Losing to the Lakers is always unacceptable for the Celtics, that too by 21 points (117-96) marking their worst loss since 2007. But a chance of such a disaster was already there. Wasn’t it? On Wednesday night, after enduring an overtime game against the Clippers, the Celtics indeed appeared devastated. Jaylen Brown looked in pain as he limped toward the showers. So did Derrick White. While they left happy with the win, the toll was evident. And it became even more pronounced in their biggest rivalry game.

“​​I think we’re starting to play better,” Kristaps Porziņģis said, “but we just didn’t have a good night tonight. We had a back-to-back. That has to go into the equation, so that’s honestly what it is a little bit.” Jaylen Brown was even more straightforward in his words. “You can give them credit, but I just think we came out flat. 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 like ramp it up in the third quarter. It just wasn’t there tonight,” Brown said.

The drive-and-kick game was alive and well for the Lakers as once Boston sent help, the hosts made them pay by shooting 55 percent from 3-point range in the first half with no makes coming from James or Davis. Instead, it was the supporting cast that beat Boston from deep with Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Max Christie, and Dalton Knecht all hitting multiple 3s. Shooting slowed for the Lakers in the second half from the perimeter but they still found easy offense in the paint and on the offensive glass. There was a lack of physicality from Boston all night and the Lakers took advantage. This is exactly what Jayson Tatum pointed out after the loss.

After the massive blow, the media followed Tatum to the locker room for a postgame Q&A. When asked what the team needed to do to turn things around, the 26-year-old had a simple response, “Match physicality with physicality.” JT believed, “With physicality, you got to be tougher, be stronger, meet the challenge.” However, he summarily discarded the fatigue issue.

“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.” The Celtics didn’t quite look like a team sitting second in the East. The Shamrock, coming off a dominant 40-point victory over the Warriors on Monday, found themselves helpless last night. The Lakers were in complete control throughout the game, making it nearly impossible for the Celtics to find their footing.

One concerning factor for the team has been the lack of offense from the Boston backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Both are hugely important to the team’s overall success, but they’ve both been in a massive funk. White got off to a spectacular start but is down to 43 percent shooting for the season. He’s hitting just 37 percent from downtown. White’s shooting has cratered over his last nine games, as he’s hit just 32.6 percent overall and 23.9 percent from deep.

Holiday’s three-point shot has been missing all season. After hitting 43 percent of his threes last season, when he was a dead-eye from the corner, the veteran has hit just 34.9 percent from downtown this season. It looks like their summer in Paris for the Olympics might be catching up to both White and Holiday. However, if there was one thing that could have changed the outcome, it was the mistakes made by two Celtic players. That was something Porzingis later highlighted.

Kristaps Porzingis brings up costly misses

Top Comment by zackmack34

No you had refs that allowed the Lakers to place 2 hands on celtics all nite & push & shove...more

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The Lakers put up over 30 points in every quarter except the third when the Celtics gained the upper hand. Kristaps Porzingis felt the team should have capitalized during that period, but costly mistakes didn’t let them push the numbers.

With under six minutes left in the third quarter, Jayson Tatum had two free throws but couldn’t make the most of it. He missed in both attempts. But that wasn’t it. In less than a minute, Jaylen Brown also missed two free throws, costing the Celtics four points they could have easily had. Overall, the Celtics missed 6 of their 18 free throws, while the Lakers missed just 2 of 20. Porzingis was naturally frustrated by the disappointing misses and pointed them out.

“I think it was a one good moment we had,” Porzingis told the media in the locker room interview. “We kind of were making it back, I think we could have made it to seven or nine.” But then things took a turn. Why? “We missed the free throws, and then again they went a little run and it kind of slipped out of our hands,” Porzingis added. “So, was not a good night, for them was a good night.”

The Latvian center had a solid night, leading the team with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. However, it seemed there wasn’t enough effort from his teammates to back him up. The team hasn’t been at their best this season, and these mistakes only make things worse. Whether the Greens can snap out of this slump and improve their 31-14 record will be something to watch as the latter half of the season unfolds.