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.

One night later, Boston players all but shrugged their shoulders after falling to the Lakers 117-96 on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kristaps Porziņģis, who has been critical of the Celtics after their worst games recently, sounded ready to dump the latest poor result into the nearest trash can and forget about it for good.

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.

You never know when you’re going to play,” Jayson Tatum said. “Game’s not going the way it’s supposed to or we expect. Joe calls your number to come and shut somebody down and give us a spark off the bench,

The Celtics got demolished by the Lakers on Thursday. Jaylen Brown said Boston played "flat" and tired in the loss. Read more on Boston.com.

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.

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.

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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.

On Wednesday night, he was sitting courtside at the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Clippers game. To his right was Reggie Scott, the Rams’ VP of sports medicine and performance. They caught a good game at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, though the Celtics pulled out the win in overtime, 117-113.

Despite a host of injuries, Springer was unable to push his way into any meaningful playing time prior to Wednesday night. He had been on the floor for just 72 minutes over 19 games, most of those coming in garbage time.