Boston, Massachusetts - The Boston Celtics spent Friday night overpowering the Los Angeles Lakers as one of the best players in the league made his return to the court.

The Celtics got back into the win column by dominating the Lakers 130-102, handing their storied NBA rivals their third-straight loss.

The Lakers got superstar LeBron James (36) back in action after missing the last eight games with an abdominal strain.

However, his return didn’t stop the skid for the Lakers, who now have their longest losing streak of the season.

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James did contribute during the first quarter, when the Lakers gained a 38-30 lead, but the Celtics didn’t waiver, while LA began to fizzle from the second quarter on.

Boston owned the paint, enjoying a 51-33 advantage on the boards, and outscored LA 56-36 down low.

All that domination paid off by the fourth quarter, as the Lakers just didn’t have anything left to throw at the Celtics, who were already comfortably ahead.

Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum (23) led the way for his team, outscoring every player on the floor.

He and teammate Jaylen Brown have become Boston’s one-two punch but while Brown sat out his seventh game due to injury Friday night, the spotlight belonged to Tatum.

He was a scoring machine against the Lakers, putting up his sixth double-double of the season.

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Tatum finished the night with 13-for-26 shooting, including four of nine from three-point range for 37 points, and 11 rebounds.

Throughout James’ career, his presence has always been needed on every team he’s played for.

And despite the several other stars on the team, the Lakers are no different, going 3-5 in the eight games he was out.

But they just got blown out in his first game back and LeBron isn’t the type to have trouble getting into the right rhythm to play well. It's a worrying development for a team desperately in need of some inspiration.

On Saturday night, the Celtics stay at home to host the Thunder while on Sunday, the Lakers are in Detroit to play the Pistons.