LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, while his teammate Payton Pritchard added 30 points with eight assists and the visiting Celtics continued their February surge with a 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston’s Derrick White scored 12 points with eight assists as the Celtics’ defense held the Lakers to 39.1% from the floor, while improving to 8-1 since Jan. 30. Boston shot 48.2% while opening 2-0 on a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams.
Neemias Queta had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics
Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 20 for the Lakers, who lost for the third time in their past five games. Austin Reaves had 15 points as the Los Angeles star trio fell to 8-4 when all three were on the court this season.
James, the NBA’s all-time points leader, moved past the 43,000-point mark in his record 23rd season.
The Lakers were held to their second lowest scoring game of the season behind an 88-point effort in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 20.
The Celtics led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter and never allowed the Lakers to make a run in the fourth. Boston pushed the lead to 94-79 after a step-back jumper from Brown with 6:58 left.
Brown capped an 8-0 run on a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 102-81 lead with 4:11 remaining. Pritchard sealed the victory on a 3-pointer with 3:24 left for a 105-83 victory that prompted the Lakers to remove their starters the rest of the way.
The Celtics took charge in the second quarter, turning a first-period tie into a 60-50 halftime lead on 52.4% shooting as Brown scored 13 points and Pritchard added 11. Doncic had 18 points in the first half for the Lakers, who shot 41.9% over the first two quarters.
Boston won the season series 2-0 that includes a 126-105 victory at home on Dec. 5. The Celtics are 6-2 against the Lakers since the 2022-23 season.
–Field Level Media