In their first meeting back on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Jan. 20, the Boston Celtics dominated their archrivals from Hollywood in the Los Angeles Lakers. In their second tilt in the “City of Angels” the Lakers came with a much better effort and thanks to a last second fadeaway in the closing seconds got the better in another classic between these two championship organizations where a lot was learned about the two squads.
Thanks to a fadeaway jumper over the Celtics Jaylen Brown with 30 seconds left, four-time Kia MVP and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James put the Lakers (43-12) ahead 111-110 and would prevail over the Celtics (39-17) 114-112 on Sunday afternoon.
For James it was his first go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter/overtime this season to help the Lakers earn their fifth straight win overall and their third consecutive home win.
“Coach (Frank Vogel) drew up a play to try to get me in that spot and I was able to get a catch,” James, who had 29 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists versus the Celtics said of that eventual game-winning to ESPN/ABC’s Lisa Salters after the win. “You know Jaylen Brown had been playing me towards the baseline because I’ve been drop stepping all game. So, I knew if I just gave him a little shimmy shake to the baseline, I can come back middle and get my shot off and through the grace of God and a lot of hard work I was able to knock it down.”
In their first meeting, where the Celtics blew out the Lakers 139-107 on Jan. 20, James and six-time All-Star Anthony Davis combined for 24 points, 11 rebounds on 8 for 19 from the field, with James having 13 assists.
In the win on Sunday, James and Davis brought their A+ games with what James putting up the aforementioned numbers he did and Davis leading the way with 32 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks on 10 for 25 shooting, including 3 for 5 from three-point range and 9 for 12 from the charity stripe.
“Every game is its own challenge, and we knew it was going to be a playoff type of atmosphere today,” James, who went 9 for 19 from the field, including 4 for 10 from three-point range said postgame at his locker to reporters. “One because of the rivalry. Two because of how well they played against us in Boston. They beat the hell out of us there. And then three just on the simple fact just two teams that have aspirations of holding that trophy at the end of the season.”
For the Lakers to be that team holding that trophy at the conclusion of this season, they will need Davis to perform at the level he did today as the seven-time All-Star registered his 10th game with at least 30 points on this season, which is the most since the late Kobe Bryant did that for the Lakers in the 2007-08 season, where they made it to The Finals and lost to the Celtics and Kevin Garnett, who was on hand to watch the game, Pierce, Ray Allen and former Celtic, now Laker guard Rajon Rondo in six games. Davis also had his sixth consecutive game of at least 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.
Davis really came throw down the stretch as his third three-point make of the game put the Lakers ahead 108-105 with 2:10 left to play making two free throws with 12.3 seconds left in the regulation and adding another with 6.7 seconds left that put the Lakers up 114-112.
“We know how big this rivalry is,” Davis said to reporters at his locker postgame. “It goes way back, way before some of us was even born. So, we wanted to make sure that we came in here and get the win, especially after the way they beat us in Boston.”
The Celtics had two chances in the closing seconds, but down by one (111-110), Brown pass to Jayson Tatum, who felt he was fouled on a push by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went out of bounds, counting as a turnover. Head Coach Brad Stevens contesting the called was issued a technical foul.
After a missed free throw by Davis, the Celtics final possession to try to tie the score with 06.7 seconds left ended in a turnover on an offensive foul when Tatum was called for a push-off attempting to create space for a last second shot against Caldwell-Pope.
It was a rough finish for Tatum, who had a brilliant game with a career-high tying 41 points on 12 for 20 shooting, including 4 for 7 from three-point range and 13 for 15 from the free throw line.
The third-year pro out of Duke University had 18 points in the second quarter and 18 points in the third quarter, but just four points in the fourth period, and just six points over the final 18 minutes as he was guarded for much of that time by Caldwell-Pope.
“We tried to send another body at him,” James said to Salters about the game plan to slow down Tatum. “He was killing it in the iso-game tonight, getting to his step back threes, getting into the lane. Making all his free throws. So just trying to change up a little, different coverages and allowed us to get back into the game in the fourth.”
“You know, I know what I’m capable of, and you know, my teammates know that,” Tatum said post game. “We know what each and every guy can do in here but we just want to win at the end of the day.”
To put into perspective what Tatum did on Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, the now 21-year-old, who will turn 22 in March became the youngest player in the storied Celtics/Lakers rivalry to score at least 40 points, surpassing former Celtic, now ESPN/ABC studio analyst Paul Pierce, who scored 40 in a game against the Lakers at age 23. Two Laker greats in “The Logo” in Hall of Famer Jerry West and Hall of Famer to be in the late Kobe Bryant each scored 40 points against the C’s at ages 23 and 24 respectably.
