The Los Angles Lakers turned in one of their best defensive performances this season and it helped lead to a 117-102 victory over the Jaylen Brown-less Boston Celtics on Tuesday at Staples Center.
The Celtics, who have now lost two of the three games on their Western Conference road trip, fell to 13-12 on the season. The Lakers, who entered the game allowing the second-most points to opponents, improved to 13-12.
You can check out the full box score here:
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Lakers had their way with the Celtics inside and benefitted from 17 points in transition (25 points off turnovers), despite a handful of Robert Williams highlights and a Jayson Tatum dunk over Russell Westbrook. LeBron James (13-for-19), Anthony Davis (7-for-13) and Westbrook (9-for-16) all were able to get some easy looks as the hosts scored 66 points in the paint while shooting 52% from the floor. It far-exceeded what Boston usually allows in the paint.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his game-high 34 points in the first half. The two-time All-Star shot 13-for-22 from the field (after making each of his first five shots) and added eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 34 minutes.
Celtics players not named Tatum didn't do much.
-- LeBron James did LeBron James things on Tuesday night. He started the game 7-for-9 from the field before concluding with a team-high 30 points on an efficient 13-for-19 from the field. James added five assists and four rebounds in the winning effort.
-- Westbrook took over the game in the third quarter scoring 14 of his 24 points in the frame and allowing the Lakers to build their lead to 20 points. LA hit seven consecutive shots during the third quarter with Westbrook's easy finishes helping that. He added 11 assists and three rebounds.
WAGER WATCH
Those who took the Over on Jayson Tatum's points prop must have been thrilled with how the game started as Tatum scored Boston's first 14 points of the game on 5-for-5 from the field. He turned that into 21 first-half points and surpassed his over/under 28.5 prop. A $110 bet would have made one bettor $100 richer, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will return to Staples Center on Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Clippers.
