The Boston Celtics received their worst loss of the season, on the road, on the second night of a back-to-back, against the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-96.

It was a rough night for the Celtics. They took a 19-point halftime deficit, but it was the 3-point shooting that was the difference— LA had a 15-point variance from threes in the first half.

Boston didn’t get much help from their bench and role players, as Derrick White, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and the rest of the team finished 14-of-44 shooting from the floor.

Kristaps Porzingis (22-points, 9-16 FG, 2-5 3PT) led the way with in his return after sitting out the frontend of the back-to-back, followed by Jaylen Brown (17-points, 7-19 FG, 3-9 3PT), and Jayson Tatum (16-points, 5-12 FG, 2-6 3PT).

In addition to being inefficient on offense, the team was also sluggish on defense, despite the second night of a back-to-back, it’s uncharacteristic from this group.

By the end of the game, Boston finished with six more 3-point attempts than LA, but it was LA that made more than Boston— LA: 15-of-35 (42.9 percent), BOS: 14-of-41 (34.1 percent).

The Celtics stars struggled from the free throw line, finishing 12-of-18 as a team, with Tatum (4-of-7) and Brown (0-of-3) the only players to miss their shots.

From the players and to the coaching staff, the team just didn’t have the competitive spirit or the energy to compete in this game. At the end of the game, head coach Joe Mazzulla said that the Lakers getting transition points and second chance scores in the first half made the biggest impact.

“I thought the Lakers came out and they got 20-points in transition in the first half, eight-points off offensive rebounds, that’s the best thing that they do. I thought our offense was intentional in the first quarter and kind of wained a little bit there. I thought that first half of their ability to get out in transition really impacted the game.”

At the end of the game, Anthony Davis broke down the Celtics during his walk off postgame interview with Allie LaForce, saying they had a game-plan to get Boston uncomfortable and it worked.

“Make ‘em put it on the floor. They shoot very well when they get a catch-and-shoot, but it kind of drops significantly when they have to put it on the floor, so that was our game-plan.”

If teams are able to break down the Celtics and take away important features to the team, like their 3-point shooting, then it’s on Mazzulla to adapt to the situation and make a change.

Boston has one more game remaining on this current four-game road trip with Dallas up next on Saturday afternoon.

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Photo Credit: Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times, Getty Images