LOS ANGELES — The Lakers always have fun beating the Boston Celtics. Especially when they really need a victory.

That was the case Tuesday when their on-again, off-again nature switched firmly to ON during a 117-102 win over Boston at Staples Center.

LeBron James scored 30 points and Russell Westbrook added 24 points and 11 assists as the Lakers turned a five-point halftime lead into a second half stroll thanks to a strong third quarter.

Westbrook turned up his game with 15 third-quarter points and an emphatic dunk near the end of it. He blew past Josh Richardson, cocked back his arm and uncorked a powerful dunk to give the Lakers an 89-70 lead.

“He’s just been in that attack mode,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said. “That’s why we brought him here.”

Westbrook has done a lot in his 14-year career. His biggest achievement is setting the NBA record for most career triple-doubles.

But this was something different — his first victory over Boston as part of the storied Lakers-Celtics rivalry. Each team has won 17 NBA championships and they share 18 regular-season MVPs between the two of them.

“Great intensity. It’s a big rivalry,” Westbrook told Spectrum SportsNet. “We all know that and tonight was a big game for us."

James bounced back from a cold-shooting night a few days earlier against the Clippers and ripped through Boston by making 13 of 19 shots.

And was that a double-digit win for a team that seemingly couldn’t win games easily…or at all? Indeed.

It was actually the Lakers’ second one-sided victory in their last three games, coupled with a 117-92 laugher last week against Sacramento.

It was also a measure of revenge for a Lakers team that allowed 130 points to Boston three weeks ago in a 22-point loss.

“Proud of our team today,” James said. “Had our hard hats on from the beginning and played a heck of a game from start to finish.”

It was a good step for a team with a ho-hum 13-12 record that had played the league’s easiest schedule coming into Tuesday.

Of course, the law of averages means the Lakers now face the hardest schedule from this point to the end of the regular season.

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points for the Celtics (13-12), who were without their second-best player, Jaylen Brown, because of a hamstring injury.

The Lakers now have a quick two-game trip through Memphis and Oklahoma City.