NBA Sunday Primetime on Sky Sports: Celtics @ Lakers FREE LIVE!
Sunday 23 February 2020 23:22, UK
The Boston Celtics visit the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA Primetime clash on Sunday at 8:30pm - watch via a live stream on skysports.com, Sky Sports app and YouTube.
.As the home of the NBA in the UK, Sky Sports will broadcast 134 live regular-season games, including a record 48 in the weekend primetime slots.
That slate continues this weekend...
Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday 8:30pm - free live stream, coverage also available on Sky Sports Arena
The NBA's greatest rivalry opens a new chapter on Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lakers host the Boston Celtics with both teams hoping to take another step towards a high-playoff seed.
The Lakers (41-12) lead the Western Conference and hold a four-game cushion over the second-placed Denver Nuggets with city rivals the Clippers one game further back.
The Lakers rolled into the All-Star break with a three-game winning streak, notching a 120-118 road win over the Nuggets in the process.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis both remain among the contenders for the regular-season MVP award. James is averaging 25.0 points, 10.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds for the season and is coming off captaining his team to victory in the All-Star Game.
Davis, in his first season as a Laker, has been a force all season, averaging 26.6 points and 9.2 rebounds. He came through under pressure at the All-Star Game, sinking a clutch free throw to seal the victory for Team LeBron.
Eastern Conference high-flyers the Boston Celtics remain in hot pursuit of the second seed in the East, currently held by the Toronto Raptors.
The Celtics rode a seven-game winning streak heading towards the All-Star break, a run that was snapped by the Houston Rockets on February 11, before bouncing back immediately with a dramatic double-overtime win over the LA Clippers two nights later.
Like the Lakers, the Celtics position as one the league's elite teams is borne out by the fact they rank among the NBA's top 10 teams in both offensive and defensive rating. They score an average 112.5 points per 100 possessions and allow 105.7, giving them the league's third-best net rating (6.8). Only Conference leaders the Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers rank above them in this metric.
After a tumultuous 2018-19 season, the leadership provided by veteran guard Kemba Walker allowed the Celtics to find greater stability in this campaign. That, in turn, has brought the best out of their young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Tatum is Boston's leading scorer (22.4 points per game) and underscored his maiden All-Star selection with a 39-point performance in the Celtics' win over the Clippers. Brown, snubbed for the All-Star Game, is enjoying his best NBA season to date, averaging 20.2 points per game and scooping two Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards.
How to watch
Sky subscribers
TV: Full-season coverage is available across Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Arena, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports News while Sky Sports Mix (Channel 145) - available to all Sky TV customers at no extra cost - will show one match every Saturday.
Sky Go: Subscribers can watch the action wherever they are as it happens. Sign in to Sky Go to watch on your desktop computer or laptop or download the app.
Non-Sky subscribers
NOW TV: Watch the action from £7.99 - with no contract required. The NOW TV app is available on more than 60 devices, including TV, mobile phones, and games consoles, and you can register up to four of them.
Sky Sports is the home of the NBA in the UK with live coverage throughout the week, including at least three showcase games across the weekend.
