Lakers quickly let it get away from them

Without Doncic and James, it doesn’t take long for trip to Boston to turn into a blowout.

- BY THỤC NHI NGUYEN

BOSTON The TD Garden crowd held its collective breath as Derrick White's three-point shot with 9:57 left bounced straight into the air. The ball hovered near shot-clock height, bounced inside the rim and rolled through the net as Boston Celtics fans let out one of their loudest cheers of the night.

The basket that gave the Celtics a 21-point lead in an eventual 126-105 rout of a shorthanded Lakers squad playing without Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

Austin Reaves tried to carry the Lakers with 36 points and eight of the team's 15 assists, but he also had four turnovers. Gabe Vincent, starting for a second consecutive night with Doncic out, had a seasonhigh 18 points, including four three-pointers.

With Friday's 7 p.m. local tip time, the Lakers started two games in less than 24 hours.