The Boston Celtics now have an all time record of 204-161 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. Early on, things weren’t looking to good for Boston. However, this wasn’t reflected in the result, which is good for C’s fans.
Both sides were nearly back to full strength. LA had Anthony Davis return, and the Celtics had both Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown come back from injuries. The only player out was Robert Williams, who is still dealing with a hip injury.
The Lakers came out with a dart, scoring 8 points in seconds. Boston being down early is something we’ve all been used to lately, but Gordon Hayward energized them back to pace hitting a deep 3 for the first shot.
Now the whole story going into this game was that Kemba was 0-28 vs Lebron in his career. Let’s be honest, it would’ve taken Kemba his all and more back when he was a Hornet to beat any of those LeBron lead teams. Now with a team built around him for sure the streak would soon end, as Charles Barkley GUARANTEED pregame on TNT.
Takeaways from the game:
-5 C’s in double figures
-All active Celtics tonight scored
-Every Celtic had a Positive +/-
-C’s shot 47% from 3
-Biggest loss of the season for the Lakers (previous was 24)
-The 32 point win was the largest regular season win in the Rivalry since 1963, largest win over the “Lakeshow” since the historic ’08 Game 6 131-92 win in the Finals.
-Jaylen Dunked on Lebron (which is hard to do)
– Kanter dominated in the first half 15 minutes 18 pts 8/10 8 rebounds (6 offensive) *finished with 11 rebounds.
-Celtics are now 9-0 when Kanter records 10 + points and 10 + rebounds updated per @chrisgrenham
A lot of good responses after tonight’s big win from players and Coach Stevens that I enjoyed hearing:
Kemba Walker on Monday’s win: “We needed it. This is a really important game for us, and we treated it like it. … One of those games to help us realize how talented we are and how good we can be, and pretty much how bad we’ve really been playing.” Per; @chrisforsberg_
Kemba is asked if this is what this team could be.
“This is what we *should* be on a nightly basis.” Per; @AdamHimmelsbach
Jaylen Brown on his LeBron dunk: “I ain’t going to lie, it was pretty awesome.” Per; @BrianTRobb
Brad Stevens: “We didn’t overreact to losing the Phoenix game, we’re not going to overreact to winning this one.” Per; @BrianTRobb
Jayson Tatum called Jaylen Brown’s dunk on LeBron “a hell of a play.” He says he got LeBron better, though. Per; @chrisgrenham
Ultimately, the Celtics played hard throughout and showed what Celtic Pride is all about. Everyone stepped up, made big plays, and kept playing hard from the jump. This is the way the team should’ve been playing all season and the rotation used tonight will probably be a similar rotation you will see come playoffs. Jaylen is having a MIP type season and proving everyone wrong about his impact and development. Tatum is improving his game and transcending into a young star. Kemba is showing everyone that he is that leader Celtics needed. Gordon Hayward is looking more and more comfortable, with a huge bounce back game after a tough two games prior. The team is showing that (Captain) Smart mentality in fighting. This is the season they needed. Huge game and now we can say Kemba is undefeated as a Celtic vs Lebron, lets keep it that way! Keep the positives rollin’ and just go game from game not thinking too much. Next game Wednesday vs a tough young Memphis group. ☘️
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