The best rivalry in basketball did not disappoint on Wednesday night in the Celtics’ 122-118 overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics got off to a fast start and built up a 15-point first half lead behind 24 points from Jayson Tatum. They would eventually lead by 20 at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter, but would suffer a major collapse, as the Lakers went on a 45-12 run over the next 14:28 to take a 13-point lead.
Over the course of the dominant Lakers run, the Celtics turned the ball over nine times and shot 4-of-22 (18.2%) from the field and 0-of-9 from deep. It was the ugliest stretch of basketball we’ve seen from the Celtics this season, as the Lakers dominated them on both sides of the court.
But Boston wouldn’t quit. Despite playing in their sixth game in 10 days, the Celtics dug deep and pulled off a resilient comeback, as Boston would go on a 17-4 run in the final 3:40 to force overtime.
It was Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart that fueled the run for the Celtics. They each scored seven points in the final 3:40 on a perfect 5-of-5 combined shooting, as they accounted for all but one basket for the Celtics down the stretch. The lone bucket not scored by Tatum or Smart was a Grant Williams three that was assisted by Tatum.
It was Tatum who came up with the big shot for the Celtics to tie the game right in the face of LeBron James with 17.1 seconds remaining, further adding to his MVP candidacy.
The Celtics were 0-3 in overtime entering Wednesday night, but they would not be denied after their late fourth-quarter surge. In what was a game of runs all night long, the Celtics would go on a 12-0 run in overtime, capped off by a Jaylen Brown dagger to deliver the knockout punch.
It was clear Boston had tired legs at the end of the game, and with the bench unit struggling, it was their three-headed monster that stepped up led by Tatum. They say the stars come out in LA, and Tatum sure didn’t disappoint.
Tatum dropped 44 points in 44 minutes, and finished with a game-high plus-minus of +12. Tatum also had six assists, which was tied for the team lead, as he displayed why he should be the MVP front-runner on national TV.
Although they blew a 20-point lead, this may have been the most encouraging win of the season. The Celtics have had plenty of impressive wins, but this feels like one of the first times in the young season the Celtics have faced some serious adversity, and they answered the call.
On the last game of a six-game road trip, against a hated rival in LA, and having blown a lead, the Celtics showed no quit.
When walking off the court postgame, Tatum said, “That shows the true character of our team. That was a big win, I’m proud of these guys”.
Boston closes out the West Coast trip 4-2 and advances to 6-0 on the second night of a back-to-back this season. Boston will now kick-off a seven-game homestand beginning Friday night against Orlando.