BOSTON — Once the Lakers’ injury report for Friday night was released, revealing that they would be without Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Marcus Smart against the Boston Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back set, the onus was once again implicitly on Austin Reaves to raise his play to an even higher level.
And after a slow start, Reaves eventually did, leading the Lakers with 36 points and eight assists. But it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the overall struggles of the Lakers, who lost to the Celtics, 126-105, at TD Garden one night after beating the Toronto Raptors.
“Our fight was good,” Coach JJ Redick said. “There [were] a lot of moments when we certainly could have broken and we didn’t, and it’s a credit to our guys.”
The loss dropped the Lakers to 16-6 for the season and 1-1 on a trip that ends Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers – a game that could see Doncic, James and Smart return to the lineup.
“The hope for all the guys would be that they’re available Sunday,” Redick said. “That’s the hope for everybody.”
Jaylen Brown had 30 points and eight assists to lead the Celtics, who led by as many as 29 points during the second quarter of a wire-to-wire win.
“They were just making a lot of shots, especially in that first quarter,” forward Jake LaRavia said. “I feel like there were sometimes where we lacked physicality. But they were making shots and obviously you got to live with some of them, but a lot of them, it was just one of those nights for them.”
Boston knocked down a season-high 24 3-pointers (on 45 attempts), with Derrick White (19 points, six assists) leading the way with five 3s.
“You gotta be willing to live with certain things and they made us pay,” Redick said. “You can talk about a game plan all you want, but you gotta be able to figure out what you’re willing to live with. They made us pay.”
Jordan Walsh (17 points, four rebounds) and Sam Hauser (12 points) both knocked down four 3-pointers, while Payton Pritchard (15 points, six assists) and Brown each knocked down three apiece to help the Celtics get off to their hot start.
“At the end of the day, our job is to come out here on the court, and that starting group, me included, we’re supposed to come out with a bang,” LaRavia said. “Come out with some pop and kind of get the game going. And it just didn’t happen.”
Boston led by 22 (39-17) after the first quarter, with Walsh’s defensive pressure impacting Reaves, who missed his first five shot attempts as the Lakers shot 6 for 26 (23.1%) from the field in the period.
“He just plays hard as crap every single possession and don’t take a possession off,” Reaves said of Walsh. “His ability, his length, his athleticism, he’s physically gifted and moves really well. I can see him being one of the best defenders in the league for many years to come. He’s a good player.”
The Celtics carried a 69-46 lead into halftime.
“First half, we had the highest paint-touch rate we’ve had in a half, or one of the highest paint touch rates we’ve had,” Redick said. “We’ve been one of the best non-rim paint two teams in the league; we shot 5 for 13 there. And we outscored them by one the last three quarters.
“Unfortunately, that’s not how basketball works. And you end up losing a game by 21. I thought our fight was good. There [were] a lot of moments when we certainly could have broken and we didn’t, and it’s a credit to our guys.”
Reaves scored 16 of his points in the third, a quarter the Lakers won 36-28 to cut their deficit to 97-82 entering the fourth.
But the Celtics opened the final quarter with a 9-0 run on 3-pointers from Walsh, White and Hauser, to extend their lead to 106-82.
The Lakers didn’t get any closer than 18 the rest of the night.
Gabe Vincent had 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting for the Lakers, while two-way contract guard Nick Smith Jr. and starting forward Rui Hachimura both scored 13 points.
“Some of their looks early, they got us,” Vincent said. “In terms of, they got space, they got a shot up. Boston’s been doing that for years – coming out in the first quarter and getting hot.”