POST GAME LAL - HOME > Celtics' Brad Stevens will coach Eastern Conference All-Stars

Boston Makes History With 113-107 Win Vs. Rival Lakers

NESN by Cameron McDonough on Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 10:26PM 2,054 Share this:

There’ a new all-time winningest regular-season NBA franchise, and it hails from TD Garden. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers both entered Friday’s game with 3,252 wins, which meant one of the two rivals had to make history. And the C’s did just that with 113-107 victory. Isaiah Thomas once again led the way with 31 points, while Jae Crowder (18 points, six rebounds), Jaylen Brown (12 points, seven rebounds) and Terry Rozier (10 points) all reached double-figures for the C’s.

Al Horford led Boston with eight assists and eight rebounds while scoring 11 points, and Marcus Smart added five steals. With their sixth consecutive win, Boston improved to 32-18, while Los Angeles dropped to 17-36. And it turned out Brad Stevens didn’t even need the victory to coach the Eastern Conference, as the Toronto Raptors lost 102-94 to the Orlando Magic. But we’re going to guess he’s OK with the win, too. Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford

ENTERTAINING START The C’s got out to a quick 7-0 lead, but the Lakers responded with a 7-2 run. But the difference in the first quarter was when Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell combined to make four straight 3-pointers in a 12-3 L.A. run. Los Angeles then went up by as many as five points, but a Rozier 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 30-29 Lakers after the first 12 minutes, Thomas wasted no time making an impact in this one with 12 first-quarter points, while Russell and Young both led the Lakers with nine points. Sponsored Get more with American Express Travel on your Next Royal Caribbean Cruise Ad by American Express Travel

SECOND-QUARTER SPARK Thomas didn’t score in the second quarter until his layup in the closing seconds, but that didn’t matter because his teammates stepped up in a big way. Kelly Olynyk, Marcus Smart, Rozier and Brown (who once again started in Avery Bradley’s absence) combined to score the Celtics’ first 19 points in the second quarter, and Crowder then scored eight of Boston’s next 11 points. As a result, the C’s enjoyed a 62-51 lead at the break.

OFFENSE-LESS The C’s had a great start offensively with 62 points in the first half, but the third quarter was a different story. Boston only scored 20 points in the frame, which allowed L.A. to creep back into the game and trail 82-74 heading into the fourth quarter. The C’s did have an 80-63 lead at one point because L.A. wasn’t exactly lighting it up from the floor either, but the Lakers went on an 11-2 run to close the frame.

KING IN THE FOURTH The Celtics didn’t need the same fourth-quarter heroics from Thomas that they received the past two games, but he still lived up to his new nickname. Thomas scored Boston’s first eight points in the fourth, and he ended up scoring 17 points in the frame to prevent a Los Angeles comeback. PLAY OF THE GAME Smart and Olynyk will make the highlight reels with this play:

UP NEXT Make sure you have your tissues ready for the Celtics’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, because it’s sure to be an emotional one. Former Celtics great Paul Pierce will return for his final regular-season game in Boston. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
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Celtics' Brad Stevens will coach Eastern Conference All-Stars

By A. Sherrod Blakely February 03, 2017 9:56 PM

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics were trying to put the finishing touches on the Los Angeles Lakers when the all-star fate of Brad Stevens and his coaching staff had been determined.

The Toronto Raptors’ 102-97 loss at Orlando meant Stevens and his staff would be coaching the East All-Stars on Feb. 19 in New Orleans.

Toronto’s loss means that Boston will have a better record than the Raptors by Feb. 5, which is the cutoff point in determining who will coach the East and West All-Stars.

MORE: A LOOK AT CELTICS ALL-STAR COACHES

Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue coached the team last year, and league rules prohibit the same coach back-to-back years. That meant whoever had the second-best record in the conference by Feb. 5, would be the staff coaching the game.

Stevens, who will be coaching his first All-Star team, will join Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas who was named to his second straight All-Star game. In addition, Thomas will be participating in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge.
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Celtics win season-high sixth straight, beating Lakers, 113-107

CSNNE By A. Sherrod Blakely February 03, 2017 10:29 PM


BOSTON – At one point on Friday night, a scant ‘Beat L-A’ chant was barely audible by the Boston Celtics faithful.

Despite these two being longtime rivals, there wasn’t nearly the kind of buzz or excitement in the building that die-hard fans of both franchises are used to.

That didn’t matter to the Celtics who had some iffy play defensively in the final minutes of play after building a 17-point in the third quarter, a cushion that proved to be key in holding on for a 113-107 win.

Boston (32-18) has now won a season-high six straight.

Even before the victory, Brad Stevens and his staff were going to be coaching the East All-Stars courtesy of Toronto’s loss earlier in the night at Orlando.

But beating the Lakers (17-36) still had significance for Boston.

For starters, it’s a rival that they have had trouble with in recent years having lost eight of the previous 11 matchups.

The victory was No. 3,253 for Boston – tops all-time in the NBA and one more than the Lakers.

