Two historic franchises, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers took court on Sunday evening at the STAPLES Center. After a hard fought, thrilling overtime game, the Lakers were able to come out on top, 118-111, led by the bench unit.

The bench mob was incredible once again, scoring 84 points, led by Jeremy Lin’s 25 points and six assists. Boston’s bench was superb as well thanks to their new acquisition Isaiah Thomas who made his Celtics debut.

Avery Bradley got the Celtics off to a hot start in the first quarter to help his team gain a six-point first quarter lead. Boston owned that lead for most of the first half and went to the locker room with a 58-56 lead.

The Lakers bench was phenomenal in the first half, scoring 34 of the team’s 56 points. Lin, who is coming off a solid 18-point performance Friday night, sparked the team in the first half with his scoring, as he was relentlessly driving the lane, drawing fouls, and hitting layups.

The third quarter was played evenly, with the Celtics up by five heading into the fourth period. The Lakers picked up their play in the fourth period, taking a 10-point lead with 3:31 remaining. However, they were unable to hold on to their margin late in the game, as two clutch three-point baskets by Avery Bradley forced overtime.

During the extra session, the Celtics were frigid, scoring just five points on 2 of 12 shooting. Meanwhile, the Lakers hit five of their eight shots to ultimately seal the deal and win, 118-111.

Aside from Lin, Wesley Johnson and Nick Young also had fantastic performances. Johnson, who did not play a minute on Friday, scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds, and pickpocketed two steals on 9 of 11 shooting in 33 minutes. Young, who has been struggling miserably with his shot, came out of his funk in this game and put up 19 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Jordan Hill chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds off the pine as well.

The starting lineup wasn’t nearly as good. Carlos Boozer was the only one to play well with 12 points and eight rebounds. Yes, after not playing a single minute against the Brooklyn Nets, Boozer was inserted into the starting lineup to replace Tarik Black in this one. In fact, Byron Scott played all 12 of his available players, balancing the minutes between them all. Seemingly, that could keep everyone happy.

For Boston, Jae Crowder scored a team-high 22 points off the bench, while newcomer Isaiah Thomas poured in 21 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 25 minutes. Thomas continued his thrashing of the Lakers, but he was ejected at the 5:03 mark of the fourth quarter for arguing a questionable call.

Avery Bradley came up big as well, putting in 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Brandon Bass added 15 points of his own, while Evan Turner notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists.

The Lakers ended their seven-game losing streak with the win. They improved to 14-41, keeping a game and a half lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics put a small dent in their playoff hopes, as they fell to 20-33, still only two games out of the playoff picture.

The Lakers will have a couple days off before visiting the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, February 25th. The Celtics, meanwhile, will have to rebound quickly, as they face the Phoenix Suns tomorrow, February 23rd, to finish off their short, three-game West coast swing. 

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About the author
Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.