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LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James had a vintage performance on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.
James finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on 14-for-25 (56.0%) shooting. The soon-to-be 38-year-old also turned back the clock for a ferocious fastbreak windmill dunk to end the third quarter as LA mounted their comeback.
You can watch a clip of the highlight play here:
The Lakers were able to rally back from a 20-point deficit (81-61) in the second half to take the lead. LA then led by as many as 13 points (106-93) with 3:40 remaining in the game.
However, the Celtics later came back as well via a 17-4 run to close the final quarter. This included a fadeaway jumper by superstar forward Jayson Tatum with 16.6 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Boston went on to win 122-118 in overtime in what turned out to be a thriller of a game.
Tatum led all scorers with 44 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists on 15-for-29 (51.7%) shooting. Meanwhile, the Lakers were led by All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who finished with 37 points and 12 rebounds on 13-for-24 (54.2%) shooting.
With the win, Boston improved to a league-best 22-7 record. The Lakers, on the other hand, dropped to 11-16 and 12th in the Western Conference.
LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers react to heartbreaking OT loss versus Boston
![[Left to right] Boston Celtics and LA Lakers stars Jayson Tatum and LeBron James](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/12/75289-16710203864253-1920.jpg)
Following the LA Lakers' heartbreaking overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, coach Darvin Ham spoke about how the team needs to stop giving up big first-half leads.
“The thing we can’t do is spot teams 15, 17, 20-point leads, give up 30-plus points per quarter in the first half,” Ham said. “We have to do a better job of coming out from the tipoff and pressing our will on our opponent.”
Anthony Davis, meanwhile, was extremely frustrated. Davis had a chance to help LA take a huge step towards sealing the deal at the free-throw line with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. However, he missed both free throws, with Jayson Tatum’s game-tying jumper taking the contest into overtime.
“I haven’t thought about the rest of the game,” Davis said. “To me, the rest doesn’t matter. Had a chance to ice the game, and missed both.”
LeBron James also touched on Davis’ frustration in his postgame interview. James explained that he’s fine with Davis being frustrated as it shows that he cares.
“If you go up and miss two free throws in a big game like that and then you come to the locker room and guy is laughing and joking, then you would be questioning what kind of teammate you got,” James said.
“So, I know who I’m rocking with every single night. So, I’m absolutely ok with the way he’s feeling. Got a couple of days off. Hopefully he leaves it in here.”
LeBron James was also asked if he had any positive takeaways from the Lakers almost beating the best team in the league. However, James explained that almost winning meant nothing to him
“Nothing. That we lost,” James said. “You talking to the wrong guy talking about an ‘almost win.’”
Next up, the LA Lakers will host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Also read this: Charles Barkley goes in on LA Lakers again: “They stink… Lakers are not in the same conversation as Clippers”
Or this: Evan Turner calls for bubble championship trophy named after LeBron James
