The Los Angeles Lakers had an eight-game winning run going into Saturday night's game against the Boston Celtics, which had propelled them up the Western Conference rankings and solidly into the title conversation behind the NBA's hottest new combo, LeBron James and Luka Dončić.

However, the Celtics have a strong one-two punch of their own, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown served as a sobering reminder that Boston is a stop on the path to the championship. In a 111-101 Celtics victory, Tatum finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals, while Brown contributed 31 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Tatum and Brown scored more than thirty points in a game for the 29th time, which is the fourth-highest total by any pair since the NBA/ABA merger.