BOSTON — It was windy in Boston on Saturday night. So windy that anyone walking along Causeway would have to fight to keep their balance on the sidewalk. The wind was loud enough to penetrate even the strongest of noise-cancelling headphones. But it was a blip on the radar compared to the sounds of TD Garden.
Those same pedestrians on Causeway would have heard the Boston Celtics crowd clear as day. Those driving along the Zakim Bridge may have even heard a peep. Haymarket may have gotten a dose through the tunnels of the T. Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and the Los Angeles Lakers were in town.
And perhaps for the first time since the Kobe Bryant-Paul Pierce days, the biggest rivalry in sports was back.
A new iteration of Celtics vs. Lakers is finally here
No words can truly describe the scenes inside TD Garden’s walls. Ironically, the same “aura” that national media has used to slander Jayson Tatum may be the perfect descriptor. Or at least, the closest one.
From the jump, there was something different about this game. From JJ Redick’s pre-game story about Joe Mazzulla to the sheer amount of media in attendance, everyone knew this was a different beast.
Doncic’s first time playing the Celtics since the Finals. Jaylen Brown’s first time guarding Doncic since Marc Spears’ note that his defense in the Finals impacted the trade. LeBron vs. the Celtics. Tatum vs. Doncic. Boston vs. LA.
The biggest trade in NBA history meeting the biggest rivalry in sports. This game was destined to be special.
As ESPN’s broadcast got settled in (15 minutes late, as to be expected), the crowd got warmed up. The Celtics put a promo video on the jumbotron, hyping up the matchup—wholly unusual for a regular season affair.
The crowd rumbled as the starting lineups were introduced. Starting with the Lakers, boos rained down like a tsunami, with Doncic and James receiving scorn likened only to the jeers that Kyrie Irving endures in the Garden.
Once the Celtics’ starting five had been announced onto the floor, the true madness began. Almost immediately, “Beat LA” chants filled the air. To the point where there was no room left for anything else in the arena. Music was turned off. Sound effects silenced. The many noises used to fire up every-night crowds were rendered obsolete.
Boston didn’t need them.
The Lakers started the game on a 7-0 run. Then it was 10-4. Then 14-6. Joe Mazzulla called a timeout. The Celtics couldn’t find their shots, and the Lakers were making them pay in transition.
Then, everything changed.
Brown guarded Doncic as if it was his sole purpose in life. In his eyes, Doncic was the only Laker on the floor. He was all that mattered.
With 3:53 remaining in the first quarter, and the Celtics now down 23-21, Doncic drove into Brown’s chest. The Celtics star stood his ground, stripped the ball from Doncic’s hand, and found Al Horford in transition for a dunk.
Jordan Goodwin responded with a three after a Lakers TV timeout gave the crowd time to settle, but Boston’s reign of terror on Doncic wasn’t done.
At the 2:04 mark, Doncic got a screen to enter a mismatch—a mismatch against Payton Pritchard. Listed at 6-foot-1, Pritchard will almost always be at a disadvantage on defense. Doncic has made millions using his size to bully opponents in the mid-range area. But Pritchard refused to back down.
He too stripped the ball from Doncic (it counted as a block), and Tatum threw down a slam in transition. But without giving TD Garden a moment to pick its jaw off the floor, Horford took the ball from Doncic on the very next possession, and Brown got a bucket while running the floor, giving Boston its first lead of the night.
LA kept things close, and in the fourth quarter, they made things interesting. Doncic did what true superstars do and propelled the Lakers forward with tough buckets. But the Celtics owned the moments.
Every chance they got to give TD Garden a reason to fall in love with the rivalry, they took.
Tatum threw down a huge dunk in transition to end the first half. Horford consistently stopped James and Doncic in space. Even Sam Hauser managed to stand James up in a moment when the Lakers were desperately trying to find bodies to pick on.
Boston walked off the court with a 111-101 victory after LA made sure to ruffle the heartstrings of those in attendance wearing green, but the game was about so much more than the game.
When Payton Pritchard nailed his half-court buzzer-beater at half-time of Game 5 in the 2024 NBA Finals, it was one of the loudest crowd pops in recent memory. Maybe even louder than when the Celtics actually won the championship, as the game was a blowout.
This crowd rivaled that moment.
The significance of Celtics vs. Lakers quite literally stretches back generations. Bill Russell vs. Jerry West. Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson. Paul Pierce vs. Kobe Bryant.
Tatum and Brown and Doncic have a long way to go before they reach those heights. But if the crowd in TD Garden on Saturday night was even a small inkling of an indicator, they may have a chance.
And most importantly, both cities are all-in again.
Boston vs. LA is back.