setback but only three Boston players scored in double figures. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 24 points while LeBron James added a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The uninspired showing comes for Boston at the end of their toughest schedule stretch of the season with Thursday’s loss marking their fifth game in seven nights.
Boston will look to close out their trip with a 3-1 record on Saturday afternoon as head to Dallas for an NBA Finals rematch.
Here are four Celtics takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown get no help early: A pair of Boston’s stars brought their offensive game for a heavyweight tilt with the Lakers? The rest of the rotation not so much. Porzingis and Brown combined for 29 points in the first half on 59 percent shooting. However, the rest of Boston’s lineup was largely a no show as the rest of the team combined to make just five baskets in the first half. That group collectively shot 5-of-24 from the field (20.8 percent) which led to Boston’s worst offensive half on the road trip and their biggest halftime deficit of the season at 19 points. Coming against one of the worst defenses in the NBA this year, it was a dismal showing. Things did not get much better in the second half as Boston’s bench managed just 35 points all night with most of those coming during garbage time.
Celtics defense looks a step slow: The Lakers got to their spots at will early on in this one with LeBron James and Anthony Davis taking turns feasting against rematches. The drive-and-kick game was alive and well for the Lakers as once Boston sent help, the hosts made them pay with the Lakers shooting a scorching hot 55 percent from 3-point range in the first half with no makes coming from James or Davis. Instead, it was the supporting cast that beat Boston from deep with Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Max Christie and Dalton Knecht all hitting multiple 3s. The hot shooting slowed for the Lakers in the second half from the perimeter but they still managed to find easy offense in the paint and on the offensive glass. A lack of physicality from Boston was notable all night and the Lakers took advantage.
No energy on the glass: The Lakers are one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA but they dominated Boston on the glass in this one. They grabbed offensive rebounds on 41 percent of their misses in the first half. Meanwhile, the Celtics showed no real commitment to crashing, grabbing just five offensive rebounds in the first half despite showing a paltry 39 percent from the field. A brutal stretch of the schedule (five games in seven nights) could be responsible for some of the lackluster effort but this is an area that’s going in the wrong direction for this team over the past month off uneven play.
Starting backcourt remains out of sync: Derrick White and Jrue Holiday combine to make nearly $55 million this year but they managed to just six combined points in 44 minutes. The duo shot a dismal 2-of-11 from the field with a few missed layups mixed. Holiday has scored in double figures in just three of his last nine games while White has shot above 42 percent in only one of his last nine games. There are many reasons for Boston’s uneven play over the past month but the inconsistent play from this duo is moving up the list. Whether it’s burnout from the Olympics or something else, the team needs to get these two back in sync to avoid getting out of their .500 rut for the past month.
