There are no certainties in the NBA, and that was proven on Thursday night when the Boston Celtics lost 114-105 to the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers.

L.A. was without its two best players, as 2024 All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis both missed the nationally televised contest with various injuries. All of Boston's starters were good to go for the rivalry game, yet none of them had their best night. The Celtics shot 33.3% from deep, had 15 turnovers and couldn't maintain a run despite being at home.

Although the stunning defeat upset plenty of Celtics fans, center Kristaps Porzingis pumped the brakes on any potential panic, per Jay King of The Athletic.

“This is the NBA. This is almost like a script,” Porzingis said. “You’re going to lose this type of game and fans are going to think it’s the end of the world, and we lost to the Lakers without AD and LeBron, like, end of the season. Boom. Done. But it’s just a loss. It’s just a loss which we have to learn from. And which we will.”

Celtics poised to bounce back from ugly loss to Lakers

Joe Mazzulla, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

Porzingis did his best to propel Boston, putting up 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 29 minutes of play. It wasn't enough, though, as the Lakers were getting plenty of good looks from beyond the arc and took advantage of Boston's poor defensive rotations.

But to Porzingis' point, the Celtics are a league-best 10-1 in games following a loss. They've had a few inexplicable losses, like when they fell in overtime to the struggling Charlotte Hornets in November, yet they've bounced back from nearly all of them.

“We’re going to get a couple days rest which I think a lot of guys especially will be really useful for and we bounce back hungry and full of energy,” Porzingis continued.

The C's don't play until Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to TD Garden. Like the Lakers, the Grizzlies will also be playing shorthanded, as they've had injuries decimate their lineup since the very first day of the 2023-24 season. However, the Celtics can't underestimate their opponent because the last time they met, Boston barely escaped with an ugly 102-100 win in late November.