The much-anticipated Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics marquee Saturday night matchup lived up to its high billing over the first 24 minutes, showcasing two teams who have legitimate NBA title aspirations. Jayson Tatum's dunk gave the home team a 58-54 lead at intermission. Tatum scored 22 points and LeBron James racked up 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The more interesting stat, though, is the number of times Luka Doncic got hit very hard on the face.
First he received an Al Horford knee to the moneymaker after the Celtics forward spun off the rim following a dunk.
Al Horford kicking Luka in the face on the dunk 💀 pic.twitter.com/NMvfro56vI
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) March 9, 2025
Later he had the unpleasant experience of briefly drawing an offensive foul on Jaylen Brown, only to have that call reversed on a coach's challenge.
This is the call Jaylen Brown is arguing. Should this hit to Luka Doncic face have been called an offensive foul or nah? https://t.co/43hN8v6dXY pic.twitter.com/jgWjcIW7IS
— The HoopFather (@TheHoopFather) March 9, 2025
In both instances it looked like Doncic avoided any serious injury. Still, no one wants to get whacked in the face a single time, let alone double-down on the experience.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic Could Not Stop Getting Hit in the Face During First Half vs. Celtics.
