Here are the scores, updates, and results of the NBA 2020-2021 regular season match between the Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) vs Boston Celtics (BOS) on April 16, 2021 (All times are in Philippine Standard Time) at the Staples Center.
One of the biggest rivalries in the NBA had a matchup where the Boston Celtics came out with victorious smiles on their faces.
The Celtics destroyed the undermanned Lakers where Jaylen Brown had a phenomenal game. The forward scored 40 points, 9 rebounds, and knocked down 3 three-pointers on 17-20 shooting, ending his game with extreme efficiency on his shots.
“The Celtics-Lakers matchup is a matchup that kids dream about, so regardless of who’s on the floor, I’m excited to play,” Brown shared. “Having that energy with those Lakers fans back in the arena, it feels good to get a win.”
Within the last minutes of the fourth quarter, the Celtics almost blew their huge lead against the Lakers who still has resiliency running in their veins. Brad Stevens, the head coach of the Celtics, then decided to put back the hot-shooting Brown and the rest of the starters back into the game.
Tatum and Thompson both added 14 points to help the team win against their rival team while Smart and Pritchard, who was coming out of the bench for the Celtics, both scored 15 markers. Not only that, but Smart and Pritchard also knocked down 6 combined three-point shots (3 for both of them) to help extend the lead.
“We have a tendency to be loose with the ball, and we’ve got to stop that,” Stevens shared. “It’ll bite us in time. You can’t keep playing like that and expect to win.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers are still struggling to find their rhythm while they are waiting for their superstars to return.
Marc Gasol was a three-point machine in this game. He finished the game with 18 points and managed to hit 4 of his 6 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
Talen Horton-Tucker and Ben McLemore aided the starters with decent numbers. “THT” scored 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists while McLemore had 17 markers.
“Those guys came out and competed their tails off,” Vogel said on the performance of his bench. “I wanted them to be able to get the ‘W,’ but that was awesome how they played.”
Kyle Kuzma was rusty in this matchup, managing only to hit 5 of his 14 attempts on the floor. Overall, he scored 13 for the lakers.
Andre Drummond was not able to play in this game because of a bruised right big toe. Also, Markieff Morris missed this game because of a sprained left ankle.
Schroder who had 8 points and 8 assists, almost sat out during the game due to an infection on the ball of his right foot, but he still played for 28 minutes. “KCP” still played even he had back spasms during the game and Gasol who also stayed after his pinky finger got popped back into place during a time out because it got dislocated.
The Boston Celtics rise up to 30-26 and maintained their winning streak while the Los Angeles Lakers drop down to 34-22.
Celtics vs Lakers
31-23; 30-25; 30-31; 30-34
The scores:
Celtics (121) – Brown 40, Smart 15, Pritchard 15, Tatum 14, Thompson 14
Lakers (113) – Horton-Tucker 19, Gasol 18, McLemore 17, Kuzma 13, Caruso 12