Celtics guard Jaylen Brown drives to the basket against Lakers forward Jake LaRavia in the first half.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown drives to the basket against Lakers forward Jake LaRavia in the first half.Katie Chin/Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — When the Celtics faced the Lakers at TD Garden on Dec. 5, most of the intrigue was washed away when superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic were ruled out for Los Angeles, and the Celtics unsurprisingly rolled to a blowout win.
Sunday’s rematch was positioned to be more alluring, with both teams healthy, well-rested, and pushing toward the playoffs.
But on a court with an unusual star power, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard was the one who came off the bench and embraced the spotlight. He hit a trademark buzzer-beater, lined up contested 3-pointers, and muscled into the lane and found space where it seemed there was none.
All the while, he displayed an extra swagger, whether screaming toward Lakers fans, happily skipping upcourt with a wide smile, or barking into the NBC camera courtside. In the end, he crafted one of his most complete and efficient games as a Celtic and led Boston to a 111-89 win, its eighth in nine games.
Pritchard made 10 of 14 shots and 6 of 9 3-pointers and finished with 30 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 32 points on 10 of 28 shooting, along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
In the final minutes, with all of Boston’s stars on the bench, several turned and saluted a group of Celtics fans behind them, with Brown pumping both fists in the air.
Doncic had 25 points and James added 20 for the Lakers, who committed three technical fouls and appeared unsettled throughout.
James started the game with a leak-out dunk followed by a post-up basket over Derrick White, perhaps positioning him for a vintage performance against his longtime rival. But the Lakers star mustered just two more points over the rest of the half.
The Celtics held a clear edge in first-half hustle plays, and Baylor Scheierman set the tone early when he hustled to save a loose ball that the Lakers were content to watch go out of bounds and cashed it in with a 3-pointer.
Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez helped rev up the intensity when he checked in, and he was matched up against Doncic, a fellow former Real Madrid star. Doncic welcomed Gonzalez to the game by hitting a 3-pointer over him. He smiled and had some words for Gonzalez as the two ran back downcourt.
But Gonzalez was unbothered. Soon after, he held his ground in the post as Doncic tried to get him off-balance with his creative footwork. The possession ended with a tough, contested baseline jump shot that missed.
Nikola Vucevic was an offensive catalyst for Boston later in the period, with the Celtics seeking post-ups deep in the paint against smaller Lakers. Vucevic converted two for layups and was fouled on a third.
But Gonzalez’s strong stretch was followed by a rookie mistake, as he fouled Austin Reaves on a 3-point attempt well beyond the right arc with 0.9 seconds left, helping Los Angeles tie the score after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lakers’ frustrations with officiating boiled over. They were whistled for four quick fouls, and during one sequence a no-call on their end was followed by a shooting foul for Brown.
Reaves clapped his hands in the face of an official, leading to a technical foul. Marcus Smart, who took an elbow to the face from Brown but was called for the foul, continued the conversation as Brown stood at the free-throw line, leading to another technical foul.
Later, Doncic hit a 3-pointer but stayed on the ground motioning to the official at the lack of a foul call, and Gonzalez seized the advantage and rushed upcourt for a layup.
Then when James went up for a layup, the referees missed a goaltend on Celtics center Neemias Queta. Like Doncic, James was distracted by the lack of a call, and Boston launched a quick counterattack that led to two more Brown free throws.
Despite these missteps, the Lakers lingered for most of the half behind Doncic. But Pritchard sent the Celtics to halftime with momentum as well as their largest lead when he poured in a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer before running down the court and sharing his thoughts with the Lakers crowd.
Early in the third quarter, the Lakers were looking for another goaltend when Queta, who had just blocked another James shot, put his hand through the net before a DeAndre Ayton floater missed. Brown quickly capitalized with a fast-break layup as he was fouled. Lakers coach JJ Redick subsequently picked up his team’s third technical of the game while voicing his frustrations about the previous play.
Even when things appeared to go right for the Lakers, they ended up wrong. When Reaves was called for fouling Brown on a layup attempt, Los Angeles challenged the call and won.
But the Celtics had imminent possession on the play, and after the timeout Gonzalez cut to the hoop for a layup on the inbounds pass. Boston took an 84-71 lead to the fourth.
The Lakers pulled within 86-77 early in the fourth, but Smart missed a 3-pointer that could have made it a six-point game and subsequently missed two more, dropping him to 0 for 7 on the night.
At the other end, Pritchard remained in control. He hit a pair of shots in the lane before drawing two free throws on a drive, helping Boston push its lead back to 94-79. He put his final stamp on the game with 3:23 left when he stepped back and swished a 3-pointer from the right arc as the shot clock ran down, turned and yelled into the television camera behind him. That dart gave Boston a 105-83 lead, and Redick called a timeout and pulled his starters.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.