LOS ANGELES — It was the latest entry in a storied rivalry. Los Angeles Lakers legends flooded Crypto.com Arena on Sunday evening, all there to celebrate legendary coach Pat Riley, who was honored with a statue outside the arena.
But the Boston Celtics wanted to play spoiler. Riley made a career of battling the Celtics. First, in Los Angeles, and then as a member of the Miami Heat. So, it was fitting that on his day in Los Angeles, the Celtics were in town.
Early on, it was a back-and-forth affair. Despite his inefficient numbers, Jaylen Brown was seeing the defense, reading LA's pressure, and making some nice passes. Derrick White did the same as Boston's ball movement gave them an edge over the iso-heavy Lakers.
But isolation works with the right players leading the way. And Luka Doncic and LeBron James made their mark. A steady dose of tough shot-making kept LA in the game for the entirety of the first half, even though the Celtics slowly began to pull away.
Things got chippy in the second quarter. Jarred Vanderbilt fouled Nikola Vucevic, then stared him down. Doncic hit a three over Hugo Gonzalez and stared at him (though that one was seemingly light-hearted, as they share the Real Madrid connection). And then came the techs.
Brown drove on Marcus Smart, and the Lakers believed that Smart caught an elbow to the face. But the refs called it a defensive foul. Austin Reaves and Smart both picked up techs on the play.
Later in the quarter, the refs missed a goaltend call on Neemias Queta, and the refs were not happy. Brown ran the floor and got himself to the free-throw line.
JJ Redick got a tech in the third quarter, too. Needless to say, the Lakers weren't very happy with the officiating on Sunday evening. And Boston took advantage of that.
The Celtics out-hustled LA in every aspect of the game. They beat them on the offensive glass, hustled for loose balls, and were unbelievably physical on the defensive end. Everybody wearing green was a man on a mission on Sunday night.
Gonzalez and Scheierman led the charge. They stuck Doncic and James, constantly doing everything possible to make them uncomfortable. And the rest of the Celtics followed suit. Even Brown got in on the action, checking Doncic whenever he got the chance.
Payton Pritchard exploded in the third quarter. He only had eight points, but they were loud eight points. He hit two threes. After the first, a contested triple over Smart, he mean-mugged Boston's bench. After the second, he skipped back down the court. Confidence was flowing through his veins. And he carried that confidence into the fourth.
By the time the final frame came around, Boston was