In a 111-89 loss to the Celtics on Sunday night, the Lakers suffered yet another crushing defeat at the hands of their Eastern Conference rivals. It was Los Angeles’ second crushing defeat to Boston this year; going into a crucial period of the season, Boston appeared more like legitimate NBA title candidates. Despite scoring 25 and 20 points apiece, however, Lakers players Luka Dončić and Lebron James received little assistance from the rest of the team. Following Los Angeles’ defeat to the Celtics, Lakers icon James Worthy didn’t hold back, blasting the team’s effort and calling them heartless. He also subtly mocked Luka Doncic by bringing up the team’s grievances to the officials and casting doubt on their pride and mental toughness.
James Worthy questions Lakers’ pride and effort after disappointing home loss to Boston Celtics
The Celtics crushed them 111-89 at home on Sunday night. In this game, the Lakers were behind 10 points at the half and never managed to cut the margin to less than seven points in the second half. At halftime, a new statue of former coach Pat Riley was unveiled, and the purple and gold icons were there to pay tribute to him. Attendee James Worthy expressed his thoughts about the Lakers’ performance without holding back. Worthy questioned the team’s pride and effort during his appearance on Spectrum SportsNet’s postgame broadcast. He even seemed to make a veiled swipe at Luka Doncic. He said:“This game, to me, wasn’t about stats… No heart. Weak,”Worthy noted that a Celtics team that has yet to regain Jayson Tatum was too strong for the Lakers, who at last had a healthy Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves on the court together. Worthy said: “It’s the Boston Celtics without Tatum. You’re at home. To me, you show no respect for the uniform. When you come out and get outrebounded like that. They sniffed a weakness and dominated… No Tatum, you’re at home, you’re in fifth place, you’re trying to move up… You show no respect for the uniform.”The fact that this occurred on a night when the team honored Pat Riley with a statue installation at Staples Center further disappointed Worthy.“They’ve got to decide who they want to be,” Worthy said. “To come out at home with no [heart] was just tough to watch.”During the game, he also spoke to the officials about the Lakers’ grievances. Luka was observed contesting several decisions as Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, and head coach JJ Redick were all given technical fouls.“As a player when you kind of know you’re defeated,” Worthy said to Lakers Daily. “You start to complain and you start to b**ch and moan and start looking at the referees.”
Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard power Boston Celtics past Los Angeles Lakers in dominant display
The Lakers lost both the 3-point and paint scoring contests. Compared against the Celtics, they had 11 less assists and 11 fewer rebounds. Luka was the Lakers’ top scorer with 25, while Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard both scored more than thirty. After the first quarter, there was a tie between the teams. After that, Boston outscored the Lakers in every quarter, demonstrating how much control they had over the action.It was a discouraging stretch for the Lakers as they let Boston score 17 second-chance points off of nine offensive rebounds. On the other hand, the outstanding performances of Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard allowed the Celtics to easily defeat the Lakers. Pritchard got 30 points off the bench and made six of nine 3-pointers. Since going back to his sixth-man position, he has scored at least 30 points in six of his previous seven games. Brown finished with seven assists, eight rebounds, and a game-high 32 points.