Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points to help the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers earn a 114-105 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Reaves was 10 of 18 from the field, and made 7 of his 10 3-point attempts. Boston was within six points early in the fourth, but failed to get any closer after that.
D’Angelo Russell had 16 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 52.8 percent (19 of 36) from 3-point territory. Jaxson Hayes added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom were downgraded from questionable to out after participating in Thursday’s shootaround. James had soreness in his left ankle, and Davis missed his second consecutive game with bilateral Achilles tendinopathy. Los Angeles was playing its third game in four nights.
Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 23 points for the Celtics, who received 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots from Kristaps Porzingis. Boston’s Sam Hauser made five 3-pointers and also finished with 17 points. Al Horford led Boston with nine rebounds.
The loss dropped Boston’s home record to 22-3.
The Lakers had a 28-17 lead with 1:02 left in the opening quarter, but the Celtics finished the quarter on an 8-0 run and trailed 28-25 after 12 minutes. Boston committed nine turnovers in the quarter.
Boston grabbed a one-point lead on a Payton Pritchard jumper with 10:17 left in the second, but the Lakers scored the next 10 points to go up 41-32. Los Angeles closed the half with an 11-2 spurt and led 60-46 at halftime.
The Lakers shot 40 percent from the field in the first half (22 of 55), but made 13 of its 25 3-point attempts.
Los Angeles stretched its lead to 16 points in the third quarter, and had an 88-78 advantage entering the fourth.
It was the second game between the Lakers and Celtics this season. Boston won the first matchup 136-115 on Dec. 25.
–Field Level Media