At 6:00 a.m. Beijing time on December 26, the third matchup of the NBA regular season Christmas game is in full swing, and the Lakers are at home against the Celtics. As the league's only two traditional giants, every battle is meaningful, and both the Lakers and Celtics have the strength to compete for a championship this season. The Lakers ended their losing streak with a win over the Thunder after demoting Russell to the bench in their last game. But the Lakers still have a record of only 16 wins and 14 losses, ranking 9th in the West, and James has a 41% three-point shooting rate from the outside this season, which still has an indispensable impact on the Lakers on the offensive end.
The Celtics have shown great competitiveness so far this season, and the addition of Porzingis and Holiday has given Tatum and Brown even more inspiration. After the big win over the Clippers in the last game, the Celtics also held the first place in the East with 22 wins and 6 losses. The Celtics have a defensive efficiency of 110.3, which ranks fourth in the league. The offensive efficiency is also 120.3, ranking fourth in the league. One uncontrollable factor around the Big Four is White, who is not the most talented, technical, athletic, explosive player in the Green Army, and will struggle to be an All-Star. But when White was on the floor, the Celtics had a +10 goal difference, which ranks second in the league. The starting lineups of both sides in this game, the Lakers used thick eyebrows, Prince, James, Reddish and Vanderbilt. The Celtics sent Tatum, Holiday , Porzingis, Brown and White.
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Celtics took the lead, Brown scored four points in a row from mid-range, and then hit a solid three-point shot from the outside. Holiday also followed up with a three-pointer and Porzingis scored on a step-back shot. The Lakers only hit a three-pointer in four minutes and were beaten 14-3 by the Greens. James began to constantly attack the inside to make fouls and fight for free throws, and the thick eyebrows scored four points in a row under the basket. But Celtics Holiday turned around and caused 2+1, Tatum's outside three-pointer fell with a knife, Brown and White broke through and scored in a row, and the difference was instantly stretched to 18 points. At the end of the period, the thick eyebrows scored 6 points in a row under the basket and led the team to chase the points with difficulty. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers trailed the Celtics by nine points, 23-32.
In the second quarter, Vanderbilt opened with a drifting shot, and Prince followed up with a three-pointer. Celtics' Holiday immediately responded from the outside, and Pritchard came on the bench to score 10 points with two consecutive three-pointers. Fortunately, Russell scored 4 points on an outside shot, and James had a three-point shot from the outside. Thick eyebrows scored 5 points in a row with a combination of inside and outside, and Hachimura scored 4 points in a row on a mid-range jumper, and a wave of 12-2 chased the difference to 1 point. At the critical moment, Porzingis hit a three-pointer in time, and White and Holiday broke through. The Lakers were also able to keep up with the rhythm, Prince hit 2 three-pointers from the outside, and Reaves made a strong burst to make it 2+1. At halftime, the Lakers trailed the Celtics by one point at 57-58.
In the halftime statistics, thick eyebrows scored 20 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist on 9-of-14 shooting. Prince finished with 11 points, two rebounds and three assists on 4-of-6 shooting. James finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists on 2-of-7 shooting. Hachimura had 6 points and 3 rebounds. On the Celtics' side, Tatum had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 2-of-7 shooting. Holiday had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal on 4-of-5 shooting. Porzingis had 11 points and six rebounds. Brown 9 points. Pritchard had 10 points and two rebounds.
In the second half, James pushed a fast-break counterattack layup and scored, and Prince scored a three-pointer from the outside. Celtics Brown, Tatum hit free throws in a row, and Porzingis scored four points in a row under the basket. Laker Vanderbilt dunked on the spot, and Holiday responded with a three-pointer. The thick eyebrows were very active offensively, scoring another 4 points under the basket. Prince followed up with a three-pointer. However, in the final period, the Celtics Porzingis, White, and Horford hit four three-pointers in a row, instantly expanding the difference to double digits. Laker Reaves hit two three-pointers in time to stabilize the situation, and the third quarter ended, and the Lakers trailed the Celtics by nine points at 90-99.
In the final quarter of the game, James broke through the hook and scored, and Russell hit a mid-range shot. Celtics Horford made a three-pointer from the outside, Brown scored four points in a row, and White also scored four points in a row to help the team still control the double-digit point difference. Thick eyebrows seized the opportunity with three points, Tatum scored 6 points with a burst shot, and Porzingis made a strong dunk, and the difference in the last 3 minutes expanded to 14 points. In the end, James left the game early, and the suspense of the game was lost, and the Celtics finally won the Lakers 126-115!
In the statistics of the whole game, thick eyebrows scored 40 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists on 15-of-26 shooting. Prince had 17 points, four rebounds and three assists. James finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 5-of-14 shooting. Vanderbilt had six points and six rebounds. Hachimura had 12 points and 3 rebounds. Reaves had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. On the Celtics side, Porzingis finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks on 11-of-19 shooting. Tatum finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 6-of-15 shooting. Brown had 19 points, five rebounds and two assists. Holiday had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. White had 18 points and 11 assists.