Boston’s starting five is finding cohesion, and its defense stifled Golden State. The Celtics’ ability to stay consistent will be tested against the Clippers, who sit fifth in the Western Conference standings and sport a 15-7 record at the Intuit Dome.

The Celtics are currently 15-5 on the road with a point differential of +10, while the Clippers have a 7-3 record in their last ten games at home.

LOS ANGELES - Anthony Davis scored 24 points, Austin Reaves added 23 and the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 117-96 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. LeBron James had 20 points and 14 rebounds after being selected for the All-Star Game for the 21st consecutive season earlier in the day.

The Boston Celtics head to crypto.com Arena to face the Los Angeles Lakers in a non-conference matchup. The Celtics are 30-13, which puts them in second place in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers are 23-18, which puts them in sixth place in the Western Conference.

You never know when you’re going to play,” Jayson Tatum said. “Game’s not going the way it’s supposed to or we expect. Joe calls your number to come and shut somebody down and give us a spark off the bench,

The Boston Celtics couldn't get the job done on the road Thursday night, and instead fell 117-96 to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston is now 7-5 in the month of January with the loss.

The Lakers and Celtics, of course, are longtime bitter rivals. The rivalry came to a head twice in Pierce's Hall of Fame career in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics capturing the title in 2008 and the Lakers defeating the Celtics in '10.

Will we be seeing more of the young guard in the future? Was this the Celtics' way of pumping up his potential trade value?

Playing without six of their top eight rotation players, Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr and Amir Coffey lead a gutty effort as the hosts push the reigning champs until the end in a 117-113