National Basketball Association
Boston 120, L.A. Lakers 107
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2019
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: #15 Zach Zarba, #45 Brian Forte, #34 Kevin Cutler
Attendance: 18997

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points, Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris added 16 each, and the visiting Boston Celtics continued to emerge from a recent downturn by extending their winning streak to three with a 120-107 victory Saturday over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Gordon Hayward added 15 points as the Celtics avenged a defeat to the Lakers at home Feb. 7 when former Boston point guard Rajon Rondo hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer.

LeBron James scored 30 points for the Lakers, who were playing without a number of key contributors because of injuries. Los Angeles lost its fifth consecutive game and fell for the seventh time in its last eight games.

The Celtics emerged from the All-Star break losing their first four games. They have won four of five since then, though, including three consecutively, all in California.

On the current four-game trip to the West Coast, the Celtics have an impressive 128-95 victory at Golden State, a 111-109 triumph at Sacramento and Saturday's domination of the Lakers. The Celtics will remain in Los Angeles for the finale of the trip Monday against the Clippers.

Boston started to break open a close game late in the second quarter while putting together a 12-4 run to take a 57-47 lead at halftime. Boston closed the first half by scoring the final seven points.

Boston extended the lead to as many as 16 in the third quarter when it outscored the Lakers 36-29 in the period to take a 93-76 advantage.

Moritz Wagner scored 22 points and Jonathan Williams added 18 for the Lakers, both career highs.

Los Angeles was playing its first game amid the news that both forward Brandon Ingram and guard Lonzo Ball would miss the remainder of the season. Ingram has a deep venous thrombosis in his right shoulder and Ball has a severely sprained left ankle.

Also out for the Lakers on Saturday was Kyle Kuzma, who also has a sprained right ankle. The injury situation meant that Wagner got his first career start in his 27th career game.

Irving went 12 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, after missing Wednesday's game at Sacramento because of a left thigh contusion.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   L.A. Lakers
Kyrie Irving 30 Scoring LeBron James 30
Kyrie Irving 5 Assists LeBron James 12
Al Horford 8 Rebounds LeBron James 10
Gordon Hayward 2 Free Throws Made Moritz Wagner 7
Kyrie Irving 2 Steals Josh Hart 1
Jaylen Brown 2 Blocks Isaac Bonga 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 120 51.6 14-38 10-14 32 43 5 6 13
L.A. Lakers 107 48.4 5-27 14-18 28 43 4 4 12
Upcoming Games
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Lakers have a W/L % of .419 after a win and .486 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against L.A. Clippers. The Celtics have a W/L % of .650 after a win and .556 after a loss.