The Celtics don’t have (much) excuses for their loss to the Lakers.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were also out.
BOSTON – The Celtics came to defend the court without LeBron James and Anthony Davis against a much inferior Lakers team on Thursday night.There’s no better scenario than that, right? Without James, without Davis and after outscoring opponents by 135.2 points over their last five games, the playoff hopes of a ninth-ranked Los Angeles team quickly faded before the All-Star break.But through the first 49 games, Boston managed to turn its most favorable matchup of the season into its biggest headache, and the question after a word was: How? “It just happened,” Mazzulla said after Boston lost 114-105 to Los Angeles at TD Garden.
“There is blood in bad basketball. We do our best every day to minimize this, but bad plays happen in basketball. We can’t sit here and act like we have the right to let this happen. It happens and it’s a matter of how we respond to it. … It’s not the right way to think there won’t be tough times during an 82-game NBA season. Are you mad that we lost? Yes. But am I excited about our growth potential? “I’m happier about it.”At halftime, the Celtics trailed the Lakers, 11-17, 60-46 against teams with records over .500. Those who entered the locker room tunnel behind Boston and went 7-for-23 from 3-point range and had 12 points in the first half failed to set the tone for a Gino-worthy night.
The NBA recorded 22 wins and 2 losses.Meanwhile, James and Davis sat on the sidelines and watched Austin Reaves score a season-high 32 points and hit seven 3-pointers.