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The Celtics, who wound up 3-0 on the trek and
earned their fifth straight win overall, never trailed in the
game. The lead was 27 points early in the fourth quarter before
the Lakers' bench made the final margin closer.
Boston's Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard each scored 15
points. Jayson Tatum and Tristan Thompson contributed 14 points
apiece, and Kemba Walker had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Getting the start in place of Andre Drummond (bruised right big
toe), Lakers center Marc Gasol had a hot shooting night,
finishing 4 of 6 from the 3-point arc and totaling 18 points.
Talen Horton-Tucker added 19 points, seven assists and six
rebounds.
Ben McLemore chipped in 17 points off the Los Angeles bench. The
Lakers got 13 points from Kyle Kuzma, 12 from Montrezl Harrell
and 10 from Alfonzo McKinnie.
The Lakers allowed fans into Staples Center for the first time
this season, but the 1,915 in attendance didn't have much to
cheer about early on as the Celtics raced out to a 14-2 lead.
Boston led by as many as 14 in the opening quarter, but the
Lakers whittled the deficit to eight points by the end of the
first.
The Celtics shot a sizzling 56.5 percent from the field overall.
The Lakers, with the second-best defense in the NBA in terms of
opponents' scoring, had trouble keeping Boston out of the paint
offensively. Boston ended with a 58-50 edge on inside scoring.
Boston avenged a 96-95 home defeat against Los Angeles on Jan.
30 and won for the seventh time in eight games overall.
While the Lakers have lost five of their past nine games, the
team did receive some good news. Anthony Davis received an
evaluation from club doctors and was cleared for full-contact
practices, which means the versatile big man is close to
returning to the starting lineup.
Davis has missed 28 games since sustaining a right calf strain.
Coach Frank Vogel said the star forward will be on a 15-minutes
restriction when he returns to the lineup, which could be by the
end of the month.
--Field Level Media
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