Expectations this season for the Los Angeles Lakers have skyrocketed, which tends to happen after acquiring a franchise player from a team that appears to be practicing self-sabotage. Since the trade for Luka Doncic, the Lakers have looked more formidable than they have since their conference finals run in 2023, compiling an eight-game win streak that included a convincing 23-point victory over the Denver Nuggets, who swept them out of those conference finals. But Saturday night in Boston delivered a bit of a heat check.
It'd be excessive to say that the Celtics embarrassed the Lakers. Boston only led by four at halftime. The third quarter was where it all turned: The visiting team got cold, and the C's built a 22-point lead during that frame by outshooting their opponents 29-13. The Celtics didn't trail at any point in the second half as they won, 111-101.
Down 87-67 to start the fourth quarter, the Lakers showed some fight. No, really. LeBron James hit a few shots, Doncic chipped in, and Dalton Knecht hit a three. Los Angeles narrowed the deficit to four points with 5:06 remaining in the game, and that was after James left the game with a groin injury, which looks like it'll keep him out for a week or two. Still, that was as close as they got to not losing. Doncic had 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting, but the Celtics' stars were too much. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 71 points, and issued a reminder that they're still the defending champs. At one point, Luke Kornet flushed a one-handed dunk. Devastating.
The Lakers' win streak has ended, their 40-year-old phenom is hurt, and the schedule is about to be a pain for a bit. After a Monday night visit to Brooklyn to face the slumping Nets, Los Angeles will play two games apiece against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets, all within a week. They also have a combined three games against the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, who are not that far behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Aside from James's injury, the Lakers have been missing Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, so there's a distinct lack of size on the available roster. That's not good when the upcoming objectives involve having to guard either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic, whose team will hopefully have learned from JJ Redick's scheming. The Lakers will need to get through this rough stretch and wait for the schedule to soften. They also have back-to-back road games against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder in April, but it's best to take one ordeal at a time.