“It was a step in the right direction,” the first-time All-Star said of his stellar performance against James and Davis. “I definitely looked up to those guys and know how great they are individually, so just trying to earn the respect of the guys I look up to.”
It was not enough against the dynamic duo of James and Davis, who had their 15th game of each scoring at least 25 points each, which is the most by a Lakers duo since Bryant and Hall of Famer and current NBATV/NBA on TNT studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal did it 29 times in 2002-03. The Lakers are 13-2 so far this season when that occurs.
What this game also showed up close is the value of having a supporting cast around your star players.
The Lakers in the victory over the Celtics got 43 points from their bench, with Kyle Kuzma scoring 16 of those points, while reserve center in eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard had 10 points and seven rebounds.
That said, the Lakers did add more depth to their reserves with the announcement about 90 minutes after the game that they signed forward Markieff Morris, after he was bought out of his contract by the Detroit Pistons on Friday after they waived injured four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
While the Celtics got from the rest of the starting five alongside Tatum in 20 points, six rebounds and three steals from Brown; 16 points and nine boards from Daniel Theis; 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals from Marcus Smart and 10 points and nine rebounds from Gordon Hayward, they only got 11 points from their reserves of Grant Williams, Brad Wanamaker and Romeo Langford.
That in full effect symbolizes the absence of All-Star guard Kemba Walker, who missed his second straight game with left knee soreness. The Celtics are now 7-3 without Walker in the lineup so far this season.
“It was about who wanted it more,” Davis said. “With or without Kemba, they’re a tough team. They’ve proven they can win without him. To play a team like that in a playoff atmosphere is something you want. We just stayed with it. We know how big this rivalry is.”
Also, the Celtics were outrebounded by the Lakers 59-52, including 11-8 on the offensive glass, with the Lakers winning the battle in second chance points 18-8.
The Lakers also dominated the Celtics in the paint outscoring them 54-44 and scored 20 points off 17 turnovers by the visitors from “Beantown.”
The Celtics and Lakers has been not just one of the best rivalries in the National Basketball Association but one of the best and timeless in professional sports. That is especially the case when both teams are playing at a high level and have a legitimate chance to compete for the championship, which is the case this season.
James told Salters during his postgame interview how six-time Kia MVP and six-time NBA champion with the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks came to the Lakers practice facility on Saturday where he talked about the rivalry itself between the Lakers and Celtics, and how important it is for the current Lakers led by James and Davis to appreciate being a part of it and establishing their own legacy in it.
“Being a Laker, playing against the Celtics. Seeing all the battles they had all the way since the (19)50s to now, it’s just an honor for me personally to be in a Laker uniform playing against a historical franchise like the Celtics and being with a historical franchise like the Lakers.”
The rivalry took on a very special meeting on Sunday because the second meeting of this season between the Celtics and Lakers occurred just 24 hours before the public funeral service for the late Kobe Bryant, who tragically passed away along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles early Sunday morning Jan. 26 West Coast time.
At the game on Sunday, the legendary 11-time champion with the Celtics Bill Russell was in attendance at Staples Center wearing a Bryant No. 24 jersey.
“I mean, that’s the respect,” James said to Salters about that great gesture done by Mr. Russell. “At the end of the day, we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna battle. We’re gonna test each other. We’re gonna cuss each other out, while we in battle. But at the end of the day, when you respect your opponent, and you give your all that you can, the respect is mutual.”
“And to see Bill Russell giving respect to Kobe, we would do exactly the same on this side. So, it’s a beautiful afternoon. A beautiful Sunday afternoon.”
Last month, the Boston Celtics blew the Los Angeles Lakers out in the first tilt between the two franchises that have won 17 and 16 Larry O’Brien trophies respectively. In the second tilt, the Lakers led by Anthony Davis and LeBron James outlasted the gritty C’s, who got a stellar carrier-high tying performance from previously mentioned first-time All-Star Jayson Tatum.
They finished their two-game season-series at 1-1 and the only hope is that they meet again in the NBA Finals for the 14th time this June.
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 2/23/2020 3:30 p.m. “Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers” on NBA on ABC Sunday Showcase, presented by Mtn. Dew with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Lisa Salters; https://www/nba.com/games/20200223/BOSLAL/#/matchup/boxscore/recap; https://www.espn.com/nba/teamstats/boxscore/recap?gameid=401161484; 2/24/2020 12:30 a.m. ESPN news crawl and “Sportscenter” with Michael Eaves and John Anderson; and 2/24/2020 1 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Chris Miles, Rex Chapman, and Stan Van Gundy.
No comments:
Post a Comment