The Los Angeles Lakers stand five games above .500 at the midway point of their schedule, and a pivotal stretch of six straight road games is right around the corner.
That makes Thursday night’s nationally televised home game against the Boston Celtics feel even bigger.
The Lakers will attempt to deliver a big effort against the defending NBA champions, who are playing the third contest of a four-game road trip. Boston knocked off the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday after opening the trip with Monday’s 125-85 win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Celtics dropped four of seven games before the two West Coast wins.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were sputtering with four losses in six games before taking advantage of the NBA-worst Washington Wizards for a 111-88 victory on Tuesday night. The 23-point margin of victory is Los Angeles’ largest of the season.
Lakers coach JJ Redick was impressed with the effort.
“It just starts with a very professional approach from our team,” he said. “That was one of our more complete games, regardless of what time of season it was or who the opponent was. Like, we just had a really professional approach.”
Anthony Davis contributed 29 points and 16 rebounds while LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his ninth triple-double of the season and 121st of his career.
James, who recently criticized the make-up of the Lakers’ roster, found everything to his liking against Washington.
“We went out, we had a game plan, we executed that,” James said. “I thought defensively, we were great. We were in tune with what they wanted to do, what they tried to do. And offensively, we shared the ball, limited our turnovers. We were really good.”
Austin Reaves has averaged 15 points over the last two games since scoring a career-high 38 in Friday’s 102-101 home win over the Brooklyn Nets. The big outing is the only time he has scored more than 16 over the past six games.
James (foot) and Davis (calf) continue to deal with injuries, but both are listed as probable for the Boston game.
On Wednesday night, the Celtics were pushed hard by a Clippers squad that didn’t suit up Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and others. Boston eventually survived in the overtime.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wasn’t thrilled with questions that suggested his club struggled against essentially a team of backups.
“I think the question would be, ‘Why would people think it would be an easy game?'” Mazzulla said.
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Derrick White had 20 points for Boston. Sam Hauser (five), Tatum (four) and White (four) combined for 13 of the Celtics’ 19 3-point baskets.
Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Al Horford (toe) sat out for the Celtics. All three will likely be available against the Lakers.
Seldom-used backup Jaden Springer made a solid contribution with season highs of 20 minutes, eight points and four steals. He knocked down two 3-pointers, including one with 34.4 seconds left in overtime that gave Boston a five-point lead.
“It felt great,” Springer said. “JT trusted me and swung the ball, (I) knocked it down, and everybody went crazy. It was a great feeling.”
The Lakers and Celtics are meeting for the first of two times this season. They split two matchups last season.
–Field Level Media
