Celtics win in overtime action after Lakers comeback

LOS ANGELES – Another exciting chapter in the long and storied history of the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics was written on Tuesday night.

The Celtics won 122-118 in overtime in a game where Boston seemed to have no losing business — and then no business winning after a wild comeback by Los Angeles.

Boston, led by Jason Tatum’s 44 points, outscored Los Angeles 12-8 in the extra period to seal the win.

“This game says a lot about our experience and our mental toughness,” said Jaylen Brown, who added five of his 25 points in overtime. “This is a challenging and perfect way to end our road trip.”

The Lakers trailed the Celtics by as much as 20 points in the third quarter, but used an 18-0 lead at the end of the third period to start the fourth to take control, leading by as many as 13 points with 4:25 remaining. in regulation.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” said LeBron James. “We didn’t finish it. But we loved our effort. She loved our perseverance in the second half and put ourselves in a position to win a game of ball against a great team.”

Los Angeles seemingly had a shot at the win with Anthony Davis on the line with 28 seconds left and a two-point lead, but Davis—who was 11-for-13 on free throws on the night at the time—missed both. .

“I didn’t think about the rest of the game,” Davies said after the loss. “Make two free throws, go up for four, different ball game. For me, the rest doesn’t matter. I had a chance to freeze on the game and I lost both.”

Faults set up a tow hitch by Tatum with 17.1 seconds remaining. Los Angeles then worked around the clock to get James a potential winner at the buzzer, but his 3-point attempt fell short.

Much like the Lakers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers last week, when Los Angeles beat a furious comeback to force overtime only to collapse in the extra session, the Celtics broke the game open to seal things up.

“Games are not won or lost in the fourth quarter or overtime,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzola. “We have to be the elite at managing the end of the third quarter, the beginning of the fourth quarter. This is where NBA games are won and lost, and we haven’t done a good job of managing that part of the game. So we’re going to take the positives of the way we’ve worked to get back to it.” The game and then we managed to finish the race, but we’re also going to focus on that stretch.”

Davis also missed a free throw with 3.1 seconds left in the game against Philadelphia, and took the blame for both losses.

“Boston is a great team. Philly is a great team. Two great teams in the East,” Davis said. “I got a chance as a team, but personally, I’m going to chop both games. Lost one in Philly, I lost both tonight. Both resulted in losses.”

Russell Westbrook (20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks) scored the first four points in overtime to give Los Angeles a 114-110 lead, but the Lakers couldn’t keep up the momentum.

Davis finished with 37 points and 12 rebounds, and James had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

Lakers coach Darvin Hamm played Davis for all 29 minutes in the second half and overtime, resting James for just 2 minutes and 28 seconds during that period.

Davis refused to use fatigue as an excuse for his mistakes, but Hamm said he should have worked more comfortably for the group he was riding on the return.

“Strategically, we’re trying to see how we can use our time-outs wisely and give them breaks that way,” Hamm said. “I could have done a better job in certain situations using my time-outs faster. But that falls on me. I have to get better at that.”

The Celtics came into the night with the best record in the NBA 21-7, but lost two straight games, at the Golden State Warriors and at the Los Angeles Clippers.

“That’s an honorary group out there,” Hamm said of Boston before the game. “I think with all my heart they’re not happy at all. Not only with the Clippers losing but with losing before that against the Warriors. We know we’ll have our hands full.”

It was the second time the Lakers had lost a game in which they had a double-digit lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter this season. The rest of the NBA has done it twice this season, according to research from ESPN Stats & Info.

Despite the drastic nature of these results, Westbrook said there is still reason for optimism inside the locker room.

“If you’re competitive, you have to believe,” Westbrook said. “But I can’t speak for everyone. I know myself, as long as I’m competitive, God willing, I’ll do it until all is said and done. But I’m sure the guys believe. It’s just a matter of creating some consistency across the board.” .

Information from the Associated Press is used in this report.