BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-101 on Saturday night.
With LeBron James in the locker room with a strained groin, the Lakers cut a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit to single digits. But Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored Boston’s final 12 points to preserve the win. Brown added 31 points as the Celtics earned their fourth straight victory.
TATUM & BROWN LIFT BOSTON OVER LAKERS
JT: 40 PTS, 12 REB, 8 AST, 6 3PM, 2 STL
JB: 31 PTS, 6 REB, 3 3PM, 3 STL@celtics improve to 10-2 in their last 12 and sit 2nd in the East! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/t9XEaI4vhD— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2025
James finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists before exiting midway through the fourth quarter as the Lakers had their eight-game Los Angeles win streak.
James exited during a timeout with 6:44 to play after contesting a layup by Jaylen Brown. He walked gingerly to the huddle during an ensuing timeout and then barely moved before making his way to the locker room with trainers. He finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
“Not much concern,” James said. “Obviously, I’m day-to-day. I’ll look at it each day and see if it gets better, and take the proper measures to see what I need to do moving forward.”
Luka Doncic had 34 points and eight rebounds in his first game in Boston since he and the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals as Boston clinched its 18th championship.
Things fell apart for the Lakers in a third quarter in which they showed very little connectivity on offense. It’s clearly something that’s still missing at times with the addition of Doncic.
For Boston, Jrue Holiday returned after missing four straight games with mallet finger in his right pinkie. But center Kristaps Porzingis sat for the fifth consecutive game with an illness.
