A 37-point return saw Jayson Tatum steal LeBron James‘ thunder on a night the four-time NBA champion returned to the Los Angeles lineup, as the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 130-108 on Friday.
Marcus Smart and Dennis
Schroder scored 22 and 21 points respectively for Boston (8-8), which climbed back to .500. Tatum had 11 rebounds
and Al Horford added 18 points.
Anthony Davis led Los Angeles with 31
points and James finished with 23 in 32 minutes. They each had six rebounds and
two assists.
James, who has won the championship with the Lakers, Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, missed eight games through an abdominal strain. The Lakers lost five of those games, inluding four consecutive on the road.
The teams who have accounted for nearly
half of the NBA’s championships with 17 apiece renewed their rivalry in front
of a raucous TD Garden crowd that made it seem like a playoff atmosphere from
the opening tip.
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Hall of Famer Bill Russell — introduced as
a “true Celtics legend” when he was welcomed back by the PA announcer and shown
on the Jumbotron midway into the opening quarter — was seated courtside wearing
a hat with the initials “KB” encircled in a yellow heart on the front for the
late Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
The Celtics led by 11 points entering the
final quarter and opened a 109-94 lead on Tatum’s three-point play with 6:59
remaining. His 3-pointer from the left corner increased it to 116-99 with 5:02
to go.
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The Lakers made nine of their initial 12
shots en route to a 38-30 lead after one quarter.
James’ first basket came on a thundering
dunk off a drive down the lane 2 ½ minutes into the game.
Boston erased a 14-point deficit in the
second quarter and took the lead before James’ fast-break layup gave the Lakers
a 61-60 halftime edge.
The Celtics opened the second half with a
14-4 surge and led 93-82 entering the fourth.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
