The Celtics dominate the Lakers in the NBA Classic

The Boston Celtics delivered a dominant performance against the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, winning 111-89 at Crypto.com Arena. This victory allows the C’s to complete the season sweep against their historic rival, following their 126-105 win in December at Boston.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics’ offense with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, but it was Payton Pritchard who stole the show with an exceptional 30-point performance off the bench, including 6 three-pointers on 9 attempts.

Payton Pritchard was unstoppable in the @celtics road W!

30 PTS (10-14 FGM)
4 REB
8 AST
6 3PM

3 wins in a row for Boston 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZVlO1XWEod

— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2026

An aggressive defense that makes the difference

The key to this victory lies in the defensive intensity deployed by Boston from the opening tip. The Celtics applied constant pressure on the ball handler, forcing the Lakers into numerous turnovers and preventing them from developing their offensive game.

« We have a lot of underrated players that people didn’t know were this good and were ready for this moment, » Pritchard said after the game. « And so I think they’re seeing it now. »

Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez particularly excelled in this area, harassing Luka Doncic and LeBron James throughout the evening. This defensive pressure limited the Lakers’ stars to disappointing shooting percentages, with only 39.1% collective shooting for Los Angeles.

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The Lakers powerless despite their stars

Despite 25 points from Luka Doncic and 20 points from LeBron James – who crossed the 43,000 career points mark in his 1,600th regular season game – the Lakers never found the solution against the Celtics’ intensity.

« Sometimes you just have to make your shots, » LeBron analyzed after the loss. « They made important shots when we didn’t. We didn’t give ourselves a good chance offensively. »

Coach JJ Redick was particularly frustrated by his team’s offensive performance: « We didn’t do enough defensively, we were just awful offensively tonight. » The evening was marked by three technical fouls called against the Lakers, reflecting their frustration with the officiating decisions.

This loss confirms the Lakers’ struggles against top 10 teams in the league this season (4 wins – 11 losses), while the Celtics string together their eighth win in nine games and close in on Detroit at the top of the Eastern Conference. The evening was supposed to be special for the Lakers with the unveiling of Pat Riley’s statue, but the C’s spoiled the California celebration with authority.