Lakers get a painful reminder: Their dream of contention rests on the body of a 40-year-old legend

BOSTON — There isn’t just one thing that could thwart a Lakers run through the playoffs, but the biggest single thing reared its head Saturday night during the most anticipated regular-season game of the year: LeBron James and his 40-year-old body potentially failing him.

The last time he took an awkward step that resulted in a groin injury, it was Christmas Day 2018 — his first as a Laker.

Luckily for James, he didn’t feel that extra pop after scoring his last field goal with 7:05 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Lakers began mounting a comeback after the Boston Celtics took control in the third.

He tried to stretch it out before going to the locker room and calling it a night, and the Celtics pulled away late to secure a 111-101 win at the TD Garden. It didn’t quite feel like a preview of the NBA Finals, but the game was the most expensive on the docket this season, a renewal of the storied rivalry with both teams wanting to send a message to the NBA world.

The intrigue that filled the air was replaced by the reality that the Lakers are relying on a 40-year-old man with a lot of miles on his odometer.

“Not much concern,” James said after the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak was snapped. “Obviously, we go day to day, look at it each day, see if it gets better and take the proper measurements to see what we need to do moving forward.”

James didn’t display much panic because, at the very least, he knows what a severe strain feels like.

“The first thing that popped in my mind was Christmas Day. I’ve been there before and I know what type of injury you’re dealing with,” James said. “No, it’s not as bad as that. It’s not as bad as that.”

In the 2018-19 season, James had the Lakers fourth in the West before they went into a tailspin as James missed the next month and they finished 37-45. This injury feels like he could miss a week or two rather than playoff-altering time.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, we have to play our game,” James said. “We’ve had guys in and out the lineup the majority of the year, and then had guys in and out the lineup over the last six weeks … so nothing changes.”

Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt each spoke the tried-and-true line of “next man up” while acknowledging there’s only one LeBron James. In theory, Luka Dončić would be that man, considering the two operate similarly but in different ways. The shot creation will take a hit over the next stretch, as the Lakers will have three sets of back-to-back games and two grueling stretches of four games in five nights, followed by a week playing three games in four nights.

In a way, it could be the rest James needs right before the Lakers gear up for a playoff run. Not that he’d want to miss the time — critical both in playoff positioning and building continuity — but his health is the single most important thing if the Lakers want to possibly challenge for a Finals run.

He’s been remarkably durable relative to his last few in Los Angeles, playing 71 games last year and only missing four so far this season.

A reasonable question: Where will the Lakers be when James returns? The Celtics loss puts them third behind conference-leading Oklahoma City and Denver, and only two games out of the fifth spot — which means they wouldn’t have home-court advantage in any series if they slip that far.

They want to stay in the first or second spot, which is where most Finals teams emerge from — but that’s only if James’ injury isn’t severe and doesn’t flare up when he returns.

There were moments where James showed he could rev it up against the defending champions, and the Lakers were right there with him, for stretches. They junked up the defense long enough to have the Celtics questioning themselves for a half and were defending admirably even without Jaxson Hayes, their lone big who was out with a knee injury.

It wasn’t as masterful of a performance as against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 22, when they frustrated the game’s best player, Nikola Jokić, into a miserable night in a rout of Denver. But it was a formula for how they can make a playoff run.

Not everybody has Jayson Tatum (40 points) and Jaylen Brown (31 points), who played 45 and 41 minutes, respectively, and can cause havoc on both ends. But the Oklahoma City Thunder have a few big, long and rangy types who’ll cause trouble if they run into the Lakers and Dončić again.

For a while, Dončić’s night looked eerily similar to the NBA Finals, which feels like many moons ago — except for maybe the Celtics. They crowded Dončić early and attacked him defensively as Brown again took center stage — poking and reaching, getting steals for fast-break dunks and tiring Dončić on the other end.

But Dončić was at the center of the Lakers’ comeback when they cut the lead to 96-92 with 5:06 remaining after the Celtics had a lead as big as 22. For all the games that usually underwhelm, the Lakers showed enough gumption that leaves one thinking this recent winning streak wasn’t much of a mirage.

Dončić seems to be rounding into shape, scoring 34 with eight rebounds and hit five triples in 36 minutes Saturday night.

Lakers coach JJ Redick admitted his team had a bit of “brain fog” coming out after halftime, leading to the Celtics taking that 22-point lead. L.A. had an overtime game against the Knicks on Thursday night, followed by a six-hour flight East with the Celtics waiting.

The defending champions weren’t quite at full strength but were as complete as they’ve been in awhile, with Jrue Holiday returning. Even with Kristaps Porziņģis still out, the Celtics didn’t seem to miss much of a beat.

Brown and Tatum seemed to get to the rim whenever they pleased, seeking out Dončić and Reaves on defense while the Lakers wanted to go at 38-year-old Al Horford. Horford fared a little better — well, a lot better after his body warmed up in the second quarter. He still showed he could be a capable playoff defender, and it’s probably not a great idea to isolate him in hopes of exploitation.

It’s clear the Celtics know who they are. And although they play with the game a little too much, they showed the ability to run away and hide by pressing a button.

“We’re not where they are, the defending champion,” James said. “They’ve been playing basketball together for a long time. And they got a great chemistry and know what they want to do.

“We made an acquisition late in the season and we’re still trying to build. And we want to get full … so we feel like we can compete versus anybody.”

James was limping noticeably but didn’t seem so discouraged. He doesn’t have to singularly carry the Lakers on his broad shoulders, as he tapped Dončić on the shoulder on the way out of the locker room.

It’s now Dončić who has to step forward in the meantime.