I had a weird feeling the Lakers were going to pull this off. Coming off a 42-point road blowout to the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers were in spirits so low Lil Jon & the Ying Yang Twins would've been proud. Everybody assumed LA was just going to get clobbered, and for a few minutes in the second quarter down 18, it looked like that'd be the case.
But LeBron James (28 pts, 12 reb, 12 assists, 3 steals, 11/21 FG), Kyle Kuzma (25 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 10/21 FG), KCP (17 pts, 6/11 FG), and game-winning shot heroics by Rajon Rondo (17 pts, 7 rebs, 10 assists) were the recipe for an upset win over the heavily favored Celtics in the Boston Garden. I'm just on Cloud 9 right now. I'm sick of losing to Boston. Thank you Lakers for giving me temporary relief.
Oh and a little fun fact about tonight? This game-winner comes on Isaiah Thomas' birthday. The same Isaiah that Danny Ainge traded after he ruined his hip playing hurt in the playoffs after his sister died days before.
Rhythm Of The Game
Things were pretty stiff for the Lakers coming out of the gate. Lots of guys standing around, not enough off-ball movement to make the Celtics break a sweat. Guys on both teams seemed to be shooting at about a 50% clip, but former Celtic Rajon Rondo's activity on the boards kept the Lakers in it in the early going, 10-13 Celts ahead.
After that first timeout, Boston played around with a 7-8 point lead as the bench units figured out how to attack the Celts. Lance Stephenson provided a spark with a couple three's, but compared to the Boston guys LA just didn't have enough people sharing and scoring. Everybody in a Celtics uniform had scored except for Marcus Morris. Still, the Lakers only sat in a six-point hole heading into the second quarter. LA had to tighten up their three-point defense or else they'd find themselves in a much bigger hole quick.
The second quarter began, which introduced us to that aforementioned hole right away after a flurry of Celtics threes for the fifteen point lead. Not only that, but the Celtics defense came to play. JaVale, LeBron, Brandon, and anyone who went into the paint got harassed by the Celtics interior D. Six minutes left in the quarter and the Lakers found themselves in an eighteen point hole, 35-53 in the blink of an eye. Were we going to see a repeat of what went down in Indiana? All I know is a repeat against the Celtics would be infinitely worse.
Things were looking bleak, but with about four minutes left LeBron really took control of the team in both scoring and facilitating. Finally, he was going LeBron Mode. He hit a DEEEEP three near the half-court Celtics logo followed by two flashy dishes to Lance and KCP for the two and three. The once-eighteen point lead was whittled down to nine, 52-61 with time still left in the second half. They almost cut it to five at the end, but when the second quarter shot clock made its final buzz, the Lakers had a nine-point hole on their hands, 57-66. LeBron and Lance Stephenson were the catalysts on offense with fourteen a piece.
The third quarter began, and a few quick Laker buckets gave us a four-point game. A couple lockdowns in the Celtic defense vaulted them ahead by nearly ten, but the Lakers came charging back to cut it to three with eight minutes left in the third, 67-70. Kyle Kuzma was just a force with the three, and with that weapon he tied up and took the lead for the Lakers! Everybody was getting into the three-point parade started by Kuz. Even when LeBron sat, the Lakers ship held course as they sat up by six heading into the fourth quarter, 99-93.
But just like the Lakers in the third, the C's went on a rousing run spurred by their bench to regain control. A three, a hustle play tip-in, and Daniel Theiss dunk were the ingredients for a 101-102 Celtics advantage with ten whole minutes to play. Luke Walton thought it was a good idea to rest LeBron and a bunch of starters, and we were witnessing how that worked out for him. I guess LeBron does need rest, but now was the time to return to action.
LeBron came back in but the Lakers just missing the same shots they were making ten minutes ago. Meanwhile, Scary Terry Rozier went haywire with a barrage of his own threes to give Boston some distance on the surging Lakers, 108-105. A pair of JaVale McGee free throws cut it down to two. The Lakers were not giving up in any way, shape or form. A Brandon Ingram free throw made it a one-point game with under two minutes to play. He had a chance to tie the game but he bricked the last free throw.
