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The Boston Celtics defeated the LA Lakers 122-118 in a thrilling overtime battle on Tuesday. Both went back and forth throughout the game, with Boston leading by as many as 20 points at one point and the Lakers by 13.
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 44 points and Jaylen Brown put up a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double in the win. LeBron James scored 33 points and Anthony Davis scored 37 points. Russell Westbrook added a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double.
FS1's Skip Bayless expressed his concerns about the Lakers after the game:
"They (Boston) basically blew the Lakers off their floor for a good long while. This is one of the weirdest basketball teams I have tried to decipher because here they came. A 45-12 run, not only did they not quit, they hit the accelerator.
"You are up 13 points, with under four minutes to go. My biggest issue with this team as it pertains to LeBron James (is) you have to have a closer and LeBron has not been closing."
Co-host Shannon Sharpe also gave his opinion on the Lakers:
“Lakers showed they’re undisciplined enough to get blown out, talented enough to storm back but shallow enough they can’t finish.”
LA Lakers struggling to close games
The LA Lakers have blown a 10-plus point lead on five occasions this season, and with their 11-16 record, those five games make all the difference in the world. Had they won those games, they would have been a top-four seed in the West. This is despite their 2-10 record through their first 12 games.
Against the Boston Celtics last night, the Lakers blew a 13-point lead with less than four minutes left in the game.
AD's missed free-throws in the end proved costly as the team came close to beating the best team this season.
However, this isn't the first time Lakers fans have grappled with these kinds of losses. They blew a 18-point lead against Philadelphia last week, a 17-point lead against the Indiana Pacers two weeks ago, a 12-point lead against the Cavaliers and a 13-point lead against the Sacramento Kings earlier in the season.
Another notable loss, which featured the Lakers blowing a healthy lead late in the fourth-quarter, came against the Portland Trail Blazers, where the Lakers were up seven points with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. Portland managed to sneak a win in regulation itself.
These performances should reinforce that the LA Lakers are, in fact, a team good enough to get a top-six spot and need to be significantly more consistent in closing out games to be able to do so.
