BSJ Game Report: Celtics 111, Lakers 89 - Pritchard, Brown dominate in LA

LOS ANGELES — It was the latest entry in a storied rivalry. Los Angeles Lakers legends flooded Crypto.com Arena on Sunday evening, all there to celebrate legendary coach Pat Riley, who was honored with a statue outside the arena.

But the Boston Celtics wanted to play spoiler. Riley made a career of battling the Celtics. First, in Los Angeles, and then as a member of the Miami Heat. So, it was fitting that on hisday in Los Angeles, the Celtics were in town.

Early on, it was a back-and-forth affair. Despite his inefficient numbers, Jaylen Brown was seeing the defense, reading LA's pressure, and making some nice passes. Derrick Whitedid the same as Boston's ball movement gave them an edge over the iso-heavy Lakers.

But isolation works with the right players leading the way. And Luka Doncic and LeBron James made their mark. A steady dose of tough shot-making kept LA in the game for the entirety of the first half, even though the Celtics slowly began to pull away.

Things got chippy in the second quarter. Jarred Vanderbilt fouled Nikola Vucevic, then stared him down. Doncic hit a three over Hugo Gonzalezand stared at him (though that one was seemingly light-hearted, as they share the Real Madrid connection). And then came the techs.

Brown drove on Marcus Smart, and the Lakers believed that Smart caught an elbow to the face. But the refs called it a defensive foul. Austin Reavesand Smart both picked up techs on the play.

Later in the quarter, the refs missed a goaltend call on Neemias Queta, and the refs were not happy. Brown ran the floor and got himself to the free-throw line.

JJ Redickgot a tech in the third quarter, too. Needless to say, the Lakers weren't very happy with the officiating on Sunday evening. And Boston took advantage of that.

The Celtics out-hustled LA in every aspect of the game. They beat them on the offensive glass, hustled for loose balls, and were unbelievably physical on the defensive end. Everybody wearing green was a man on a mission on Sunday night.

Gonzalez and Scheierman led the charge. They stuck Doncic and James, constantly doing everything possible to make them uncomfortable. And the rest of the Celtics followed suit. Even Brown got in on the action, checking Doncic whenever he got the chance.

Payton Pritchardexploded in the third quarter. He only had eight points, but they were loud eight points. He hit two threes. After the first, a contested triple over Smart, he mean-mugged Boston's bench. After the second, he skipped back down the court. Confidence was flowing through his veins. And he carried that confidence into the fourth.

By the time the final frame came around, Boston was up by 13 points. But the game wasn't over.

LA showed some signs of life early on, but Pritchard was ready for it. A flurry of buckets shut the Lakers down. A pair of contested mid-range buckets was followed by a pair of free throws, all in response to an early-quarter Boston timeout.

From then on, it was all Celtics. They absolutely dominated in every facet of the game. Brown and Pritchard nailed shot after shot, slowly overwhelming the Lakers with a downpour of buckets.

The Lakers had no answer. It was the Brown and Pritchard Show. And they were just spectators.

Big winner: This game was all about winning in the trenches. Both teams had shot-makers. Both teams had plenty of talent. But Boston made sure to be the harder-playing team every single chance they got.

Time after time, Scheierman, Gonzalez, White, or any other Celtic could be seen soaring over LA's defense to snag an offensive rebound. Queta sprinted down the floor for a defensive rebound. Gonzalez fought his way through every screen that was set on him. It was a perfect example of hustle-first basketball.

That's what made the difference on Sunday night. Boston never took its foot off the gas.

Ouch, tough one: Tunnel vision plagued the Celtics for a few stretches in this game. Brown was the main culprit, though he did a great overall job of keeping everyone involved. Pritchard did it, too.

But bucket-getters are going to do one thing: Get buckets. An unfortunate possession here and there is a small price to pay for the night Boston's top guys had.

The big picture: This is nothing new. This is just who the Celtics are.

It's too deep into the season for this type of play to be a surprise. The words 'WILL DO ANYTHING TO WIN' should line every opponent's scouting report. Boston just never stops hustling.

Every once in a while, they'll have a dud. Every NBA team does. But the Celtics are different. They play harder on a night-to-night basis than most squads around the league. Brown and Pritchard were incredible, but the hustle led the way.

That's how they're able to be in so many games. That's why they've been so successful this season. That'show they beat LA on Sunday night.