Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis Help the Lakers Defeat the Celtics 117-96

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 117-96 on Thursday night thanks to 24 points from Anthony Davis and 23 from Austin Reaves.

Earlier that day, LeBron James, who had been selected to the All-Star Game for the 21st consecutive year, finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

James eclipsed Hakeem Olajuwon early in the third quarter to take seventh position in NBA history for defensive rebounds. To reach this milestone, he needed six rebounds going into the game, which increased his total to 9,720.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Celtics in scoring with 22 points, followed by Jaylen Brown with 17.

The Lakers, who have now won two straight after losing four of their last six games, led by 28 points entering the fourth quarter.

Takeaways

Celtics: Jayson Tatum scored 16 points and was chosen for the All-Star Game. The Boston club, which had just defeated the Clippers 117-113 in overtime on Wednesday, had played three games in four days.

Lakers: Gabe Vincent finished the game with 12 points, matching his season-high four 3-pointers. Los Angeles tied their season high for the first two quarters with 11 3-pointers made in the first half. They made 15 out of 35 attempts from beyond the arc in total.

Key moment

With 8.9 seconds left in the first quarter, LeBron James dunk after squeezing between Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser in the lane. This increased the Lakers’ lead to 34-23 and completed a 17-5 run to close out the quarter.

Key stat

Bronny James played in his second straight game, however he only made 0 of 1 field goals in his four minutes of action.

Next up

On Saturday, both teams will resume play. The Lakers will start a six-game road trip against the Golden State Warriors, while the Celtics will play the Mavericks in Dallas.