On a team full of star players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White has emerged as one of the key pieces for the Boston Celtics.

The Los Angeles Lakers made their fans very happy on Thursday night. Not only did they claim their 24th win of the season, but it was against their age-old rivals, the Boston Celtics. Their 117-96 victory was possible because the Lakers were solid in every way throughout the entire game.

One night later, Boston players all but shrugged their shoulders after falling to the Lakers 117-96 on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristaps Porziņģis, who has been critical of the Celtics after their worst games recently, sounded ready to dump the latest poor result into the nearest trash can and forget about it for good.

The Celtics will look to stay perfect on their West Coast road trip as they take on LeBron James and the Lakers. Follow our live blog for updates throughout the game.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Also, after not losing a single game by double digits from the start of the season through the end of December, the Celtics have since suffered defeats of 13, 13, 17 and 21 points, all in their last 10 games. Those also were the only games this season in which Boston failed to score 100 points.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics meet for the first time this season with both at downturns of the 2024-25 season.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, shoots as Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, left, and guard Derrick White defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) AP

The post Derrick White breaks out of slump, helps Celtics end road trip strong vs. Mavericks: 6 takeaways appeared first on Boston.com.

DALLAS — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.