The greatest rivalry in NBA history continued on Christmas Day when the Boston Celtics visited the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers came in with a 16-14 record and in need of wins in bunches, while Boston had won seven of its last eight contests and had scored over 140 points in each of its last two games.
The Celtics scored the first 12 points of the game before the Lakers seemingly blinked. Boston led 32-14 before the Lakers scored nine unanswered points to come to within 11, 32-23, at the end of the first quarter. Los Angeles tied the score with just over two minutes left in the second quarter and trailed by just one at halftime.
Boston regained control of the game after halftime by outscoring the home team 41-33 in the third quarter and going up 99-90 heading into the final period. It led by as many as 15 down the stretch and claimed a 126-115 win.
While the Lakers outshot Boston 40.6% to 31% on 3-pointers, Boston had the edge in free throws, fast-break points, points in the paint and second-chance points. It just seemed the men in green had more players who could do damage offensively, even though L.A. has arguably more depth overall.
With a 16-15 record, L.A. is in ninth place in the Western Conference, and the championship hopes they had to start the season are starting to fade.