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This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 6 takeaways as Celtics go flat in second half and Lakers roll to victory Jayson Tatum scored 34 points in the loss. Jayson Tatum started strong, burying his first four 3-point attempts. Tatum is often excellent against the Lakers, and he didn’t deviate Wednesday — 34 points on 13-for-22 shooting, 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Tatum and Williams, however, were essentially the only offensive highlights.
The Lakers’ defense was uncharacteristically stifling, and the Celtics were due for a regression after scoring 130 and 145 points in their first two games of the road trip. Still, Tuesday’s loss hammered home how tough it was to drop the game where they scored 130 — instead of an impressive 2-1 start to the trip, the Celtics are now a worrisome 1-2 and are back to one game over . Ime Udoka is notoriously willing to voice his opinion — in a calm, collected way — when he isn’t pleased. I don’t feel our defensive effort and overall recognition was very good today. I don’t feel we were sharp tonight on the defensive end or offensively, quite frankly. The Celtics did look oddly lifeless for a game against their rivals.
We just didn’t have that same pop, and that’s the toughest part about it. The Lakers dominated in the paint, outscoring the Celtics 66-42. Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, pounded his way to the rim repeatedly in the second half after the Celtics dared him to shoot from 3-point range for most of the game. Matched up against smaller guards, Westbrook simply muscled his way into them then exploded to the rim. His 24-point performance culminated in a huge one-handed dunk in the third quarter that pushed the Lakers’ lead to 19. He’s just been in attack mode. That’s why we brought him here, to be Russell Westbrook and not anybody else but that.
Not our best overall focus overall. The Celtics have punished opponents on the offensive glass with a combination of Robert Williams’s energy and athleticism and Enes Freedom off the bench, but the Lakers turned the tables with 13 offensive boards. In the second half particularly, the Celtics couldn’t end possessions consistently, which killed any chance of a rally. At one point in the third quarter, James chatted with the Celtics’ bench while lining up for a free throw. Whatever the topic, Grant Williams, Jaylen Brown and James all seemed to find it pretty funny. Freedom was sitting next to Williams. Given the seemingly friendly nature of the exchange, the guess here is James was not speaking to him.