The little-used guard got the call when Boston couldn't stop the Clippers' guards. He delivered stout defense and more in an overtime win.

Boston will need to be vigilant that old habits vs. banged-up and lesser ball clubs don't make a winnable game into a struggle -- or worse, a loss.

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.

The game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on TNT and truTV. Fans looking to watch this NBA game can do so for free by using DirecTV Stream, which offers a free trial or with SlingTV, which doesn’t offer a free trial but has promotional offers available.

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On Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics are playing the Clippers in Los Angeles. Before the game (on Tuesday), Jayson Tatum made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.

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.

It's unclear whether the team was dealing with the aftereffects of the Clippers game, or simply regressing back to bad habits that have plagued it over the past month, but the Celtics did not put up much of a fight against the Lakers.

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. Fatigue was certainly a factor for the Celtics,

The Celtics had to sweat out an overtime win over the Clippers on Wednesday, but wouldn't have done it without Jaden Springer and his defensive intensity.

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.