LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Boston Celtics swept the season series in the NBA’s most storied rivalry with a 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Payton Pritchard scored 30 points with six 3-pointers and eight assists for the Celtics, who have won three straight and eight of nine as they attempt to close the gap on Detroit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Brown and Pritchard scored 19 points apiece in the second half, and Pritchard wrapped up the win on a step-back 3-pointer with 3:24 to play, prompting the Lakers to empty their bench amid scattered boos.
Luka Doncic had 25 points and LeBron James got the 43,000th point of his career while scoring 20 for the Lakers, who fell short at home against a probable NBA title contender for the third time in two weeks. Los Angeles was held to its second-lowest point total of the season.
Austin Reaves added 15 points for the Lakers, who also repeatedly lost their cool and got whistled for three technical fouls after a series of questionable calls.
Boston nursed a solid lead throughout the second half and had little trouble controlling the latest meeting between historic franchises with a combined 35 NBA titles.
The Lakers honored Pat Riley during a halftime ceremony after unveiling a bronze statue of their former coach outside their downtown arena. Riley won six championship rings during his two decades in Los Angeles, including nine seasons and four titles as the head coach of the 1980s Showtime Lakers.
Doncic, James and Reaves played together for only the 12th time this season with the Lakers largely back to full health — but then Los Angeles lost backup center Jaxson Hayes to an ankle injury before halftime.
The Celtics beat the Lakers 126-105 in Boston last December while Doncic and James were out.
While James extended his NBA scoring record to another milestone number, he also played in his 1,600th regular-season game to join Celtics great Robert Parish (1,611) as the only NBA players to reach the mark.
Up next
Celtics: At Phoenix on Tuesday.
Lakers: Host Orlando on Tuesday.
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