It looked like the Los Angeles Lakers (11-16) were going to be predictably outclassed by the Boston Celtics (22-7) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles was roasted in the first half and trailed the league's best team by 20 points in the third quarter.

Then the unimaginable happened — even by NBA regular-season standards.

The Lakers — back home after a 12-day, six-game East Coast road trip — flipped the script. They embarked on an 18-0 run and took a 13-point lead with about four minutes remaining. Then, the Celtics — on the final stop of their own six-game cross-country swing — made a 13-0 run.

After two missed Anthony Davis free throws and a smooth Jayson Tatum jumper over LeBron James, LeBron missed a three at the buzzer and the teams hit overtime tied at 110.

Los Angeles was outscored 13-2 in OT by the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. They were outscored 12-8 against Boston. Westbrook made two layups early in overtime then took the Celtics' invitation to shoot. He bricked three jumpers on consecutive possessions before AD hoisted a regrettable early 3. It was over.

Here are three instant reactions from the latest clash between the NBA's pillar franchises, other than WTF just happened???

LeBron James and Anthony Davis can't mess up, at all

The Lakers' formula for competing with elite teams is simple and uncompromising: LeBron and AD have to be otherworldly. For the most part, they were on Tuesday.

LeBron — whom ESPN's Brian Windhorst emphasized deeply despises Boston — put on a show. Violent dunks, swaggering 3s, a pep in his step. He did the LeBron thing where he didn't just assert his dominance — he completely owned the room. He finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists. And yet, his questionable shot selection down the stretch reflected a player who sensed his team would run out of gas in the extra period.

AD had 37 points and 12 rebounds. But, as in Philly, he missed key free throws in the final seconds that gave the Celtics life, along with a handful of bunnies at the rim.

Ham stuck with the same lineup of LeBron, AD, Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, and Troy Brown Jr. for nearly all of the fourth quarter and OT. They were clearly laboring in overtime. Davis said postgame he was “fine and felt good” and didn't use exhaustion as an excuse, but he played 46 minutes and didn't sub out after the five-minute mark of the second quarter.

The Lakers can beat any team in basketball when LeBron and AD are at the top of their respective games. Their margin of error, however, is cripplingly thin, especially against teams of the the Celtics stature.

“One false move, they're gonna make you pay,” said Ham.

Once again, the Lakers' lack of depth killed them. Outside of Westbrook (2o points), nobody on the roster hit double-figures.

It's the second time this season the Lakers have blown a double-digit lead with five minutes or less to go.

“We feel like we can match up with anyone and win any game,” said Anthony Davis. “We got a bunch of fighters on our team — guys who can make plays. Just gotta finish games when we’re playing against some of the good team: Boston, Philly. But we’re a team that believes in what we do and what we got.”

Lakers wings are too small

The most glaring weaknesses of the Lakers' roster coming into the 2022-23 season were its lack of large wings and dead-eye shooters. The Celtics — who came into Tuesday with the No. 1 ranked offense and defense in the NBA — do not have these problems.

Boston possesses two of the world's best players — both hyper-modern, large, two-way wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. This mismatch was evident. The Lakers tried going with Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn (lol), Brown Jr., LeBron, and the 2-3 zone against the Celtics' stars. None of it worked, especially before halftime.

Tatum cruised to 24/4/4 in the first half and ended up with 44 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Brown had 25 points and 15 boards.

To compound matters, Los Angeles shot 8-0f-29 (27.6%) from 3 against 19-of-38 (39.6%) for Boston.

The Lakers made an emphatic comeback due to LeBron and AD's brilliance, Russ picking up his game (he was terrible in the first half and in overtime), home-arena energy, and pouncing on Celtics turnovers. But their lack of wing length and inconsistent three-point shooting put them in a hole.

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Another comeback

In his pregame press conference, Darvin Ham said he “definitely” viewed the Celtics matchup as a “barometer” for the Lakers, comparing it to the test his team passed with flying colors in Milwaukee on Dec. 2.

In that sense, the Lakers can feel optimistic about their progress. The loss stings, but they've proven — for the third time this month — an ability to hang with one of the league's true contenders. This was not the case in October and November.

The Lakers' demise vs. the Sixers — in which they erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime — displayed a degree of character and resiliency the team simply did not have in 2021-22. It was, genuinely, a moral victory.

Tuesday was more of the same, albeit more frustrating. Despite a 79-59 third-quarter deficit, Ham's squad kept their heads, and energy, high. Maybe I'm guilty of over-accentuating the positive, but the fact that they were a pair of AD free throws from winning is a testament to the Lakers' newfound self-belief. Against slightly worse teams, that's going to lead to extra dubs.

LeBron, for his part, is not feeling the “moral victory” angle.

“Nothing,” he said when asked about big-picture takeaways from recent OT losses to the Sixers and Celtics. “That we lost. You're talking to the wrong guy talking about ‘almost win.' No. We lost.”

In other words: He knows his team is good enough to hang with the best. That, more than anything, reflects their growth.