LOS ANGELES — Down by a dozen points, 105-93, with only 4:48 left in the fourth quarter, the chances of winning had become slimmer with each passing second.
Having already relinquished a 20-point third quarter lead to the host Los Angeles Lakers, the Crypto.com Arena was rocking and rolling as victory inched within reach.
And then the Boston Celtics went to work and went on a 17-5 run to force overtime. And in the extension period, they outlasted the purple-and-gold, 22-10, to capture the improbable victory.
Jayson Tatum, who sent the match into overtime with a nifty jumper over LeBron, finished with 44 points, nine rebounds and six assists. His sidekick, Jaylen Brown added 25 points, 15 rebounds and five dimes.
“That game just says a lot about our experience and mental toughness,” Brown said in the post-game press conference.
“Games are not won or lost in the fourth quarter or overtime. We have to be elite at managing the end of the third, the beginning of the fourth quarter. That is where NBA games are won and lost and we didn’t do a good job managing that part of the game,” added Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla who lamnted his team’s lack of focus in losing a huge doubledigit advantage.
Despite that, the Boston Celtics hold the best record in the NBA at 23-4.
Besides Tatum and Brown, Marcus Smart also starred for the Celtics with 18 points, five rebounds and six assists. Grant Williams had nine points and Derrick White chipped in 10.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 37 points and 12 rebounds while LeBron James barely missed out on a triple-double with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
The heartbreaking defeat dropped the Lakers to 11-16 for 12th place overall in the Western Conference.
