PORZINGIS ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE FUELS CELTICS WITH WIN OVER LAKERS

“At this point, I don’t think we’re healthy. Until we continue to improve and develop better habits, I don’t think we’re ready to compete with the best teams,” James stated. “We’re still figuring out how we want to approach each game, but we’ll get better,” the player said.

It was the third Christmas Day encounter between the league’s two most illustrious teams. Los Angeles prevailed in 2008, while the Minneapolis Lakers won in Boston in 1951.

With a 3-pointer from Brown to cap off the opening 12 points, the Celtics easily outscored the Lakers starting lineup and went up to an 18-point advantage in the first quarter.

Following a dunk by Jarred Vanderbilt early in the third quarter, which gave Boston the game’s lone lead, the team scored seven points in a row to take the lead back.

In the last quarter, Boston managed to hold Los Angeles at a distance even though Davis scored 40 points for the 40th time in a regular season game.

In the first quarter and again in the fourth, every Boston Celtics starter scored at least four points. As Porzingis pointed out, it could have been an even more resounding victory with some better 3-point shooting. In the end, the Celtics made 13 of 42 (31%) of 3.

“Very happy with our team’s performance,” Porzingis remarked. And to be honest, we were excellent basketball players. Simply put, we either didn’t make it or didn’t photograph what we usually do from outside. However, aside from that, I believe we performed pretty well.

The Lakers were the superior team from a distance, shooting 40.6% from three (13 of 32), but there were too many errors in other areas for them to capitalize on this infrequent opportunity.

Boston dominated the paint with 58 points while Lakers scored 50. Celtics were also ahead in the fast break points with 23 points compared to Lakers 14

Coach Darvin Ham listed nearly as many mistakes as Santa did, saying that if Los Angeles hopes to contend for a title at the conclusion of the season, it cannot afford to get weary of these little issues. They included turnovers, rebounding, and transition defense.

Davis cited one of his missed free throws in the game-winning third quarter as an example of a small error that had a significant impact.

“You constantly think about the things that could have altered the game—shots you might have taken, defensive plays you might have made, rebounds you should have had, free throws I might have made, and things like that,” Davis stated. “I was thinking that if I make the free throw, that doesn’t happen,” the player said after he missed a free throw in the third quarter, which led to a fast-break three.

With 4:02 remaining in the second, a collision that left Brown and James shaken up gave both sides a concern. James struck Brown in the back as he was cutting back to the ball after Brown took a poor step and pulled up. After tending to every player on the court, Brown headed back to the locker room and came out to begin the third quarter.

Celtics will face Detroit Pistons at home on Thursday and Lakers will host Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

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