Four Studs, One Dud As Celtics Best Lakers In Primetime Bout

The Boston Celtics hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in a star-studded new edition of the NBA’s classic rivalry Saturday night at TD Garden.

Boston improved to 46-18 with a 111-101 win while Los Angeles fell to 40-22.

The Celtics and Lakers delivered for the fans in the first half as stars threw counterpunch after counterpunch in a tight game filled with dramatic runs for each side. That narrative changed in the second half when Boston, still without Kristaps Porzingis, suffocated the Lakers on the defensive end of the floor and stayed on schedule in the scoring departments. Boston used the third quarter to turn a four-point halftime lead into a 20-point dominating advantage.

Los Angeles reset the momentum with a strong opening to the fourth quarter that cut Boston’s lead to one possession. In the closing minutes of the game, Boston’s stars finished the job, with LeBron James departing with a groin injury.

Not every Western Conference home matchup deserves or needs the title of an NBA Finals preview. Saturday night saw plenty of flashes as to why a potential 13th meeting between the Celtics and Lakers with a championship on the line.

Here are four studs and one dud from Boston’s win:

STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum had 13 points through the first quarter. He got downhill to the rim and shot well from the outside to get the Celtics in rhythm from the floor. Tatum turned in quality defense with a big block in Boston’s game-changing third quarter that buried the Lakers and their stars.

Tatum closed the night with 40 points for the fourth time this season.

Al Horford
The veteran Celtics center had a full plate early Saturday night with Porzingis still out with an illness. The Lakers targeted him early to jump out to a significant lead. But Horford found a way to knock down a quick three-pointer and upped his intensity on shot contests.

The Boston big man quickly flipped the script on a poor start to recharge the identity of the defense on the night.

Jaylen Brown
The Celtics relied on Brown to lead without Tatum on the floor during second-quarter minutes. Brown embraced the physicality of the matchup and won repeatedly against various Lakers coverages.

He backed up Horford’s tenacity, slowed the Lakers with a personal scoring surge in the final quarter, and forced transition opportunities for the Celtics, along with a 31-point effort.

Boston’s on-ball pressure
The Celtics allowed points early when Los Angeles played with pace. After a first-quarter timeout, Boston bought back in with defensive pride and stood up to the Lakers’ cast. Horford and Brown particularly excelled in a night-long blitz against Doncic and truly imposed their will to demoralize Los Angeles.

Boston later held Los Angeles without a successful field goal attempt through the opening half of the third quarter.

DUD
Luka Doncic
Yes, the former Dallas Maverick led the Lakers with 34 points Saturday and did so through visible back pain on the ABC broadcast. He also posted a minus-19 point differential at TD Garden, the same building he lost in the NBA Finals last June to the Celtics.

The Celtics consistently pressured the flustered star and forced him into five turnovers. LeBron James’ latest All-Star partner-in-crime got picked apart by a feisty Boston scheme and simply better intensity from multiple Celtics defenders.

His fourth-quarter efforts were commendable, but he opened the door in the middle quarters