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 None of that matters to Nick Young, though.
"Just knowing the history," said Young, the Lakers reserve guard,
who grew up in the City of Angels. "Everybody knows the history of
the Lakers-Celtics. It's one of the biggest rivalries ever."
Guard Jeremy Lin scored 25 points and forward Wesley Johnson had 22,
both season highs, as the Lakers ended a seven-game skid with a
118-111 overtime victory over the Celtics on Sunday at Staples
Center.
Young added 19 points as the Lakers (14-41) posted just their second
win in 18 games and saved face in the extra period after a blowing a
nine-point lead in the final 90 seconds of regulation.
"I just wanted the game to keep going because we all hadn't been
making shots like this in a while, so we just wanted to continue
that feeling into overtime," joked Young, who made five of nine
attempts on the night, including three of five from 3-point range.
 Forward Jae Crowder scored 22 points to lead the Celtics, who lost
for the third time in four games. Guards Isaiah Thomas and Avery
Bradley had 21 and 20 points, respectively, for Boston (20-33).
"We just fell short," said Bradley, who managed 8-of-20 shooting
from the floor and 4-of-10 beyond the 3-point arc. "We had
point-blank shots at the basket in overtime."
Los Angeles held a 103-94 lead with 1:28 remaining in regulation
after a fadeaway by Young, but the Lakers failed to close the deal.
Boston scored seven consecutive points to pull within 103-101 after
a 3-pointer by Bradley with 18.7 seconds remaining. Two free throws
by Young with 12.4 seconds left gave Los Angeles a four-point
cushion. Crowder's layup cut the deficit to two again with 8.5
seconds left before Young missed one of two free throws with 8.2
seconds.
Bradley forced overtime with a 3-pointer from behind the top of the
key at the horn.
In the extra session, the Lakers jumped to a 112-106 lead in the
opening two minutes. Boston cut the gap to 112-109 on a three-point
play by Crowder at 1:19. After the teams exchanged baskets, Lakers
guard Wayne Ellington hit two free throws with 16.1 seconds left to
cap the win.
Los Angeles hit 51.2 percent of its shots compared to 42.9 percent
for the Celtics. Lin connected on 10 of 15 attempts, and Johnson hit
nine of 11 shots.
"I thought Jeremy Lin killed us the whole night," Boston coach Brad
Stevens said. "He was really effective in a lot of ways, not only
scoring the ball but also getting into the paint and making plays
for others."
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The game swung in the Lakers' favor midway through the fourth
quarter. After Young's 3-point bucket gave Los Angeles a 91-87 lead,
Thomas was called for an offensive foul on the other end by referee
Tony Brothers. Thomas was called for a technical foul after he
slammed the ball to the court, then was ejected when he threw the
ball to Brothers with 5:03 remaining.
"He has to be there at the end," Stevens said.
Thomas was playing his first game in a Boston uniform after being
obtained in a trade with the Phoenix Suns. He wasn't available for
comment after the game but apologized to teammates for his behavior.
"We understand he made a mistake, but you can't fault him for that,"
said Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who finished with 11 points. "He's
passionate. It was a mistake that anyone else could make. You could
live with that type of mistake because he was out there giving his
all."
Earlier Sunday, the Celtics announced that forward Jared Sullinger,
the team's leading scorer (14.4 points) and rebounder (8.1
rebounds), would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture
in his left foot.
"Obviously, it's a tough loss for our team, but we're going to have
to figure out how to be good in his absence by committee," Stevens
said. "Anytime you lose a really good player, you have to figure it
out as a group. You don't necessarily figure it out with one person
covering what he's done."
NOTES: Boston G Evan Turner finished with 12 points and 12 assists,
but he made just five of 19 shots from the floor. ... Celtics G Phil
Pressey, the son of Lakers assistant coach Paul Pressey, did not
play Sunday. ... The Celtics won the teams' initial meeting of the
season 113-96 on Dec. 5 at TD Garden. ... Boston caps its three-game
swing at the Phoenix Suns on Monday. ... Los Angeles visits the Utah
Jazz on Wednesday.
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