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One of the NBA's most storied rivalries resumes on Christmas Day as the Boston Celtics visit the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics are tied for the best record in the NBA and are seemingly in a two-team race with Milwaukee for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers were the inaugural winner of the NBA's In-Season Tournament but have played inconsistently since then and are just two games over .500 on the season. The opening tap is scheduled for 5:00 PM EST.
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While the Celtics would probably prefer to be home with friends and family for the holidays, a date with the Lakers in Los Angeles is not a bad alternative. The Celtics are in the midst of a West Coast swing and coming off a dominating 145-108 win over the Clippers on Saturday afternoon. The Celtics, playing without starting center Kristap Porzingis, shot 52% and took a near wire-to-wire victory over the previously red-hot Clippers. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points, Jaylen Brown scored 24 points, and Jrue Holiday had 20 points and seven assists as the Celtics won for the 10th time in 12 games to improve to 22-6 on the season.
“I think when we get out into the open court, we're a pretty tough team with the type of firepower and the offensive ability we have on this team,” said Holiday, an Los Angeles-area native who will be home at Christmas for the first time in his NBA career. “We have shooters, we have guys who can penetrate and make plays. Once we make stops and get the rebound, we're pushing as quickly as possible and it's to our benefit.”
The Celtics come into this Christmas Day matchup at 16-20 all-time on Christmas Day. They come into this game playing exceptionally well offensively, scoring over 138 points per game in the last three games. They are sixth overall in the NBA in points per game as well. The Celtics have been potent from long range as well, ranking 8th in 3-point field goal percentage and 1st in 3-point field goals per game. The Celtics also possess arguably the league's best defensive backcourt in Holiday and Derrick White. As a result, the team is 4th in the league in opponent's field goal percentage.
Key Injuries: Keep an eye on Porzingis' status heading into game time. He has missed three of the last five games with the ankle injury but could be ready to go after sitting out Saturday's game.
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