The Boston Celtics have been on the decline in the month of January. They lost six of their last eight and been embarrased in some capacity in all of those games. Injuries from key players have hurt, but losing to four below average teams didn’t help their argument. But the Celtics came together to dismantle the Los Angeles Lakers 139-107 on their home floor.

The start of this game was looking more of the same in terms of losing ways. They had turnovers and defensive breakdowns within the first few minutes. That is where Gordon Hayward comes in, as he lit a spark on both ends for the Celtics. He scored the team’s first six points and brought the Celtics back in the first quarter. That’s when the Celtics saw themselves in a back-and-forth with the Lakers.

Then Jayson Tatum and Enes Kanter took over the second quarter. Tatum found himself hitting 13 huge points to find themselves up double-digits. Kanter had himself a quarter too, grabbing five rebounds on top of 12 points. They were the biggest reasons the Celtics found themselves up 14 at halftime.

By the third quarter, Kemba Walker decided he wanted to join the fun and he scored seven points in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Jaylen Brown also had a nice dunk on LeBron James to enter the highlight reel. After that, the game was out of reach for the Lakers and comeback hopes were stopped. It was the biggest loss for the Lakers this season, and maybe worst defensive performance we’ve seen them have.

It was a refreshing night for the Celtics, after losing to the likes of the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons. Tatum finished with 27 points, on a very efficient night. His other two All-Star candidates, Walker and Brown finished with 20 points as well. Kanter and Hayward provided 18 and 16 respectfully as well. You can’t have a much better night than that from your five best scorers. It was a much needed win for a playoff team finding themselves losing tough games.

As for the Lakers, it was weirdly bad night. LeBron James had some questionable turnovers and Kyle Kuzma couldn’t buy a basket. This was Anthony Davis’ first game back after missing the previous five. He definitely seemed rusty to say the least, not being as effective on defense and getting worked on the boards.

The Celtics clicked on both ends all night, and it got them a 30-piece against the long-time rival. This was one of the most dominant performances the Celtics have ever had and it couldn’t come at a better time. Their next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies at home. The Celtics could use this win, considering they have their first-round pick for next year.