Celtics Accountable, Ready to Move on After Loss to Starless Lakers

The latest installment of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry saw the latter, sans LeBron James and Anthony Davis, hand Boston only its third home loss this season.

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In an 82-game season, horrible losses come with the territory. No team is immune.

Thursday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics fell flat on their face, suffering a 114-105 loss to a Los Angeles Lakers team playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The hosts were 22-2 entering the latest installment of the NBA's most iconic rivalry.

But after not matching the energy and effort of a visiting group that played carefree as it moved up the purple and gold's pecking order with their stars on the sideline, they found themselves down by 14 at halftime, greeted by a chorus of boos from their home crowd.

Boston had a renewed sense of commitment in the third quarter, with Jayson Tatum playing the entire period, putting ten points on the board, and the Celtics picking up the pace, helping them drill 6/13 (46.2 percent) of their threes.

But after entering the final frame down ten, rather than completing their comeback, they never gained ground, as Austin Reaves, who finished with a game-high 32 points, and a dagger three from D'Angelo Russell, extending Los Angeles' lead to 110-98 with 3:22 remaining, applied the finishing touches on Boston's worst loss this season.

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"It just happens," said Joe Mazzulla afterward. "Stretches of bad basketball happen. We can't sit here and act like we're too entitled for it to happen to us," adding, "To think that we're not gonna go through difficult times during an 82-game season is just not the right way of looking at it."

Jaylen Brown, who earned his third All-Star Game selection earlier in the night, voiced, "We don't sugarcoat it," while addressing the need for Boston to hold itself accountable.

"We don't want to build bad habits. We want to play the game the right way...And that's stuff you've got to do on a night-to-night-basis, and we didn't do that tonight. And as a leader, I take responsibility."

Rather than stewing in the loss and letting it negatively impact them moving forward, it's time for the Celtics to utilize not playing again until Sunday to sharpen up, readying themselves for when Marcus Smart, who won't play due to a severe right ring finger injury, and the Memphis Grizzlies come to town.

"We've got a couple days of practice, and (we can) look over things that we can do better," stated Tatum. "It's just a bad week at work. Everybody in here got a job. Nobody has great days every day, and we're no different; this is our job. We would love to be perfect; we would love to win every game and make every shot, but that's just not the case. But we gotta be better, and look ourselves in the mirror, and that's what we're gonna do."

Further Reading

Celtics' Fending Off Pacers' Second-Half Surge Reflects Their Determination to 'Fight Through Everything'

Derrick White Opens Up About Shooting Slump After Propelling Celtics Past Pelicans: 'Don't Feel Sorry for Yourself'

Celtics Maturation Molded by Experience: 'It Builds, Like, an Armor'

Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Top Heat in One of Their Best Performances This Season

Celtics Finding Joy in Basketball and Each Other's Company: 'We've Been Blessed'

Fixated on Winning, Jayson Tatum Again Proves He's Not 'Bored Making the Right Play Over and Over'

Brad Stevens Shares What Celtics Are Looking to Add and How He Hopes to Do So

Derrick White Opens Up About Journey from Uncertainty He Belonged in the NBA to an All-Star Caliber Guard

Jaylen Brown Quieting Doubters, Validating What He Always Believed: 'Earn Everybody's Trust'

Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics' Offense: 'Balance of Pace and Execution'

Jaylen Brown Shares His View of What Defines 'Celtics Basketball'