Brown’s availability for Friday’s game is unclear after he missed the game in Washington with a non-COVID illness. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked about Brown’s status and replied, “I’m not a doctor, I have no idea.”
The Lakers will be shorthanded themselves with star guard Luka Doncic back in his native Slovenia for the birth of his second child. Los Angeles won at the buzzer in Toronto on Thursday night.
LeBron James’s status is also unclear for Friday. The 40-year-old missed the first 14 games of the season with a sciatic issue and skipped half of the only back-to-back the Lakers have had since his return.
Tip-off on Friday is set for 7 p.m. at TD Garden and on Amazon Prime. Here’s a preview.
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV, radio: Amazon, WBZ-FM 98.5
Line: Boston -6.5. O/U: 226.0.
LAKERS
Season record: 16-5. vs. spread: 13-7, 1 push. Over/under: 15-6
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 5-4, 1 push. Over/under: 6-4
CELTICS
Season record: 13-9. vs. spread: 12-10. Over/under: 10-12
Last 10 games: 8-2. vs. spread: 8-2. Over/under: 5-5
TEAM STATISTICS
Points per game: LA Lakers 119.2, Boston 116.7
Points allowed per game: LA Lakers 116.0, Boston 110.7
Field goal percentage: LA Lakers .512, Boston .470
Opponent field goal percentage: LA Lakers .484, Boston .444
3-point percentage: LA Lakers .355, Boston .358
Opponent 3-point percentage: LA Lakers .372, Boston .367
Stat of the day: James had just 8 points on Thursday, snapping a streak of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points that dated back to January of 2007.
Notes: Jordan Walsh made each of his eight shots and tossed in a career-high 22 points for Boston in Thursday’s blowout win over the Wizards. Walsh, who also collected seven rebounds in the win, has made all of his past 13 shots from the floor. “Honestly, I [keep] forgetting what happens on offense,” Walsh said. “When I score, I lowkey forget what happened [because] I’m so focused on getting back on defense. It leaves my mind, but whenever I get a steal and a dunk, or like a steal and a rebound, that stays with me. … Defense always sticks with me for some reason.” … Boston is 8-2 since Walsh was moved into the starting lineup. “I thought Jordan set the tone on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “He was unscreenable and did a great job making plays defensively.” … The Celtics and Lakers split their two-game regular-season series in seven of the past eight campaigns, the lone exception being a Boston sweep in 2022-23. … The Lakers also prevailed in Toronto without veteran guard Marcus Smart, who spent the first nine years of his NBA career with the Celtics. Smart sat out his fourth consecutive game because of lower back injury management and is considered day-to-day.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.