The victory continued to distance them from the Raptors and the Washington Wizards who both trail Boston by 2.5 games. In addition, the Celtics are now just 2.0 games behind East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.

And while Boston led by as many as 17 points on Friday, there’s no such thing as an easy win for the Celtics when they play the Lakers who soon trimmed Boston’s lead down to single digits.

But once again it was Isaiah Thomas coming to the rescue.

The Lakers made a bunch of shots in the fourth quarter, only for Thomas to consistently make the right basketball play whether it be taking a shot himself or finding a teammate for an open look at the rim.

He finished with 38 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter. Thomas, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the month, also had four assists.

The Celtics jumped out to a 7-0 lead, only for the Lakers to respond with a 15-7 run of their own to lead 15-14. Los Angeles would go ahead by as many as four points in the first, but a 3-pointer by Terry Rozier just before the horn sounded to end the first cut the Lakers lead to 30-29.

It was a one or two-possession game for most of the second quarter, but a 9-2 run by Boston to end the half gave them a 62-51 cushion which would prove to be their largest lead of the half.

Boston’s control of the game remained steady throughout most of the third quarter with the Celtics’ lead teetering on the edge of being a double-digit margin.

The Lakers backcourt of Nick Young (17 points) and D’Angelo Russell (20 points) were the primary scorers for a Lakers team that surprisingly got very little scoring production from its bench.

But their bench soon came alive, looking in the second half more like the unit that averages a league-best 50.3 points per game. For the game, Los Angeles’ backups tallied 59 points.

Another signature win given the significance? I think so.

Our complete historical #1 Spot was reestablished. It is a great day to be a Celtics. Fan.

Dboss

BY WINNING WE ARE THE ALL TIME NBA LEADER IN WINS FOR A SINGLE TEAM BYPASSING THE LAL!

112288

IT for MVP voices growing in volume.

Dboss

WRITTEN OR UNWRITTEN.................IT'S THOMAS' TEAM NOW. HE IS THE LEADER!

112288

112288 wrote:BY WINNING WE ARE THE ALL TIME NBA LEADER IN WINS FOR A SINGLE TEAM BYPASSING THE LAL!

112288

Not going to take any particular pride in that.  We have 105 more regular season losses than L.A., having played 71 seasons to their 69.  LA's lifetime winning % is .600 and ours is .588.  Talk to me when out pct. is higher.

Steve, by next season I will when our % passes theirs. They are not going anywhere.

112288

112288 wrote:Steve, by next season I will when our % passes theirs. They are not going anywhere.

112288

Will take four or five seasons at least to overtake them by winning pct. because of those extra 105 losses.  And that's if they don't improve, which they should.

steve3344 wrote:

112288 wrote:Steve, by next season I will when our % passes theirs. They are not going anywhere.

112288

Will take four or five seasons at least to overtake them by winning pct. because of those extra 105 losses.  And that's if they don't improve, which they should.

at least we get to play the Nets twice as many times as they do

beat

A good win last night in what easily could have been a 'trap' type game in that it was a game that should have been won (and was), but could have been lost due to lack of focus.

My take from last night's game are two fold. First, is that Smart brings so much to our team that his suspect shooting (which is improving) can easily be over looked at this time.

Second, is that Jae Crowder shows me every bit of whatever Butler shows anyone except that they play somewhat different positions with Butler more of guard and Crowder more of a forward.

No way either of these two guys should get traded at this time of this season as they both bring far too much character to our team. Thomas is our best scorer, but both Crowder and Smart are the keys to our team's culture.

Nice win, great game (by definition) but generally underwhelming.  The Lakers are the 3rd worst team in the NBA.  They  have lost 11 straight road games by an average of 16 points, so beating them by 6 doesn't move the needle for me.  As far as being #1 in franchise wins, who cares?  If both the Lakers and the Celtics LOSE every game moving forward for the rest of this season the Celtics will still have more franchise wins but may not make the playoffs.  It's wins going forward that matter and we are well positioned for that.  The Lakers have talent, if their pick isn't #4 or lower (e.g. #5, 6, 7) they will get even more talent (if it is worse than #3 Philly will get it.  Vestiges of The Process).  Magic Johnson is being brought in as a "consultant".  Considering he has not said many good things about Dim Buss in the past that might mean that Jeannie is positioning the franchise for a pivot after this season.  Remember how Sam Hinkie got slowly phased out in Philly when they brought in Colangelo?  We might be seeing that happening in LA and every Laker fan I know would be jumping for joy it it turns out to be true.  That spoiled little rich kid should never have been given the keys to the family Lamborghini.  Even with Magic at the helm it might not be so easy to get out from under Buss' contracts with Mozgov and, especially, Deng (boy, was he ever a non-factor last night).  Still, hopefully, a step in the right direction for the Laker faithful.

