Star-less Lakers steal win in Boston
Who needs stars? Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Lakers went toe to toe against the NBA’s best-record team and stole the win in Boston, beating the Celtics 113–106 on Thursday night.
The Lakers much-needed win improves their record back to .500 (25–25) to snap a two-game skid.
“All these guys really stepped up and played for one another. It was a balanced effort,” head coach Darvin Ham said.
The Lakers needed someone to step up their scoring in the absence of their two stars — And Austin Reaves did just that, answering the call with a season-high 32 points on a career-high seven made threes.
“Any time you don’t have those two, it’s going to have to be a team effort; you’re going to have to come together and just grind,” Reaves said on being without LeBron and Davis. “We’re all talented players, and this is an opportunity to show the world what you can do.”
This is the third 30-point game Reaves has had in his career.
The energy was high from start to finish for Los Angeles, limiting their turnovers to seven while shooting at a high percentage from three on 19-for-36 (52.8%) shooting as a team from deep.
The win was sparked by a starting unit that combined for 85 points and a 15-point bench outing from Rui Hachimura.
D’Angelo Russell (16 points) was more of a facilitator in the win, with a season-high 14 assists and eight rebounds.
Jaxson Hayes (16 points, 10 rebounds) was instrumental in controlling the paint.
“We all knew we didn’t have the Big Two today, so we all just said we have to step up our game and lock in a little more,” Hayes said.
Hayes had infectious energy throughout the night with a couple of spark plays, starting with an alley-oop dunk over Celtics Kristaps Porziņģis and another play relentlessly tipping the ball, fighting for the rebound to get the and-one put-back.
A scary moment raised concern surrounding Jarred Vanderbilt after suffering a non-contact injury on a loose ball at the end of the second quarter. Vanderbilt would go on to miss the remainder of the game.
After the game, the Lakers reported that Vanderbilt’s x-rays were negative.
In 16 minutes played in the first half, Vanderbilt finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
The Lakers will play their fourth game of a current six-game road trip on Saturday at Madison Square Garden against the 31–17 New York Knicks at 5:30 p.m.
