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Keys to the Game: Celtics 121, Lakers 113

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

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Key Moment

The Celtics messed around and allowed the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers hang around for three quarters Thursday night.

Then Boston threw and landed a knockout punch that dropped the Lakers to the floor.

The C’s opened up the fourth quarter by scoring eight straight points over the first 77 seconds of the frame to blow their lead open to 20 points. After a Los Angeles timeout, they scored another bucket to make it 10 straight points while upping their lead to 22.

Los Angeles called a timeout following Pritchard’s triple at the 10:43 mark of the period, but that timeout did no good. Boston continued to trample the Lakers until its starters were pulled from the game. The C’s eventually built a 27-point lead before holding off a late Lakers rally for a 121-113 victory.

Jaylen Brown was the man who initiated Boston’s knockout punch, as he scored the quarter’s first five points via a 3-pointer and a transition layup. Payton Pritchard made it eight straight points when he drilled a 3-pointer of his own to knock the Lakers out for good.

Key Player

We’re gonna make this short and sweet, because you’ll be hearing plenty more about what Jaylen Brown did Thursday night within the rest of our game coverage.

Suffice to say he was borderline unstoppable against the Lakers. Like, almost literally.

Brown put together the most efficient scoring night of at least 40 points in Celtics history. He scored exactly 40 points while connecting on 17 of his 20 shot attempts, good for an 85 percent field goal percentage, and one of those three misses was a three-quarters-court heave ahead of the buzzer at the end of a period. Per Elias, his field goal percentage is the highest in Celtics history for a player who scored 40 or more points.

Brown led the game in rebounds with nine, dished out three assists and grabbed a steal during his 32-plus minutes of action. The Celtics outscored Los Angeles by 36 points while he was on the floor.

Box Score Nuggets

  • Jaylen Brown led the game with both 40 points and nine rebounds while hitting 17 of his 20 shot attempts.
  • All five of Boston's starters scored at least 12 points.
  • Boston led from start to finish and by as many as 27 points.
  • The C's assisted on 33 of their 48 baskets.
  • LA's bench outscored Boston's 69-26.
  • Talen Horton-Tucker led the Lakers with 19 points off the bench.
  • Payton Pritchard led the Celtics' reserves with 15 points.
  • Luke Kornet blocked four shots - twice as many as LA's entire team.
  • Tristan Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot.
  • Kemba Walker led the Celtics with seven assists.
  • Boston outscored Los Angeles by 36 points while Brown was on the court.

Quote of the Night

Brad Stevens on Jaylen Brown