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Lakers News: LA Falls Short To Boston In Overtime Thriller For Second Time This Year

Weird officiating, late-game defensive lapses prove costly.

Alex Kirschenbaum

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Well that was a frustrating one, folks.

Your Los Angeles Lakers nearly pulled off an upset on the road against the best team in the East by record, the now 36-15 Boston Celtics, but were felled by some questionable referee calls (and non-calls), a fairly lackluster defense down the game's closing stretch, and a superlative overtime run from Celtics All-Star shooting guard Jaylen Brown.

19-time LA All-Star power forward LeBron James got cooking early. He has frequently "settled" in possessions for three-point takes, but it sure looks good when they actually go in:

As always, here's your perfunctory "How is LeBron James still doing this in his 20th season?" dunk highlight of the evening:

The Lakers finished the first half strong to lead 54-48 at the break. Through just two quarters for Los Angeles, James already had 15 points, seven rebounds and four dimes, while All-Star Lakers center Anthony Davis chipped in 11 points of his own off the bench. Overall, AD continued to look pretty darn AD-esque while playing in just his second game back from a right foot stress injury tonight:

Playing his first contest since having to sit out 14 games due to left knee tendinitis, Los Angeles swingman Lonnie Walker IV turned in a rare game off the bench tonight, and appeared to also have lost none of his hops:

Both teams exchanged blows throughout a surprisingly close second half, leading to an absolutely epic fourth quarter, where the glare of an uncomfortable spotlight shone bright on some interesting moments.

6'5" reserve Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, somehow, gave 6'10" Anthony Davis fits in the fourth defensively. 

Russell Westbrook didn't play a ton down the closing stretch of regulation, which surprised Mike Breen but shouldn't have rattled folks who've been watching this Lakers club regularly.

A clutch Patrick Beverley three put LA up 102-100. Brogdon then drew a foul on new Laker Rui Hachimura, tying the game up at the free throw line.

Next, Patrick Beverley nailed a put back dunk (his first since the 2019-20 season, per the game's ABC broadcast) off a bad Anthony Davis miss triple, putting Los Angeles up a possession, 104-102, with 18 seconds left.

Jaylen Brown then missed a wide-open triple attempt, and -- guess who? -- Beverley was there underneath to clean up the board. The Celtics instantly had to foul him. He missed his first try but nailed his second.

After Al Horford clanked a corner three try, Jaylen Brown got fouled by Beverley while laying in a put back. He tied the contest at the charity stripe to complete the and-one play, to excitement of a courtside Donnie Wahlberg.

Jayson Tatum clearly hacked LeBron James on the left arm while the 19-time All-Star drove to the rim as time expired, but for whatever reason game officials opted not to reward him with a look at the line, instead sending the game to overtime, where obviously the better, deeper home team would be heavily favored.

James was understandably furious following the no-call:

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had already burned his coach's challenged on another rough call earlier in the night, and thus had to accept this travesty. With the score tied at 105-105, this game was headed into overtime.

After the no-call, Patrick Beverley grabbed what looked like a DSLR camera in an effort to protest the call to a ref, and was assessed a technical foul:

Early in the ensuing overtime period, Russell Westbrook swept in for a crucial attempt at an and-one play. Though he didn't make his free throw, he did cause reserve power forward Grant Williams to get his sixth foul of the night and an ejection, which was a big moment for the Lakers.

A bit later, Westbrook got absolutely hammered by Malcolm Brogdon, and appeared to injure his left shoulder. Refs gave Brogdon a flagrant-one call, and Russ promptly made both his free throws to get LA within a possession, 117-114.

LA managed to more or less keep pace with Boston (Jaylen Brown did most of the scoring late), but struggled to stay in front of the Celtics on the other end.

The Celtics eventually wrapped up the game with a win, 125-121, thus sweeping their regular season series against Los Angeles.

After the game, head coach Darvin Ham bemoaned the no-call at the end of regulation to gathered reporters (he usually is pretty diplomatic), per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. 

"The best player on earth can't get a call," Ham claimed. "It's amazing."

In 44:13, James finished with a game-high 41 points, while shooting 15-of-30 from the field (6-of-12 from three) and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He also was just one rebound and two assists away from a triple-double.

Playing 33:53 as a reserve, Davis nabbed a 16-points, 10-rebound double-double. Beverley had a rare terrific game, scoring 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor (4-of-7 from three), pulling down five boards, dishing out five dimes, and swiping two steals.

Westbrook had a miserable shooting night (4-of-15 from the floor), but had some big moments in the overtime frame to help keep the contest close. He finished with 12 points, seven assists (albeit against five turnovers), four rebounds and a steal in 25:19. Walker played just 17:57, but scored an efficient 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. 

The defeat sinks the Lakers to a 23-27 record on the season.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 37 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the floor, scoring 11 of those points in the overtime frame.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.

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