LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-89 on Sunday night to sweep the season series in the NBA’s most storied rivalry.
Payton Pritchard had 30 points, six 3-pointers and eight assists for the Celtics, who have won three straight and eight in nine games as they try to close the gap on Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Brown and Pritchard each scored 19 points in the second half. Pritchard made a step-back three-pointer to seal the victory with 3:24 left in the game. The Lakers emptied the bench amid boos.
Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James scored his 43,000th career point while adding 20 points for the Lakers, who lost at home to a possible NBA title contender for the third time in two weeks. Los Angeles’ scoring total fell to its second-lowest total of the season.
Austin Reeves scored 15 points for the Lakers, but the Lakers also lost their composure multiple times and were whistled for three technical fouls after a series of questionable calls.
Boston maintained a solid lead throughout the second half and easily took control of the latest meeting between teams with 35 NBA championships.
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The Lakers paid tribute to Pat Riley during a halftime ceremony after unveiling a bronze statue of their former coach outside their downtown arena. Riley won six championship rings during his 20 years in Los Angeles, including nine seasons as head coach of the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s and four championships.
Doncic, James and Reeves had played together just 12 times this season and the Lakers were essentially back to full health, but then Los Angeles lost backup center Jaxon Hayes to an ankle injury before halftime.
Last December, with Doncic and James sidelined, the Celtics beat the Lakers 126-105 in Boston.
As James reached his NBA scoring record, he also played his 1,600th regular season game, joining Celtics great Robert Parish (1,611) as the only NBA players to reach that mark.
Next
Celtics: At Phoenix on Tuesday.
Lakers: Host Orlando on Tuesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
