BOSTON -- The shorthanded Celtics fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit behind 37 points and 11 rebounds from Jayson Tatum, leading to an impressive 130-108 victory over the Lakers in LeBron James’ return to the court.
James scored 23 points in his return from a 10-game absence due to an abdominal strain but he was no match for a potent Boston offense on Friday night. Tatum led a shorthanded Celtics squad that had five different players in double figures despite missing two starters (Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams) due to injury.
Marcus Smart (22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) and Dennis Schroder (21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) had standout outing while Al Horford turned back the clock with a season-high 18 points. Anthony Davis had a team-high 31 points for the Lakers but LA’s defense could not slow down the shots who erupted for 30 points in all four frames.
Here are four takeaways from the blowout win for the Celtics, who improved to 8-8 on the season with the victory.
LeBron James showed little rust during Lakers first quarter but Boston managed to withstand the scoring onslaught: The All-Star forward made his return to the floor after a 10-game absence and led an impressive opening bunch from the visitors. James hit all three of his shots in the first quarter as he and red-hot Anthony Davis (15 points) led a red-hot Lakers team that hit nine of their first 13 shots amid a flurry of jumpers and transition buckets. Los Angeles led by as many as 14 points in the opening frame during the outburst as they shot 61 percent from the field and 57 percent from 3 in an attempt to put Boston away early. Boston was able to survive the onslaught however and keep the deficit at only eight points after the opening flurry by James and company thanks to some timely offense from Marcus Smart and Josh Richardson. That duo combined for 20 first quarter points, which helped make up for Jayson Tatum only mustering three points in the opening period due to foul trouble.
Dennis Schroder tried to send a message to his replacement in LA: The veteran point guard was cast aside by the Lakers this offseason once Los Angeles elected to make a blockbuster deal for All-Star Russell Westbrook ahead of free agency. Schroder settled for a bargain deal with Boston after his options dried up and look determined to show his former team that they made a mistake in moving on from him on Friday night. He helped fueled Boston’s comeback in the second quarter by scoring 10 of the team’s 30 points in the frame while also wreaking plenty of havoc defensively with heavy ball pressure on Russell Westbrook and Avery Bradley all night long. After winning the head-to-head battle with Westbrook, it’s easy to wonder whether the Lakers are dealing with a little bit of buyer’s remorse knowing they could have kept Schroder at over seven times less than Westbrook’s $44.2 million salary.
Jayson Tatum found his rhythm after early foul trouble and looked like an All-Star yet again: The All-Star has been mired in a slump for much of the early part of the season and appeared poised for another tough outing after missing four of his first five shots in the first quarter before heading to the bench early with two fouls. However, Tatum regained his scoring touch upon his return to the game in the second quarter, and carried an incredibly efficient Boston offense the rest of the way. He scored 20 points combined in the second and third quarters, going 7-of-12 from the field in that stretch against a host of different Laker wing defenders. He finished with an efficient 37 points making it look easy at times despite the visitors throwing multiple defenders his way on most possessions, scoring 14 points in the first seven minutes of the final period to help Boston put the game away early.
Marcus Smart snapped out of his shooting funk at the perfect time: The veteran guard entered Friday’s game marred in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career, opening the season hitting just 34 percent of his shots, including 26 percent from 3-point range over his first 14 games of the year. With Boston down two starters, and Schroder/Tatum in early foul trouble, the Celtics desperately needed some extra firepower to keep pace with the Lakers in this one and Smart was up to the task. He made seven of his first ten shot attempts on the night and posted a season-high 22 points in easily his best offensive outing of the season. Perhaps the most noteworthy part of the performance for Smart? He only attempted two shots from beyond the arc, feasting instead on the Lakers’ interior defense which helped Boston earn a double digit edge all nights on points in the paint.
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