The NBA’s most historic rivalry added another chapter on Saturday night when the Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Boston to face off against the Celtics. The high-powered matchup featured Luka Doncic’s first game against the C’s as a member of the Lakers. However, the intensity of the game led to the Slovenian superstar almost getting taken out by Al Horford during a fast break.
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With 3:57 left in the 1st quarter, Doncic was bringing the ball up to the arc when Jaylen Brown managed to poke it away. Brown took control and pushed the ball toward the Lakers’ side while Luka lazily followed behind.
The 2024 finals MVP then delivered a touch bounce pass to a wide-open Horford, who jammed it home for a Celtics score. Horford hung on the rim to further assert the dunk’s impact. But he accidentally smacked Doncic in the face with his knee when he was swinging down.
The blow took Doncic down and forced the refs to stop play to check on the 26-year-old. And it didn’t take long for NBA fans to rush to social media to comment on the play, with many pointing out that Doncic looked like he was nearly killed.
Don’t think this could’ve gone any worse for Luka – from start to finish pic.twitter.com/UqCjE633GL
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 9, 2025
“Damn Al [Horford] knocked Luka out,” wrote a fan on X. Another user agreed and added: “Would have to imagine that hurt a LOT.”
Doncic may have played up the injury a bit to the referees, but a knee to the face is still a knee to the face and he was in a great deal of pain.
Jaylen locking Luka up and Al kicking him right down 🤭 #Celtics
— Eid Mubarak ✨ (@defclubmix) March 9, 2025
However, the sequence of play did not bode well for Doncic. Nor was it the last time Brown bested Doncic in the game. In the 2nd quarter, he secured another steal from the Lakers’ newest acquisition, not to mention dropping 18 first-half points.
Doncic came into this game looking for some revenge against the C’s after they destroyed him and the Mavericks in last year’s NBA Finals, particularly in Game 5 at TD Garden. However, he did not truly show that much resolve in extracting ‘revenge’ as the narrative would go.
Kendrick Perkins even called out Doncic after the first half for his costly turnovers and lack of aggressiveness. “All I’m witnessing right now is bad turnovers, complaining, breaking defensive assignments,” he said.
It became apparent in the second half that Horford’s knee shot did not act as a wake-up call for Luka. It was an early nail in the coffin for the Lakers, who eventually lost 111-101.
