New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Celtics - Game 25

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Celtics- Game 25

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (13-12)  |  Boston Celtics (13-12)

 

The Los Angeles Lakers exacted revenge on their longtime rival Celtics following a dominant middle part of the game in a 117-102 win.

 

The Lakers welcomed the Celtics to Staples Center for round two of the renewed rivalry for this season. With talks ramping up about a potential coaching change on the horizon, Los Angeles needed to get back to their winning ways to protect head coach Frank Vogel’s job with the organization. DeAndre Jordan and Rajon Rondo were not in uniform due to a coach’s decision.

The game began with Jayson Tatum scoring the first 14 Celtics points, not missing any of his first five shots in the process. His run helped Boston pull out to an early six-point lead. Halfway through the quarter, Los Angeles trailed by eight until LeBron James hit a three and a two-point jumper in back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to three. Josh Richardson answered with a driving layup on the ensuing Celtics possession.

Malik Monk made his presence known following a forced turnover as he turned it into a throwdown through the rim. James scored five more points after a Robert Williams III alley-oop dunk to give the Lakers their first lead since they led 6-5 early on. Richardson and Russell Westbrook traded two-point conversions, but Boston regained the lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a Richardson three-pointer. The Celtics held a slim 33-31 lead after one quarter concluded.

The second quarter started with Carmelo Anthony tying the game with a jumper, and the Lakers broke the tie with a Wayne Ellington three-point shot. Marcus Smart kept the Celtics close four minutes in as a driving layup cut the Laker lead to one. After Tatum tied the game with a free throw, Anthony hit a long jumper to break the tie. Avery Bradley added to the lead with a three to make it a five-point game.

Boston fought back once more after two successful Dennis Schroder free throws. Tatum cut the lead to one with a dunk while Al Horford hit a mid-range jumper to put the Celtics up by one. Anthony Davis began making a little noise late in the second quarter as a two-point shot in the paint tied the game at 49, while Monk untied the game with a three. Westbrook converted a layup with a second to spare at the end of the quarter.

 

A stronger second quarter propelled the Lakers to a 60-55 lead as the halftime break arrived.

 

Three minutes into the third quarter, Davis added two more points in the paint while James made a layup to put the Lakers up by nine. Halfway into the quarter, the lead swelled to 13 thanks to a Westbrook three-pointer that got the crowd on their feet. Later in the quarter, Westbrook got another two points on the board to make it a 16-point lead.

In the quarter, Los Angeles led by as many as 19 until Smart stopped the bleeding with a three-point play. Then, Aaron Nesmith added a layup to cut the lead to 14. The quarter’s final score went to Davis as the Lakers ended it with a 16-point lead outscoring the Celtics 31-20 in the period.

James got the fourth quarter started with a layup to extend the lead to 18. The lead increased to 20 less than two minutes into the quarter after Ellington hit another shot from downtown. Payton Pritchard and Tatum followed a Dwight Howard tip-in with back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 14. The Lakers undid the run with 5:15 left in the game as James laid a shot in and Monk turned a steal into a jam on the other side.

In the final 2:30, the Celtics attempted a late run, with Nesmith scoring five straight points in 27 seconds and Pritchard sinking a three to cut the lead to 10. However, the Lakers were too much as Monk hit a three in the final 45 seconds for some insurance points. At the final buzzer, the Lakers took the victory over the Celtics by a score of 117-102.

The Lakers dominated the second and third quarters while seeing five players score in double figures. James led the team with 30 points, followed by a 24-point and 11-rebound double-double from Westbrook. Davis had a tamer outing with a 17-point and 16-rebound double-double, while Talen Horton-Tucker snuck through with 12 points, and Monk finished with 10 points on 66.7% shooting off the bench.

The Celtics had four players score in double digits, led by Tatum with 34 points, followed by Williams III with 13 points. Richardson had 11 points off the bench while Schroder struggled against his former team with just 10 points.

 

The Lakers will hit the road for their next game as they travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Thursday December 9th. The game will begin at 5:00 and can be seen live on Spectrum SportsNet.

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– Matt Dobbs – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Matt on Twitter @RecordBowlerFSM

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