In what was supposed to be a memorable night for Los Angeles Lakers fans as they honored former coach Pat Riley with the unveiling of his very own statue, the celebration quickly turned sour as the Lakers’ longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics, cruised to a 111-89 blowout on Monday.
Jaylen Brown led Boston to victory with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Payton Pritchard lit up the Lakers with 30 points off the bench.
“Just coming in and being aggressive, knowing that our team needs a scoring punch off the bench… I just like to ball,” Pritchard said postgame.
Celtics Sweep Season Series
With the victory, Boston swept its season series with Los Angeles and has now won three of their last four meetings.
The 1-2 scoring punch of Brown and Pritchard led the Cs to their eighth win in ten games, shooting a combined 47% from the field.
Despite boasting a 37-19 record, the Celtics hold one of the toughest remaining schedules in the league, as they have yet to face the reigning NBA champions, the OKC Thunder.
Lakers Furious with Officiating
Tensions rose throughout the game as Lakers players and coaches expressed their frustration over what they felt were missed calls that ultimately contributed to their loss.
One of the missed calls involved Celtics big man Neemias Queta blocking a shot by putting his entire hand through the net, which shook the rim, a play Lakers coach JJ Redick called out postgame.
“Queta stuck his entire hand through the rim. I’ll get some clarification on the rule, because honestly, that’s a great way to defend floaters,” Redick said.
Luka Dončić’s 25 points proved insufficient, as the Lakers lost for the fourth time in their last ten games. They will try to regain momentum when they face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, while the Celtics will look to keep cruising when they go up against the Phoenix Suns on the same day.
