Frank Vogel explains how Lakers improved defensively in win vs. Celtics

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel liked what he saw from the team on the defensive end after beating the Boston Celtics.

The Los Angeles Lakers secured a big win Tuesday against the Boston Celtics thanks to LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and the defense.

Both teams were neck-and-neck at the half, but the Lakers dominated in the third quarter on both ends of the court, outscoring the Celtics, 31-20.

Los Angeles won by 15 points, 117-102, and showed a glimpse of what the team is capable of when things are clicking.

The Lakers’ defense, in particular, deserves credit for stepping up. Besides Jayson Tatum’s 34 points and Robert Williams throwing down alley-oops, no one made a sizeable impact against L.A.’s improved defense.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel analyzed how his squad performed.

“Yeah, much better than it’s been,” Vogel said. “We learn about our group a little bit every game. We make our adjustments, and our group has a great way of talking things out and having group intelligence. Our coaching staff really evaluates what we’re doing on a game-by-game basis, and we’re very proud of the defensive performance tonight.”

Vogel noted how the Celtics came into the game with the No. 2 offense in the league over the past 10 games, but the Lakers held their rivals to 102 points.

He explained the nuances behind the defensive performance.

“We limited the 3-point line. … We rebounded the ball better, and we contained the ball better,” Vogel said. “We had a much stronger presence in our gaps, which are the guys behind the guy on the ball. We had a strong emphasis to double-team less, to put more onus on the man guarding the ball to man up and guard his own.

“If our help is in place and early and we’re talking, you give the guy on the ball confidence to pressure up. We had a lot of good sequences with Russell, with Talen (Horton-Tucker), with Avery (Bradley). Those guys were gaining confidence because of the help behind them.”

With five of the next six games on the road, this is how the Lakers need to play every night to build a winning streak and climb the standings in the Western Conference. It helped to have the Big 3 playing minutes together.

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