The NBA’s rivalry week continues on Saturday as perhaps the league’s most historic rivalry will be renewed when the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Boston to take on the Celtics. The Lakers have been off since Wednesday night, after defeating the Spurs 113-104 on the return of All-Star forward Anthony Davis. Boston, meanwhile, has struggled to three straight losses after a nine-game winning streak. The opening tap on Saturday night is scheduled for 8:30 pm EST.

Making their Move

The LA Lakers head into Boston in the midst of one of their better stretches of the season. LA has won four of its past six games and welcomed back star Anthony Davis on Wednesday night in a win over San Antonio. The return of Davis comes on the heels of the Lakers’ acquisition of forward Rui Hachimura, added to strengthen the team’s perimeter offense. Davis scored 21 points in his return and Hachimura added 12 points in his first game with the Lakers as they rolled to a 113-104 victory.

“We were all figuring out ways we could mix and match. We just wanted to get guys in there,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “With AD coming back and Rui being new, we had to work through some kinks. When we got settled into the game, guys had different runs.”

The Lakers are now 23-26 on the season and in 13th place in the Western Conference. The Lakers may not be done making deals as they remain very much in the playoff hunt, just a 1/2 game behind 7th place Phoenix in the loss column. The Lakers are sixth in the NBA in points per game this season. They are seventh in field goal percentage and just 26th in 3pt field goal percentage. The Lakers are 13th in fewest turnovers per game. On the defensive end, LA is 26th in scoring defense. The team is 14th in opponent’s field goal percentage and 7th in 3pt defense. The Lakers are also 7th in rebounding this season.

Key Injuries: Lonnie Walker IV and Austin Reeves were both out on Wednesday and unlikely to go on Saturday.