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The Lakers and Celtics met for their second and final matchup of this regular season on Sunday night. The game went down to the wire, with both sides fighting hard.
In the end, though, Los Angeles managed to walk away with a two-point victory, 114-112.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
3. Rivals of old
The Lakers and Celtics share a rivalry that dates back to the earliest days of the NBA's history. This season, both teams are playoff contenders, which meant Sunday's matchup held a fairly high level of importance.
With the victory, the Lakers have now won five straight and seven of their last eight games. Los Angeles improved its Western Conference-leading record to 43-12, while Boston fell to 39-17 (currently 3rd in the East).
2. The King delivers
In the closing seconds, LeBron James knocked down a fall-away jumper near the elbow to seal the Lakers' win. Notably, it was LeBron's first game-winning shot against the Celtics while wearing a Lakers uniform:
Nothing like your first game-winner for the purple and gold against the green and white 👑 pic.twitter.com/q79n6C9U1G
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 24, 2020
James, who is somewhat new to the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, logged 39 minutes in Sunday's game, scoring 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field (4-of-10 from beyond the arc), nine assists and eight rebounds.
“It's just special to be part of this rivalry,” James said, via ESPN. “We understand that this has been going on since the `50s, `60s, `70s, `80s, `90s, all the way through. So to be a part of a rivalry, to be a part of a historical two-franchise group, this is special. … (We love) to represent this rivalry with the utmost respect and play this game the right way, as all the former players have done in the past.”
Anthony Davis had a big night for the Lakers as well, scoring a team-high 32 points and 13 rebounds. Davis knocked down a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining, then added another with 6.7 seconds to play.
1. The heart of the Irish
Though they were defeated, the Celtics gave the Lakers all they could handle.
Some analysts labeled Los Angeles' victory over Boston “a statement win.” Others, however, thought the Lakers could've won by a wider margin, as they were playing at home. It's also worth noting that the Celtics were without Kemba Walker due to a sore left knee.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum matched his career-high in scoring. The former Duke Blue Devil racked up 41 points on 12-of-20 shooting (4-of-7 from downtown), five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
Though Lakers came away with victory in this matchup, both of these teams are destined for the postseason.
Might they meet again further down the line?
