C's Pulled Off The Third Biggest Comeback In NBA History Thanks To Tatum's Career Night (60 Pts!!!)

 

    The entire 2020-21 Celtics (34-30 overall, 21-12 home) experience was tightly wrapped up in a single game tonight as they went down by as much as 32 points at the TD Garden to the Spurs (31-31 overall, 18-12 away) before staging an epic rally than ended with a 143-140 overtime win for the home team. Only this group could feel the total dejection of what would have been their worst loss of the season combined with the overwhelming sense of joy from pulling off their best victory of the year. Forgive me for not mentioning Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum yet who scored a career-high 60 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists with no turnovers (!) in 45 exhausting minutes. With that, he tied Larry Bird's (ever heard of him?) franchise record for points in a game while also becoming the first player in the history of this proud team to score 50+ points twice in the same season. 

    Unfortunately, Boston has had more than their fair share of awful losses this season and with the way that they started this game, it felt inevitable that this would be the worst one of all. Thankfully, it didn't have to come to that as besides Tatum, other Celtics like shooting guard Jaylen Brown (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks), rookie swingman Aaron Nesmith (16 points, 6 rebounds off the bench), guard Marcus Smart (10 points, 12 assists, 2 steals) and center Robert Williams (10 points, 9 rebounds) all did just enough to come out on top. The Spurs were led by swingman DeMar DeRozan (team-high 30 points, 14 assists, five rebounds and two steals) who was great and point guard Dejounte Murray (24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) who is becoming quite a player. Center Jakob Poeltl (15 points, 10 rebounds) and small forward Keldon Johnson (14 points, 8 rebounds) also stood out for San Antonio who wasted a great game from their bench that outscored Boston's 55-38. Shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (24 points) was brilliant for the Spurs while UConn's Rudy Gay (16 points) and point guard Patty Mills (11 points) were other impactful reserves who made plays as usual against the Celtics. 

    San Antonio was up 39-16 after one quarter and 77-48 at halftime as the 2300 fans that were at the Garden rightfully sent Boston to their locker room with a chorus of boos. The Celts chipped away with a wonderful third quarter (42-26) before they tied it in the fourth quarter (38-25). Boston actually had a chance to win this in regulation but Tatum missed that shot which sent the instant classic to overtime. For the game, the Celtics hit seven more 3-pointers (18-11), grabbed nine more offensive rebounds (17-8), blocked six more shots (7-1) and had 12 more second chance points (27-15) than the Spurs. 

    As I've said many times in this season full of crazy highs and lows, this win will quickly lose much of its potential meaning if Boston learns nothing from it and comes out flat once again in their next game on Sunday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) vs. Portland (35-28 overall, 19-12 away). A mark of a good team is consistency and that is something which this group has struggled with all year. This improbable comeback kept the hunt for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs alive. Boston is tied with Atlanta (34-30) for fifth-place while New York (35-28) is a game and a half in front of them (with a game in hand) and Miami (33-30) trails both clubs by half a game as they currently are stuck in seventh-place purgatory for the play-in tournament. Take a breath and get some rest tomorrow since the meeting with the Blazers-who Boston beat 116-115 in Portland on April 13-should be another doozy with their superstar Damian Lillard liable to drop 50+ points at any time as well. The Celts are 2-1 on this homestand so finishing 3-1 on it with a three-game win streak to boot would be swell. 

For The First Time This Season, Celts Had Their Full Roster But They Lost 110-106 To The Spurs

 

    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?

I'll Permit 1 Win Every 10 Games for the Celtics

If I had my way, the Celtics would lose every game for the rest of this pointless season. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. They are bound to stumble into a win at least every once in a while. Like tonight for instance, Boston (14-26 overall, 9-11 home) snapped its nine-game losing streak with a 88-83 win over Toronto (19-18 overall, 10-10 away) at TD Garden.

The Raptors had actually been playing very well (12-4) since they shipped Rudy Gay to hell, I mean Sacramento. Still, what does it tell you about the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference in general that the train wreck Celts could handle them?

Jared Sullinger was the star for Boston, he had a game-high 25 points, career-high 20 rebounds and two steals (his first 20-20 game and first for a Celtic since Kevin Garnett's debut in Boston-November 2007). Any rebuilding project with the C's should involve Sullinger. His style isn't pretty but damn if it isn't effective. Unlike many of the jokers that come in the NBA too early, he knows how to play. He's not going to be a Hall of Famer due to his limited athleticism but that doesn't mean he can't be an All-Star someday.

