Luka Dončić singles out the abnormal situation in the Celtics’ brutal defeat

LOS ANGELES – After the first quarter in which he Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics tied at 28, Lakers they could not keep up with their historical rivaloutscored 83-61 the rest of the game en route to a 111-89 loss. For a Lakers team that was explosive offensively, 89 points were second lowest overall they had this season, according to Lou Murray of the Athletics, and something like that Luka Dončić admittedly not normal.

“I think they played physically. They played excellent defense,” Doncic said at the press conference after the game. “We need a better offense. We scored 89 points. That’s not like us, so we have to be better.”

Entering the game against the Celtics, the Lakers were 12th in the NBA in points per game at 116.2. They were 10th in offensive rating with 117.6. On the other hand, the Celtics ranked second in the league in opponent points per game with 108.4 and eighth in defensive rating with 113.5.

The Celtics’ defense was certainly on display, especially their use of the deep drop and strong perimeter ball pressure.

“You just have to match the physical form … especially defensively,” Doncic said. “You have to match the physical condition.”

Doncic finished the game with 25 points in 33 minutes, shooting 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from the field and 4 of 7 (57.1 percent) from the 3-point line. He also added five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

The Lakers’ offensive struggles were also highlighted by head coach JJ Redick, who felt the team generally played good enough defense to win the game. That was the reverse of the team’s norm this season where they usually put up a lot of points but struggled to contain opposing attacks.

“We did a good job limiting their fast breaks, we did a good job limiting their points in the paint … we did enough defensively,” Redick said. “We were awful offensively tonight.”

For Redick, one of the key areas the Lakers struggled with offensively was getting shots at the rim and putting more pressure on the Celtics’ defense.

I think there were opportunities to put more pressure on the rim, especially in the first half, Redick said. “We took 11 doubles without the paint. We were 13 of 29 on twos, without the rim. That’s not normally what we shoot. And then we got some good looks from the three, we didn’t knock them down. You’ve got to make shots in this league.”

“I think a lot of times when teams are in that deep slump with all of our pick and roll guys, it kind of puts you in a bit of a bind where you don’t have an obvious pick to pass,” Redick continued. “We just have to do a better job of just finding guys and moving the ball.”

before the game The Lakers honored legendary coach Pat Rileywho had his battles against the Celtics in his day, with a statue outside the team’s arena.