It had been their first win since Christmas Day when they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 126–115 on Monday. Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 11 boards, and Jayson Tatum had 25 points.

There were 19 points scored by Jaylen Brown and 18 points scored by Derrick White. The Celtics have won 12 of their last 14 games, including three straight. Five people scored at least 18 points each.

Antony Davis scored 40 points and got 13 rebounds, and LeBron James scored 16 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and passed the ball 8 times. Even though they won the first In-Season Tournament, the Lakers have dropped six of their last eight games.

Boston fell behind for the first time in the game when Jarred Vanderbilt made a dunk early in the third quarter. But they scored seven points in a row to get ahead again. Porzingis scored 13 points to help the Celtics take a nine-point lead into the fourth.

Los Angeles couldn’t get close in the fourth quarter, even though Davis scored 40 points for the 40th time in a regular season game.

The Celtics scored 12 points, with Brown’s 3-pointer being the last. This gave them a lead of up to 18 points in the first quarter. They got by the Lakers’ starting five very quickly.

LA got back into the game thanks to some hot shots from Taurean Prince in the second. After the first half, the score was 58–57. He made all four of his shots, including three 3s, for 11 points.

There was a crash with 4:02 left in the second that hurt Brown and James and scared both teams. Brown was cutting back to the ball when he slipped and took a step back. James then kneed him in the back. In the game, all but Brown were cared for on the floor. Brown went back to the locker room and came back to start the third quarter.

It was the third time in a row that these two teams played on Christmas Day. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics in 1951, and the Lakers beat them again in 2008.