Sunday’s highly anticipated rivalry matchup between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers should have been a good game. Instead, it quickly devolved into a blowout as the Celtics embarrassed the Lakers in their own arena on national TV.
Boston routed Los Angeles 111-89, taking a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never looking back. It was pretty much the same outcome as their previous game in December, which the Celtics won by 21 points at TD Garden.
After the game, Hall of Famer and Lakers legend James Worthy roasted his former team during a TV appearance on Spectrum SportsNet Live.
“No heart, weak…It’s the Boston Celtics,” Worthy said. “No respect for the uniform. You come out and get out-rebounded…It was tough to watch.”
James Worthy RIPS the Lakers after their loss to the Celtics 😬
“No heart, weak… This afternoon, was weak. It’s the Boston Celtics… To me, No respect for the uniform. You come out and get out rebounded, Pritchard and Jaylen Brown, you can sniff out weakness. When you do that,… pic.twitter.com/KZVLpWsJD1
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 23, 2026
Worthy spent his entire 12-year NBA career with Los Angeles and faced Boston in three NBA Finals, so he understands the weight of their historic rivalry.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they were unable to stop a surging Celtics team that’s won eight of its last nine games. Boston dominated just about every category, outplaying Los Angeles in nearly all facets of the game.
The Lakers had no answer for Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard, who scored 32 and 30 points, respectively. They also got crushed on the glass, 50-39, and appeared to give up in the fourth quarter, never mounting a serious rally in the second half.
The Celtics will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Tuesday when they continue their road trip against the slumping Phoenix Suns, who have lost three of their last four games.
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