Under two minutes and Nervous Time was in full effect. The Lakers got a Kyle Kuzma running floater that juuuust rimmed out while the Celtics had Kyrie make some free throws, then broke the defense with a drive down the middle. He dished to a wide-open Marcus Morris - and he sank it! Celts up six with 1:30 to play. The game started to feel like a long shot for the Lakers...but they managed to tie it off two straight threes! Two shitshows of plays by KCP and LeBron.
Crunch Time
We were in the thick of it now. Crunch time at the Garden, Lakers vs. Celtics with a tie game. The Celtics inbounded the ball to Jayson Tatum on the very next play who got wrapped up with KCP. That sent Tatum to the line who hit both free throws to give the Celts a narrow two-point edge. Thirty-four seconds left to play, Laker ball. When the play commenced, Rajon Rondo almost didn't get it out of bounds! It got tipped then into the hands of KCP. KCP got the ball back to LeBron who drove and kick, followed by the next three guys who drove and kicked. Ball ended up in the hands of Kyle Kuzma for the three - SPLASH! Lakers up one with eighteen seconds left to play, Celtics ball 127-126.
And now we were here for the final sequence. Kyrie got the inbound ball and looped around the arc for a driving finger roll bucket, Celtics up one! All of the sudden, the Lakers inbounded without taking a timeout! They pushed the ball up the court and got it to Ingram who tried driving under the hoop - but he got blocked! Rondo picked it up for a desperate midrange shot with one second to play - AND HE FUCKING MADE IT!!!!! Lakers win against the Celtics in Boston Garden amidst all of the noise of the trade deadline 129-128!
Takeaways
Wow. I'm upset that I didn't gamble actual money on this game. The Lakers got the MUCH needed win over the Boston Celtics in their own building. Amazing games around the table from all of their key guys saw them pull off a hell of a chemistry-repairing win when the team's outcome seemed near-doomed.
What a shot by Rondo. He got a big ovation from the New England crowd and constant love all throughout the game in recognition for his contribution to the Celtics from 2006-2015. It's kind of poetic and bittersweet for Celtics fans that this miraculous game-winner was his parting gift to them. After he sank it everybody on the Lakers lifted him up Rudy-style in celebration of the gutsy win. The hugest of hat-tips to Rondo and everything that comes with him.
After coming off that embarrassing loss, another bad loss would've been a turning point for the worst in this Lakers season. But Rondo saved them. Let's not dilute the contributions of everyone else throughout the game though. LeBron got another effortless triple double as the captain of the Laker ship, while Kuzma shot out of his mind while being mired in a huge slump himself. He decided to grow his confidence back in the most hostile environment possible for the Laker player. Impressive task to undertake. Helluva a game from that kid.
Other shoutouts have to include Brandon Ingram and KCP. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope did an amazing job of keeping us in the second and third quarter with his marksmanship from three. Brandon Ingram had another quiet, but effective outing tonight. His scoring line was unsightly (11 pts, 4/14 FG), but he did dish out 7 assists while only giving up one turnover. Not to mention him and his lanky limbs played some admirable defense on Kyrie Irving (he shot 6/21 tonight, Ingram was part of that). His potential on defense and facilitation make him the intriguing piece he is. If only he can figure out how to utilize his scoring ability, he'd be the stud he was pegged to be.
Even if they didn't win, I would've been proud as hell of them for rallying to keep it close in the Garden. The big W in the competitive West makes it that much sweeter. We still have a goal in mind, and that's making the playoffs. Injuries to LeBron, Lonzo, Kuzma, and Rondo have prevented this team from becoming all it could be in terms of record. This is a minimum 4-5 seed when completely healthy and probably a 2-seed if they're playing supernaturally. They'll have a few days of rest before they travel to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at 12:30 PM PST / 3:30 PM EST.
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