In this world of inter-league play, jersey exchanges and business relationships, there is something that still hits different when the Lakers come to Boston.
It is the ticket above all tickets. The yellow uniforms - no matter what the records or date on the calendar - offer a different vibe. The monotony of the NBA season is immediately put on pause.
All of that was put on display Friday night at TD Garden.
Through all the ups and downs and discomfort that has come with the beginning of this Celtics season, this 130-108 win over Los Angeles made all right with the world for at least a little bit. For whatever reason, that's how much these once-a-season get-togethers mean.
For starters, the Celtics' star (Jayson Tatum) was better than the Lakers' star (LeBron James). Other than the end result, that's always one of the most coveted feathers in the host's hat. It was when Larry Bird went against Magic Johnson. It was when Paul Piece battled Kobe Bryant. And it is with these two.
In this case it was Tatum coming away with 37 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. James wasn't exactly a slouch, coming back from his eight-game hiatus to score 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting. But he wasn't the man. That title belonged to the Celtics' star.
"When I made my first All-Star game and I was in the locker room with LeBron, KD (Kevin Durant), (James) Harden, Kawhi (Leonard), I think that was the first time in my career that I felt like I belonged in the room," Tatum said (per Celtics.com). "Obviously those guys have accomplished so much more and have played longer and things like that, but I was in the locker room with them, I was on that team. And I think ever since then, I've taken that approach of, I belong in that locker room from now on. Whether anybody else believes it, I always tell myself when I get on the floor that I'm the best player."
It also helps when the storylines don't begin and end with the final score.
Former Laker Dennis Schroder, who reportedly turned down a lucrative deal with the Lakers before landing with his one-year Celtics contract, added much-needed scoring punch (21 points) with Jaylen Brown still sidelined. And he did it while barking at the Los Angeles bench along the way.
And for the most boisterous crowd of the season - which included Paul Pierce and Bill Russell - there was the always welcome satisfaction of its lunch-pail team getting the better of the glitz and glam that came with the likes of James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
There were flat-out times where it appeared unfair that the Celtics' chief scoring options had to be Marcus Smart and Josh Richardson. But through grit, guile and actual basket-making, it worked, with Smart going 9-for-13 from the field and Richardson chipping in with 15 points.
It's very unlikely these two teams will be repeating this get-together on Causeway St. again this season, with the NBA Finals meeting sitting with a less-than-one-percent chance.
No matter. There is always this one game to look forward to. It was a night Ime Udoka's team - and those who bleed green and white - could hang their hats on.
