The Boston Celtics suffered their largest defeat of the NBA regular season, falling 117-96 to their historic rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. The 21-point margin marked the Celtics’ biggest loss of the season and their worst defeat to the Lakers since 2007. After the game, Jaylen Brown spoke candidly about the primary reason for the team’s struggles.
Brown attributed the loss to fatigue, highlighting the challenge of playing on back-to-back nights. The Celtics had edged out the Clippers in a hard-fought 133-117 overtime victory just 24 hours earlier. Despite the lopsided result, Boston remains in a strong position, sitting second in the Eastern Conference with a 31-14 record.
“You can give them credit, but I just think we came out flat,” Brown told reporters, via NBC Sports Boston. “We just kind of looked tired. Maybe you could say just the game from last night going into overtime carried over, but on both sides of the floor, they just had more energy than us. And we tried to ramp it up in the third quarter. It just wasn’t there tonight”.
While Brown pointed to fatigue as a factor, Jayson Tatum dismissed the notion, emphasizing the demands of the game. “No,” Tatum said when asked if he felt tired after the overtime win against the Clippers. “I mean, it’s tough. But it’s part of the job—play overtime, play back-to-backs. Sometimes you gotta travel. So no excuses”.
Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket on Austin Reaves #15 and Jaxson Hayes #11of the Los Angeles Lakers during a 117-96 Lakers win at Crypto.com Arena. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Brown acknowledges shooting struggles
Brown also admitted to personal struggles, noting that he played through pain after twisting his left ankle in the previous game against the Clippers. Despite his efforts, the All-Star forward acknowledged his shooting inefficiency against the Lakers.
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“I’ve been just a little bit banged up, but just pushing through,” Brown revealed. “Tonight wasn’t a great showing for our team energy-wise. I missed a lot of baskets around the rim, and our team needs me to make those. So I gotta produce for my team”.
Brown ended the night with 17 points, shooting just 7-of-19 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He added eight rebounds—the most on the team—and three assists but couldn’t spark the Celtics to a comeback.
Porzingis highlights first-half energy deficit
Celtics center Kristaps Porziņģis echoed Brown’s sentiments, emphasizing the Lakers’ efficiency and Boston’s lack of intensity in the first half. “They had a really good first half, and they were really, really efficient,” Porzingis explained.
“We didn’t have our best game, to put it in simple words. We played a little bit low energy maybe in the first half,” he continued. “The second half I felt like we came out better, but they already had a good lead”.