This was the "Isaiah Thomas and a few other guys" show.  Crowder with a nice 18 points, but after that you drop down to Jaylen Brown with 12 points for the next highest scorer.  I love IT, but I can't help feeling we are going to have problems in the playoffs with him grabbing such a high percentage of the points.  Yeah, I know players like MJ and Kobe did it, but I would rather NOT have to bank on it.  Last night they put Ingram on him and it bothered him a bit.  His 6 TOs last night, most of them completely unnecessary, drove me crazy.  He came up 2 points shy of being the only Celtic to ever score 40 points in 3 consecutive games.  In the last minute of the game the Lakers were double-teaming him out at mid-court.  They didn't do it with 2-3 minutes left and maybe that could change the game.  The game was effectively over, they just didn't want him to get to 40.  Remember that, Isaiah.  Add that to the chip on your shoulder.

If only Smart could shoot.  Another Smart-esque 3-10 but man was he blowing things up, especially in the first half!  He was ripping balls out of Laker hands, stealing balls, just everything to destroy them.  There was some payback at the end when he was trying to run out the clock and Russell ripped the ball out of his hands.  5 steals, 3 in the early game.

Rozier and Brown are growing nicely.  Brown playing hard, making fewer rookie mistakes.  Rozier is showing he has ice in his veins, hitting clutch 3s in this game and in a previous game too.  I'd hate for either one of them to go in a trade but something is going to shake loose.  Maybe it will be Bradley who is gone for a stud and Terry Rozier is expected to step up and assume the mantle of defensive pitbull.  I'm willing to be patient.

Brad Stevens will coach the All-Star game.  That is great.  I agree with Brad who says that he never had that as a personal goal, but it means the team is winning.  Exactly.  At this time, 3 years ago, we were road kill.  Fast forward and our team, represented by Brad Stevens and his coaching staff, are All-Stars.  It is also a great opportunity for the highest quality players in the NBA to get to know Brad and develop a relationship with him and, hopefully, an appreciation of his genius.  That can only help recruiting in the future, if not with them then with their non-All Star teammates they talk to when the season resumes.  Cannot hurt.  Cannot.

Brooklyn lost, Phoenix won.  I'm just waiting for teams like the Lakers and Phoenix to lose heart and start the tank for real while Brooklyn has zero incentive to tank because the worse they are the better we are.  If/when that starts I want as fat a lead on Phoenix and LA we can have.

Toronto lost too.  We now have a 2 game lead in the loss column and are riding a 6 game win streak.  Unfortunately, Washington also has a 6 game win streak going and they are now in 3rd place in the east, ahead of Toronto.  I wish there was a Comments From The Other Side from Toronto today so I can read all those arrogant shits realize not only are they not in 2nd chasing 1st, and we're trailing them, they are in 4th chasing 3rd and only have a .5 game lead on Atlanta.  A little more slippage and they will lose home court in the playoffs.

We have to watch Washington.  They are the hottest team in the league right now.  We must keep the pedal to the metal.  Don't rush, but come back as soon as you can, Avery.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400900156























bob


.

steve3344 wrote:

112288 wrote:BY WINNING WE ARE THE ALL TIME NBA LEADER IN WINS FOR A SINGLE TEAM BYPASSING THE LAL!

112288

Not going to take any particular pride in that.  We have 105 more regular season losses than L.A., having played 71 seasons to their 69.  LA's lifetime winning % is .600 and ours is .588.  Talk to me when out pct. is higher.

Steve,

Our records in 1946-47 was 20-38, a 58 game season.  Our record in 1947-48 was 20-38.

In the Lakers' first season their record was 44-16, and they won the Finals.  Why?  Because the owners of the Lakers bought the recently disbanded Detroit Gems, who had the worst record in the BAA (which, perhaps, contributed to their collapse), and got the first pick in next year's draft, George Mikan, by far the best big man of his era.

My point is that the Lakers, by virtue of coming into the league as an expansion team (which is why they have 2 fewer seasons than us) also had the pick of the draft to make them elite.  We, on the other hand, struggled along until we were able to snag Bill Russell for the '56 season.


bob


.

Bob,

Regarding your assessment of the Lakers and poor little rich kid at the helm screwing up.........sounds eerily similar to another team on the east coast with a former LAL coach knocking heads with another rich kid at the helm.

Any guesses??????????

112288

Both Terry & Jalen scored double figures.  

I think that qualifies as a glimmer.

The clock is ticking for KO.  Is this his ceiling?  If the conclusion is yes an upgrade will eventually be needed.  We need a really good big off the bench that can ball on a consistent basis.  Cow is on point.  KO is a soft player.  We will also need to upgrade Amir's spot.  As I stated before I think that our entire roster of 4's and 5's with the exception of AH need upgrades.  

The diffuculty in doing that has cap related issues.  Either IT or AB will have to be moved if we add a big that commands a significant salary.  Boston is not going to be able to carry 4 big time salaries.  With that in mind Boston should replace either one of them in the 2017 Draft.  

Neither may be traded this month because we still have the off season and next year's trade deadline to pull the trigger.  I expect DA to make a move to add that big this month.  With that big in place it will give them more flexibility to navigate the up coming draft and free agency   I do not think that either IT or AB will be needed to secure that big.

Dboss