In a brief cameo with Rajon Rondo ready to be unleashed on Friday vs. Lakers, Phil Pressey made his first NBA start a good one with 10 assists and zero turnovers. Avery Bradley had 20 points, five rebounds and two steals; Jeff Green added 13 points and five rebounds while Kris Humphries also made the most of his rare start with 12 points and eight rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 23 points and eight rebounds. Without Gay, he desperately needs more help around him. No offense Kyle Lowry (18 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds). 90-year-old John Salmons was the only other Raptor in double-figures with 13 points off the bench.

Trailing 73-56 entering the fourth quarter, this had no business being a game but Boston is physically incapable of closing out any team. Toronto made it a three-point game a couple times but they couldn't get any closer than that.

This oughta make Tommy Heinsohn happy: Boston shot 11 more free throws (36-25) and hit 14 more (26-12) than bricklaying Toronto. Thanks to Sullinger's dominance, the Celtics grabbed 14 more rebounds (58-44) as a team. The C's also had seven more fast break points (13-6), eight more points in the paint (32-24) and eight more points off turnovers (15-7).

I can't recall a less anticipated Celtics-Lakers (14-25 overall, 5th in Pacific Division) than the one on Friday (7:30, CSN) at the Garden. However, with Rondo's expected return, there at least is a valid reason to tune in for a few minutes. Who knows what to expect from him basically a year removed from tearing his ACL?

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Huzzah, The Celtics Are Fun To Watch Again

Say this for the Celtics without Rajon Rondo (and Jared Sullinger), they might not be nearly as talented but they sure are enjoyable to watch. Rather than having one guy dribble for most of the 24-second clock then figure out a play, they share the basketball, play defense and everyone seems to pull their weight more equally. Tonight, Boston (25-23, 8-14 away) won 99-95 at Toronto's (17-32, 12-13 home) Air Canada Centre, their fifth straight victory since Rondo went down.

Kevin Garnett had a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds, Courtney Lee added 15 points, Paul Pierce struggled from the field (2 for 11) but still had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Avery Bradley scored 11 points and even Brandon Bass found his way into double figures with 10 points. That's right, all five Celtics starters plus Leandro Barbosa (14 points off the bench) all scored 10+ points. Not something you saw much earlier in the season.

Even though they had lost three of their last four in Toronto, beating the Raptors isn't normally worth a damn but this was at least notable because Toronto was up 10 (79-69) heading into the fourth quarter. After getting smoked in the third quarter (34-19), the C's rallied for an excellent fourth quarter (30-16).

Former UConn star Rudy Gay, acquired from Memphis last week, filled the stat sheet with 25 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Kyle Lowry had 18 points, seven assists and four steals, Amir Johnson had a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) and DeMar Derozan put up 13 points. Andrea Bargnani notched 13 points off the bench for the Raptors.

This game was just an appetizer for the main course tomorrow night back in Boston: Celtics vs. Lakers (23-26). It's the first of two meetings between the bitter rivals and it gets the full primetime experience (8 p.m., TNT) despite the fact that LA has been the NBA's biggest disappointment so far this season. Pau Gasol hurt his foot last night so he'll be out but Kobe Bryant is still on the Lakers so it should be a great atmosphere as Boston goes for their sixth win in a row.

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The Celtics Do Not Enjoy Canada, Luckily They Don't Have To Go Back There This Season

One of the biggest riddles of this season for the Celtics is how they could smoke the Raptors twice but then lost the last two times they played them in Toronto.

This weird season series ended tonight with the Raptors (21-39, 12-19) topping the Celtics (34-25, 13-16 away) 84-79 at Air Canada Centre.

You can't make sense of how Boston beat Toronto by 23 and 36 earlier in the season before losing to them twice and not scoring 80 in either of those contests. Therefore I won't spend much time on this forgettable stinker.

Another reason to move on is that this was the start of the Celtics' only back-to-back-to-back scenario of 2011-12 (every team has one). Spread out, it's four games in five nights.

DeMar Derozan scored a game-high 22 points (13 for 13 from the line) for Toronto and Linas Kleiza had 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench. I know the Celtics mailed it in since something called Alan Anderson scored 12, Amir Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds and Aaron Gray grabbed 10 rebounds.

Boston didn't have Ray Allen but that's trumped by Toronto missing its two best players: Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 18 points and eight rebounds. Avery Bradley scored 15 points, Kevin Garnett had a modest 13 points and 10 rebounds, Brandon Bass added 10 points and Rajon Rondo reached double-digit assists for the 20th straight game with eight points, 12 assists (0 turnovers) and four steals. Normally I wouldn't complain about nice numbers like that but when Rondo faces a nobody like Ben Uzoh (that's his real name), he needs to produce way more.

