Lakers Hold On For Third Win vs. Celtics

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Celtics where the Lakers sneak out a too close for comfort victory, beating the current #1 seed in the East 107-108 to notch their third win in a row!

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry always brings out the best moments regardless if they're not on equal footing with each other. What a win. I can't be happier about the gritty effort that this Lakers squad pulled out tonight. The way this game was set up, you knew that this was going to be a dog fight to finish. It was like the 12th round of a boxing match and both boxers were exchanging haymaker after haymaker down the to the final seconds and the victor came down to a split decision. This game had that feeling. The Celtics weren't gonna go down easily even if the Lakers built a good enough lead down the final minute of the 4th quarter. Marcus Smart had a good look on three for the win and the Lakers dodged a major bullet to preserve a confidence-boosting victory in the latest chapter of the NBA's most historic rivalry.

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Kyle Kuzma, 28 points, 10-16 shooting, 5 three pointers. Words cannot describe how big Kuzma was down the stretch of this game. He slowed down a bit since pouring on 31 points against the Timberwolves on Christmas, but we all knew he was due for a big one once he tasted the rookie wall. And luckily, tonight was that night. All Kuz did in that 4th quarter was get buckets, especially from deep. He added a few aggressive moves to the basket and showed off some nice playmaking highlights. His behind-the-back pass to set up a Larry Nance Jr. dunk was probably the highlight of the game.

2nd chance opportunities. The Celtics tried to counter the Lakers' small ball lineup with a small ball lineup of their own. The big issue was that their lineup was a little too small. The Lakers still had the length with Ingram and Kuzma and they just ate up the boards to set up some big 2nd chance possessions. It especially helped that Randle and Lopez drew Boston's traditional big men into some foul trouble.

Jordan Clarkson, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals. It's a question of how long Clarkson can sustain this kind of play as long Lonzo is held out indefinitely. But so far, so good. He's played terrific during this 3-game home stand by the Lakers in terms not just being a scorer, but being an all-around player. And, yes he hit some pretty big free throws in between critical misses by Josh Hart and KCP.

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Free throws. Made free throws will win a team some games. Missed free throws will lose a team some games. And luckily, the Lakers were fortunate that free throws didn't come back to haunt them, especially down the stretch. You talk about critical misses by Josh Hart and KCP. KCP's missed free throws in the final seconds were the most shocking. The guy is like an 84% career free throw shooter and he missed both free throws to give the Lakers some cushion and pressure the Celtics more to draw up a good three point play with no timeouts. There's no denying it, the free throws gotta be better especially in crunch time.

MVP 

Kyle Kuzma, 28 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 10-16 shooting

Kuz exploded in the 4th quarter and helped shifted the momentum for the Lakers. He was due to put up these kind of numbers again and he unleashed all of his offensive arsenal against a very stingy Celtics defense.



Conclusion

If there is something that this three-game win streak tells us, it's that the Lakers can actually win without their main playmaker in Lonzo Ball. It all starts with the commitment to team defense and players have to keep moving around to keep the ball moving and play with a fast-paced edge. The Lakers have done that in these past three games. It's not always gonna be pretty, but it's important that the Lakers keep scratching and clawing in order to find a way to win. And with that, they're playing as a team again and playing with a lot of confidence and swagger and they're playing with a competitive edge. Playoff talk is slowly creeping its way back with the way the Lakers are playing right now. The 8th seed in the West is still wide open at this point of the season. But, I'm not ready to buy into that yet. That doesn't mean that I don't like what I'm seeing. This team is starting to mold itself into what Magic and Luke envisioned this team to be in the future. I'll see you guys later.