As part of the NBA’s annual Christmas Day schedule, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home for another crucial contest against the Boston Celtics, following a decisive victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the most recent installment of the most illustrious rivalry in the NBA, the players were absent, and the Celtics prevailed over the Lakers 126-115.

Before the Lakers called a fast timeout, the Celtics got off to a quick start with Jaylen Brown making a pair of buckets and a triple, Jrue Holiday connecting from deep, and Kristaps Porzingis dunking a putback to make it 12-0.

A crucial three-pointer was made by Cam Reddish to put the Lakers ahead of the basket following the timeout. Early on, however, the Lakers offered no defensive resistance as the Celtics easily reached the rim and either scored or were fouled to increase their lead to 25-10.

A fortunate circumstance for the Lakers was that the Celtics were unable to respond to Anthony Davis’ 13 first-quarter points. Eventually, Boston began to miss shots, allowing Los Angeles to reduce its deficit to 32-23 at the conclusion of the first period.

Taurean Prince ignited the second period with five consecutive points, while Payton Pritchard drilled consecutive three-pointers for Boston.

Davis, despite Porzingis’ early foul trouble, continued to attack and even completed an uncommon triple to trim the deficit to three points at 47-44.

Rui Hachimura contributed to the action with two dunks, but Porzingis responded with a three-pointer to restore the Celtics’ momentum.

At the conclusion of the quarter, James and Brown collided, and both were rattled by the play. However, the approaching halftime break provided them with a brief respite, as the Lakers entered the locker room trailing by a narrow 58-57 margin.

In the third quarter, LeBron scored, providing the Lakers with their initial advantage of the day. Prince then attempted a second triple, but Holiday answered with his own, and Brown then forced a Lakers timeout with a thunderous dunk.

From that point forward, Porzingis ignited, as the big man caused issues for the Lakers on both ends until Davis converted a transition dunk. This resulted in a strong spurt for the Lakers, which was aided by Austin Reaves’ extensive participation.

However, the Celtics heated up to close the third quarter, and the Lakers entered the fourth quarter trailing 99-90, despite Davis’s continued pressure inside.

The Lakers’ efforts to reduce their deficit during the initial portion of the fourth quarter were insufficient. The Celtics effectively utilized their transition offense to maintain a 10-point lead entering the final six minutes of play.

Davis maintained his contribution by hitting an additional triple. However, James’ offensive struggles prevented the Lakers from making a late comeback, as they continued to struggle with stopping the ball.