On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Celtics beat their historic rivals in a squeaker on the road, the Celtics defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 92 – 90 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, L.A.’s home arena in those years.
The win was secured by Hall of Fame Boston big man Bill Russell, who put up an astounding 14 points, 23 rebounds, and 7 assists he managed while playing for all 48 minutes of the game. Legendary Celtics win John Havlicek added 21 points, forward Sam Jones chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds, and legendary Celtic Tommy Heinsohn another 13 points and 6 boards.
The Lakers were led by Elgin Baylor’s 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The Celtics also beat the Lakers on this date in 1986, with Boston beating L.A. 105-99 at the Los Angeles Forum.
The game was won with a 22-point, 18-rebound, 7-assist game from legendary Celtics small forward Larry Bird, with teammate Dennis Johnson adding 23 points and 5 assists.
Boston also bested the (then) New Jersey Nets (now, Brooklyn) on this day in 2011 at TD Garden.
31 points and 5 rebounds from Hall of Fame wing Paul Pierce led the Celtics for the win, and teammate Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 10 boards to help Boston improve to 40-14 on the season.
Finally, it was also on this date Boston beat the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden 112 – 99 behind 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists from star forward Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics improved to a 14 – 13 with the win, and Brown had help from All-Star swingman Jayson Tatum (21 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), point guard Kemba Walker (17 points, 4 assists). Guard Payton Pritchard shipped in another 8 points and 7 assists off of the bench for Boston.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
