Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis drives to the basket past the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford, left, and Jrue Holiday, right, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers center Jaxson Hayes drives to the basket past the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0) during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) The Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet, back, fouls Lakers forward Rui Hachimura during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis drives to the basket in front of the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford (42) and Jrue Holiday, right, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James, right, battles for a rebound against the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford, center, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum passes the ball over Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, right, as Lakers guard Austin Reaves looks on during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers guard Austin Reaves loses the ball in front of the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet, left, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers guard Austin Reaves loses the ball in front of the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet, left, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis shoots over the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James goes down on one knee during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James grimaces as he walks off the court during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James grimaces on the bench during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers forward Rui Hachimura drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers head coach JJ Redick gestures on the sideline during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum reacts after a foul call during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht soars to the basket for a dunk in front of the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, right, and Kristaps Porzingis during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht dunks in front of the Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla looks on from the sideline during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum shoots as Lakers center Jaxson Hayes defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James grabs a rebound over the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White (9) as Celtics star Jayson Tatum, right, looks on during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers guard Austin Reaves puts up a shot during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers head coach JJ Redick talks to forward LeBron James during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers head coach JJ Redick talks to forward LeBron James during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers guard Max Christie takes a 3-point shot in front of the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis takes a shot in front of the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White (9) during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum controls a rebound in front of Lakers guard Austin Reaves during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum looks on during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James dunks in front of the Boston Celtics’ Al Horford (42) during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis collects himself on the bench during a timeout in the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum shoots a free throw during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James grabs a rebound during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers forward Rui Hachimura reaches for a rebound against the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star LeBron James shoots over the Boston Celtics’ Sam Hauser during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis dunks during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Lakers star Anthony Davis focuses before their game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 41Lakers star LeBron James drives to the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Luke Kornet defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Expand LOS ANGELES — For most of the season, the Lakers have dominated the league’s worst teams and struggled against most teams around or higher than them in the standings. This was evident by their 12-1 record against below .500 teams and 11-17 record against teams above .500 entering Thursday. But the Lakers flipped the script, at least for one night, and they did so against one of the league’s best teams, pulling off a dominant 117-96 victory over the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena for their best win of the season. The Lakers (24-18) controlled the game against the Celtics (31-14) early with their defensive switching, limiting Boston’s league-leading 3-point shooting for most of the competitive portions of the game. And on the other end of the court, the Lakers got contributions from many. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in 31 minutes. LeBron James had 20 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes after being selected for his 21st consecutive All-Star Game earlier in the day. Austin Reaves added 23 points (7-of-13 shooting, 4 for 8 from 3-point range), six assists and three rebounds. Dalton Knecht (13 points) and Gabe Vincent (12 points, four assists) combined for 25 points off the bench. The Lakers led by as much as 28 points during the fourth quarter. They didn’t allow the Celtics, who entered Thursday averaging 117.7 points, to score more than 25 points in any of the first three quarters. A Jaden Springer 3-pointer right before the end of the final buzzer gave the Celtics 28 points in the fourth. Kristaps Porziņģis had 22 points and seven rebounds to pace the Celtics (31-14), who were coming off an overtime win against the Clippers the previous night. Related Articles Lakers | Lakers’ LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending records Lakers | Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt expected back Saturday vs. Warriors Lakers | Lakers rout Wizards to extend dominance against sub-.500 teams Lakers | Lakers loosen minutes restriction for Dorian Finney-Smith Lakers | Lakers’ roster construction comes into focus near midpoint of season Jaylen Brown had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists while All-Star forward Jayson Tatum finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Celtics, who average a league-high 49.1 3-point attempts per game, shot 14 for 41 from behind the arc. The Lakers, who average the third-fewest 3-pointers, made 15 of their 35 attempts from long range (they made 11 before halftime). More to come on this story.