The Boston Celtics absolutely dismantled the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, cruising to a commanding 126-105 victory that had the Green Team leading by double digits throughout the final three quarters. It was a masterclass in offensive firepower and defensive grit from Boston, who turned the game into a rout early on by outscoring the Lakers by a staggering 22 points in the first quarter alone. Hot 3-point shooting and lockdown defense were the keys, leaving the Lakers scrambling without their full arsenal of scorers—save for a heroic 36-point effort from Austin Reaves.
But here’s where it gets real: Lakers head coach JJ Redick wasn’t about to throw his team under the bus after the blowout. Instead, he delivered a raw, unfiltered verdict that hit like a sucker punch, attributing the massive defeat not to lack of heart, but to sheer bad luck on the shooting front. “Look, expected score we were down two at halftime, expected score we won by two,” Redick explained post-game. “First half, we had the highest paint touch rate we’ve had in a half, or one of the highest paint touch rates we’ve had. We’ve been one of the best non-rim paint two teams in the league. We shot five for 13.”
Redick didn’t stop there, breaking down how the Lakers’ strategy got torched. “They blitzed us from the three and in that first half. We outscored them by one in the last three quarters. Unfortunately, that’s not how basketball works, and you end up losing the game by 21 so I thought our fight was good. There were a lot of moments when we certainly could have broken and we didn’t. It’s a credit to our guys.”
The Celtics’ sharpshooting was on another level, hitting a season-high 53 percent from beyond the arc, with seven different players draining multiple threes. Redick admitted his squad took calculated risks, leaving certain Boston shooters open—and paid dearly for it. “Jaylen Brown is a low 30% off the dribble 3-point shooter. He hits three threes in a row in the third quarter. Jordan Walsh, we were willing to live with his threes, we’ve got to give up something, he hits four of them. We ended up getting a contest on three of them. So again, you’ve got to be willing to live with certain things, and they made us pay. We’ve obviously done that many times, and they made us pay tonight.”
This isn’t just a one-off nightmare for the Lakers; the Celtics’ offense has been a league-wide headache lately. Sitting third in the NBA for offensive efficiency, Boston has racked up nine wins in their last 11 games, leaving opponents grasping for ways to slow down their multifaceted attack. Celtics guard Peyton Pritchard echoed the sentiment of untapped potential: “I like our energy and effort. I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s funny. Our offense is third, but I still feel like we have another step that we can even go. So that will be exciting. But I think our energy and effort, and that everybody’s playing really hard.”
Redick’s candid take? It’s the kind of truth bomb that stings, reminding everyone that sometimes, even the best-laid plans crumble when the shots just won’t fall—and the Celtics are making sure no one’s safe from their dominance.