The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off an epic win against the New York Knicks in overtime on Thursday night.
A late rally in the fourth quarter, led by LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Gabe Vincent off the bench, who scored 12 fourth-quarter points-including four 3-pointers-helped the Lakers force overtime and eventually secure the win. Both James and Doncic scored 30-plus points, extending their winning streak to nine games.
Los Angeles has also won 14 of their last 16 games, and now they enter one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire NBA season as they head to Boston and the world-famous TD Garden to take on the defending champion Celtics at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.
Ahead of the matchup, James-who is very familiar with playing in Boston after dominating the Eastern Conference for a significant portion of his career-sent a clear message before the game.
"Boston, defending champs.. [explicit] great team... ready for that matchup." James said postgame.
"Boston, defending champs... ready for that matchup."
LeBron looking ahead to Saturday's duel in Boston (8:30pm/et, ABC) as LAL seeks their 9th straight win pic.twitter.com/r04Lxs8BlC
— NBA (@NBA) March 7, 2025
Despite being 40 years old-the oldest active player in the NBA-LeBron James is playing at an exceptionally high level. He recently won Western Conference Player of the Month for February, during which he averaged over 29 points per game as the Lakers surged up the standings. They are now sitting as the No. 2 seed with a 40-21 overall record.
However, the Celtics are also firing on all cylinders, coming off two dominant wins over the Trail Blazers and 76ers, where they were able to rest some key starters in both outings.
As they prepare for Saturday night's game, it's worth noting that the Lakers won the first meeting, which took place in Los Angeles over two months ago. Every time the Lakers and Celtics clash, it promises to be a playoff-level atmosphere, given the rich history both teams share in this rivalry.
Related: Magic Johnson Sends Clear Message After LeBron James Makes NBA History
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This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 7:34 AM.