Jaylen Brown finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Boston Celtics completed a season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 111-89 victory Sunday night in the league’s most storied rivalry.
Payton Pritchard poured in 30 points, knocking down six 3-pointers and handing out eight assists, as Boston won its third straight and eighth in nine games while trying to track down Detroit atop the Eastern Conference standings. Brown and Pritchard each scored 19 points after halftime, with Pritchard’s step-back 3-pointer with 3:24 remaining effectively sealing the outcome and prompting Los Angeles to clear its bench.
Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 25 points, while LeBron James scored 20 and became the first player in NBA history to reach 43,000 career points. James also appeared in his 1,600th regular-season game, joining Celtics legend Robert Parish as the only players to hit that milestone. Austin Reaves added 15 points for Los Angeles, which was held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season.
Boston controlled the game throughout the second half, maintaining a steady cushion against a Lakers team that struggled to find rhythm offensively and was assessed three technical fouls amid mounting frustration. The defeat marked the third time in two weeks Los Angeles fell at home to a championship contender.
The Lakers honored former coach Pat Riley at halftime, unveiling a bronze statue outside their downtown arena. Riley won six championship rings during his tenure with the franchise, including four titles as head coach of the 1980s “Showtime” era.
Los Angeles briefly had its core trio of Doncic, James and Reaves together for just the 12th time this season but lost backup center Jaxson Hayes to an ankle injury before halftime.
Boston previously defeated the Lakers 126-105 in December.
Up next:
The Celtics visit Phoenix on Tuesday, while the Lakers host Orlando.
