In the 371st meeting between the biggest rivals in the NBA, the Lakers exploded in the second half to come back from a double-digit deficit and nearly beat the Celtics, but their exhaustion from the necessity of such a run showed itself in crunch time foibles, allowing Boston to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and escape The Crypt with a 122-118 win.
Anthony Davis led all scorers for the Lakers with 37 points to go with 12 rebounds, but his two missed free throws in the fourth allowed Jayson Tatum (44 points) to hit a jumper and send this game to overtime, where Los Angeles lost despite a Herculean effort from LeBron James (33 points 9 rebounds 9 assists) to add to Davis’ own superlative two-way game on Tuesday.