LeBron James hit an important go-ahead jumper with 25 seconds left and Anthony Davis sealed the game with a pair of free throws to help the Los Angeles Lakers escape with a 114-112 win on Sunday afternoon against the Boston Celtics. Boston’s Jayson Tatum finished with a game-high 41 points but he was called for an offensive foul on Boston’s final offensive possession as he tried to hit a shot to win the game or send it into overtime.
Although the Lakers ran out to a big lead early on, the Celtics were never far behind and helped create a game where they stayed on L.A.’s hip all night long. L.A.’s largest lead was 11, while Boston took a brief 7-point lead in the third quarter as Jayson Tatum caught fire in the second and third quarters, scoring 35 points before the fourth quarter had even started. For most of the night, Tatum was the best player on the floor.
Although Anthony Davis is one of the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year, the Lakers’ decision to switch him onto Tatum worked out well for Boston. Tatum did an excellent job of mixing up his drives and jump shots, getting to the line 15 times to lead everyone in the game.
In addition to the two stars, Kyle Kuzma provided a strong boost off the bench by scoring 16 points and being a part of the Lakers closing lineup against a very versatile Boston group.
Davis hit a huge 3-pointer with just over two minutes left in the game to give L.A. a 108-105 lead. Gordon Hayward answered with a mid-range jumper to make it 108-107. Davis then missed a layup on the ensuing possession which led to Jaylen Brown 3-pointer to put Boston up 110-108 with 1:17 left. An exchange of empty possessions led to James being fouled on a lay-up attempt, but he missed the second free-throw leaving the Lakers down 110-109. However, the loose ball on the rebound was deemed to go off of Boston and gave the Lakers one more chance.
Brad Stevens also got called for a technical 15.5 seconds left, although Davis missed the free-throw. Davis then hit two free-throws on the next Lakers possession to give them a 113-110 lead. A loose ball foul on LeBron gave the Celtics two free-throws to cut the lead to 113-112.
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