1. If you happen to submitted a script for the Boston Celtics victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to a studio, they seemingly would have rejected it with a word saying, “Too unrealistic.”

The Celtics and Lakers have performed a whole bunch of video games in opposition to one another in what’s the NBA’s finest rivalry. None have ever been fairly like this one.

With 6:57 to play within the third quarter, Boston had a 20-point lead. It regarded just like the Celtics have been going to cruise within the closing recreation of a six-game journey. Coming off two disappointing losses, it regarded like simply what the physician ordered to get issues again on monitor.

Los Angeles ripped off an enormous run to spark a 33-point turnaround. With 4:25 to play, the Lakers led 106-93.

Then the Celtics grew to become the Celtics once more.

Right here’s how we acquired there and the way some magic occurred.

2. The primary 29 minutes or so have been a few of the finest basketball Boston had performed on the journey. The ball was shifting, gamers have been chopping and hitting photographs, the protection was lively and engaged.

The Celtics have been up 15 on the half on the energy of 18 assists (in opposition to simply 4 turnovers), good capturing and a few actually good protection. As well as, Boston had grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, together with six from Luke Kornet.

Issues have been going nice.

3. Then, they weren’t.

A giant run hardly ever begins with something too exceptional. The Lakers hit a few photographs, then Marcus Good made a 3 to push the lead again to 19 for Boston.

The Celtics wouldn’t rating once more for over two-and-a-half minutes. After a pair of Jaylen Brown jumpers appeared to have stabilized issues and acquired the lead again to 14, Boston fell fully aside.

The ultimate two minutes of the third quarter featured two missed free throws, 0-for-3 capturing and three turnovers. An 8-0 Lakers run made it a six-point recreation going into the ultimate interval. It occurs. Get a relaxation and reset.

Solely, it acquired worse.

The Los Angeles run stretched to 18-0 earlier than Jayson Tatum mercifully hit a layup with 8:04 left within the fourth quarter. That basket by Tatum snapped a 6:18 scoreless stretch for Boston. General, Boston scored 4 factors in over a nine-minute portion of the sport bridging the third and fourth quarters.

The injury was seemingly performed. The Lakers have been rolling. The social gathering was on in LA.

4. Then, Hollywood magic occurred for the blokes in inexperienced.

Jayson Tatum made the arduous push off the rebound and hit Grant Williams, who spaced out to the wing. Anthony Davis was beginning to drag and didn’t hassle with a closeout:

Sadly, there isn’t a clip of what occurred subsequent. In all probability as a result of the digicam had minimize away. However LeBron James threw a lazy inbounds move to an unaware Russell Westbrook. As a result of he’s Marcus Good, Good was proper there to steal it and lay it in.

A fast 5-0 spurt and the Celtics had life.

On an improvised give-and-go, Tatum tried to place LeBron James on a poster once more:

Tatum knocked down each free throws and Boston was feeling it. Sandwiched between a few powerful fallaway jumpers from Anthony Davis and James, Tatum hit the step-back three over Davis:

James’ fallaway with 2:12 left was the Lakers final rating of regulation. With LA on fumes and never getting again, Good went via Austin Reaves for a layup:

It was time for stops and scores.

After a few stops, James and Davis hold two on the ball with Jaylen Brown right here. Or they have been too lazy to modify. Both method, Good isn’t afraid of the large shot. By no means has been:

You felt just like the Celtics knew that they had it right here. For the second time in a a few week, Anthony Davis missed two free throws. Tatum didn’t miss:

5. The transient relaxation earlier than additional time will be each a blessing and a curse if you needed to come again to power that further interval. On one hand, you wish to hold rolling. Then again, everybody wants that minute or so to catch their breath.

The Celtics needed to push so arduous to get the 5 further minutes, it was truthful to marvel in the event that they’d have sufficient left to recover from the hump.

After two Russell Westbrook layups to open additional time, it didn’t look nice for Boston. However the Celtics weren’t completed but.

6. The ball hitting the paint and getting the protection rotating is when Boston appears to be like their finest. That’s what occurred right here earlier than Marcus Good drove Austin Reaves for the floater:

7. After baiting Russell Westbrook into taking one other jumper (Boston had put Luke Kornet on Westbrook, however he guarded the Lakers level guard from a location roughly someplace in San Diego), Marcus Good attacked in opposition to the weary Lakers. The consequence was Anthony Davis coming to assist and Grant Williams working in his nook workplace:

8. After Jaylen Brown overpowered the Lakers to earn a few free throws, Russell Westbrook was baited into taking two extra threes. In between these misses, Jayson Tatum dropped within the step-back pullup to get to 44 factors on the evening:

9. To shut it, Jaylen Brown pulled up from the parking zone:

Goodnight, LA. Again to Boston with an unbelievable victory.

10. The Celtics had their first protracted stumbles of the season whereas on this journey. The Warriors recreation wasn’t a great displaying and getting blown out by the Clippers was powerful. When Boston fell aside throughout that late-third and early-fourth quarter stretch, it was arduous to not query what had occurred during the last week.

However they fought again. They took some punches, picked themselves up off the canvas and began touchdown haymakers of their very own.

4-2 is a really success six-game street journey. Now, Boston has one in every of their longest homestands in years. The subsequent seven video games are at TD Backyard and the Celtics received’t return on the street till the calendar flips to 2023.

That seven-game homestand options a minimum of 5 video games that Boston will probably be closely favored to win. And we get our first take a look at the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day.

It might have been a catastrophe, however the good guys discovered a method simply when every thing appeared to be at its bleakest. That’s a Hollywood ending if we’ve ever seen one.