It only took 17 games (nearly 1/3 of this abbreviated regular season) but tonight the Celtics (10-7 overall, 5-5 away) finally got to see what their team looks like when it is at full strength (ie. nobody out with injuries and/or Covid-19). They had a chance to tie it late but guard Marcus Smart (14 points) missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner and Boston fell 110-106 to San Antonio (10-8 overall, 4-5 home) at the AT&T Center. Ever since superstar Kawhi Leonard left town, the Spurs have been mediocre at best. However, with tonight's win, the Spurs are 16-2 in their last 18 meetings with the C's. Boston also dropped to 2-4 in its last six games. Small forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) and guard Jaylen Brown (24 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks) were the best players on the floor but in old school San Antonio style, they had six guys score in double-figures compared to only four by the Celts.
Small forward DeMar DeRozan (team-high 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) and point guard Dejounte Murray (11 points, 11 rebounds) turned in the two biggest plays of the night, both for the Spurs. DeRozan hit a mid-range jumper that broke the late 103-103 tie then Murray converted a huge steal into a dunk and a four-point lead (107-103) that Boston was never able to recover from. Drafting and developing talent is kind of a lost art in the NBA but not when it comes to San Antonio who is always getting the most out of its young players many of whom were mid-to-late first round, second round or even undrafted picks. With that in mind, forward Keldon Johnson posted a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) and shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV added 14 points. Center LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points, 2 blocks) can still get it done as proven by his effectiveness this evening against an opponent that he usually owns. Backup point guard Patty Mills also notched 12 points and two steals off the bench. Celtics point guard Kemba Walker had essentially the same offensive numbers as Smart (14 points, 6-of-15 shooting from the field) which is not what they're looking for.
I have no complaints about Boston's start because they jumped out to a 30-25 lead after the first quarter. Things completely changed in the second quarter as the home team flexed their muscles and basically ran the Celtics out of Texas. The Spurs more than doubled (36-17) up Boston in that frame and went into halftime with a gift turnover and floater at the buzzer by Walker for a 14-point advantage (61-47). The break treated the C's well as they came out and put together one of their best quarters of this season. They outscored the Spurs by 16 points (37-21) which allowed them to carry a slim two-point lead (84-82) into the fourth quarter. Sadly, that just set the stage for San Antonio to execute down the stretch while the Celtics (surprise!) looked like a team that needed some more practice time let alone games to build further chemistry.
When you examine the box score, it's tough to explain how this contest was so tight since the Spurs shot 13.2% better from the field (56.1%-42.9) and they grabbed seven more rebounds (46-39) including 11 more offensive boards (37-26). From what I can tell, besides Tatum and Brown, the only thing that kept this close down to the last possession was the fact that Boston had twice as many steals (10-5) and nine less turnovers (19-10). As it says above, the road has not been kind to the Celtics but they better find a way to change that soon since they host the Lakers (14-5) on Saturday night (8:30, ABC) before departing for a season-long five-game West Coast road trip. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers are a half-game behind the Jazz (14-4) for the best record in the league but is there any doubt that the defending champions are still the team to beat? Saturday Night Live finally returns with a new show this weekend so what better prelude to that than a showdown of the NBA's most storied rivals?
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