The Boston Celtics survived disaster Tuesday night, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 122-118, in overtime at Crypto.com Arena.
The Celtics improved to 22-7 on the year, while the Lakers dropped to 11-16.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics looked like their season was going to hit a new low Tuesday. Then, they completely turned things around and reminded everyone why they have the NBA’s best record.
After holding an 84-65 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Boston gave up a 31-5 Los Angeles run, allowing one of the worst teams in the NBA to completely flip the script and put them in a 106-93 hole with four minutes remaining. Then they started chipping away.
Grant Williams would hit a three. Jayson Tatum went to the line and converted an and-one. Tatum and Marcus Smart combined to nail a couple of shots from beyond the arc. Then, came the shot of the game from Tatum.
Down two with under 30 seconds remaining, Tatum went one-on-one with LeBron James, backing him into the paint and hitting a beautiful turnaround jumper to send the game to overtime.
In OT, the Celtics’ young duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown took over to put the game away. A 29-10 run by Boston essentially ended the game, as Los Angeles’ veterans were gassed. A tough win for a team trying to prove they have championship DNA, though it never should have been close.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Tatum was as clutch as could be for Boston, hitting the huge shot to force OT and lead the Celtics to victory. He finished with 44 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
— James can still turn the dial up to 11 when he needs to. The all-time great put together one of his strongest performances of the season, finishing with 33 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one block.
— Anthony Davis recorded yet another double-double, grabbing 12 boards to go along with 37 points. He also recorded a block and a steal.
WAGER WATCH
Brown’s total steals prop is becoming free money for bettors. DraftKings Sportsbook set his steals total at 1.5, giving him -115 odds of surpassing the number. He finished with three, meaning a $100 bet would have netted a total payout of $186.96.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will return home for the first time in two weeks to take on the Orlando Magic on Friday at TD Garden. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
