LeBron James returned to action in one of the best possible venues, Boston’s TD Garden. With the rivalry alive in the stands, where legends such as Bill Russell or Paul Pierce were found, the Angelina star had a good performance, but insufficient before the 37 points and 11 rebounds of Jayson Tatum and some Celtics that in the second half swept until the conclusion 130-108.
The truth is that the beginning of the meeting did not invite such a simple end for the greens. Perhaps motivated by the return of their leader, the gold and purple started better and came to dominate by up to 11 points in the first period. It was a mirage. By halftime Boston had already matched the clash. After passing through the changing rooms there was only one color on the parquet.
“It shows that we are not perfect, but that the fight is always a part of us,” says Marcus Smart of the comeback and the fact of achieving it without two of its starters, since Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams III remain low.
Going back to LeBron, his were 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. Good numbers for such a remarkable game, and more after being unemployed for more than two weeks. This is how El Rey explains his feelings: «I felt good. Obviously, after two and a half weeks, I felt like a rookie again, simply from being out of the game. But I am excited. I felt good enough that I could trust my body.
Without LeBron the Lakers have gone 3-5 and lost in their last four road games. LeBron doesn’t get nervous, but he understands that they have to step up. «There are 65 games left in the season. We need to play better. Anthony Davis for his part, author of 31 points, emphasizes that being without LeBron can never be an excuse. “With or without him, we have enough to win basketball games.”
Boston, permanent irregularity
It is being the keynote at the beginning of the season for the Celtics. With a current record of 8-8, his longest winning streak has been two straight wins. As soon as they play well as they fall the next night; so much so that they have spent five games interspersing victories with defeats. There is still a lot ahead, but they are in that group of teams with the need to step up, especially since the previous year was not that they did too well.
Jaylen, close to return
Jaylen Brown had started the season excellently with an average of 26.5 points; however, a hamstring injury forced him to stop and has caused him to miss the last seven Celtics games. Questioned by such a situation, Ime Udoka points out that his pupil “is close” to return and that he even “really wanted to play” against the Lakers. His return should be a boost for the team.
(Photograph by Maddie Malhotra / Getty Images)