After leading 20-13 after one quarter and 36-30 at halftime (high school basketball style), Toronto rocked Boston with a 27-11 third quarter. The C's recovered in the fourth (32-27) but it was too late. They were down 66-51 and cut it to 80-77 but Pierce badly missed a 3 and that was that.

In their tour of shitbums around the Eastern Conference, the Celtics next visit the New Jersey Nets tomorrow night. After this nightmare, a loss then is completely unacceptable. Boston needs to win that one.

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Tonight, I'm Ashamed To Be A Celtics Fan

Sure there have been worse losses in terms of point differential in the Big Four era but sitting here in the aftermath, it's hard to remember a much more pathetic defeat than the one experienced by the Boston Celtics tonight.

The Celts (14-12) lost 86-74 to the Toronto Raptors (9-19) at Air Canada Centre in a game that truthfully, wasn't even that close.

Boston lost its second in a row and from the opening tip, they had absolutely no pulse after losing to an average Lakers team last night in overtime at the Garden. The Raptors improved to 3-17 in its last 20 games against the Celtics.

For basketball fans, the best news to come out of this shitshow is that after playing three times in less than a month, these teams won't meet again until the last month of the regular season (Apr. 13 in Toronto). With any luck, Dr. James Naismith will stop rolling over in his grave by then.

This was such a bitter loss since the C's had already beaten the Raptors, one of the worst teams in the NBA, by 23 and 36 points respectively earlier this season. I will allow a hiccup to most teams once in a while but as I said last night, Boston should never lose to Toronto under any circumstances.

I thought the Big Four had more pride than this; they all "played" tonight but this is the type of setback that can be the precursor to big changes on a squad.

DeMar Derozan had a game-high 21 points for Toronto. Jose Calderon (17 points, 14 assists) and Amir Johnson (12 points, 12 rebounds) both had double-doubles, James Johnson scored 14 points and Aaron Gray grabbed 11 rebounds (in 18 minutes!).

Boston was playing short-handed, without Jermaine O'Neal, Keyon Dooling and Sasha Pavlovic not that those three guys would have made any difference whatsoever. Kevin Garnett had 17 points and eight rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 12 points and Brandon Bass put up 10 points and seven rebounds. Mickael Pietrus added 11 points off the bench.

Rajon Rondo was MIA, maybe they left him at the border since he only could manage five points, seven assists, five rebounds and five turnovers. I don't know if he's still hurt, mad because of trade rumors or the All-Star Game snub but he appeared completely disinterested tonight.

Let's all hope that things turn around on Sunday afternoon as the Celtics return home to face the Chicago Bulls, who I think are the best team in the Eastern Conference. Boston will put forth a much better effort but it's going to take their best execution of the season thus far to have a shot at knocking off Derrick Rose and Co.

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Celtics Snap Five-Game Losing Streak But Rondo Hurts His Wrist In The Process

You'd be hard-pressed to draw up a more irrelevant game in the 2011-12 NBA regular season that what transpired this evening at TD Garden. It was seats for soldiers night which felt like a cruel joke. Hopefully nobody paid full price for this preseason style matchup.

The Toronto Raptors visited the Boston Celtics with both teams coming in riding five-game losing streaks. Boston (5-8) played its customary frontrunner role as they won 96-73 in a game that was only memorable since Rajon Rondo (21 points) suffered what could have been a gruesome injury late in the third quarter.

In the playoffs last spring against the Miami Heat when Rondo dislocated his elbow yet somehow (hello needles!) came back in the same game, I dubbed him Gumby. His limbs and bones don't act like you or I. So when Linas Kleiza of all people hit him with a flagrant foul, causing Rondo to land awkwardly with all his weight on his wrist, you had to think it was broken.

After staying down on the parquet for a long time, Rondo got up slowly and retreated to the locker room with the medical staff. It was later announced as a "sore wrist" which was a laughable impression of a Patriots injury report. Apparently, Rondo is day-to-day which is promising news since without him, this ill-fated season turns downright meaningless.

The Raptors (4-11) basically lost before the game started since their best player-Andrea Bargnani-was a last-minute scratch with a calf injury. This contest was so dull, it made me daydream about such paradoxes like why does Toronto even have an NBA team? The Grizzlies moved out of Vancouver years ago so why are the Raptors still in Canada? It makes zero sense, Canadians could care less about basketball.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics while Brandon Bass (13 points, 9 rebounds) and Mickael Pietrus (12 points) had big outputs off the bench. This one was never in doubt so it was nice to see Bass play more minutes (31) than any of the starters.

Paul Pierce had eight points and seven assists, Jermaine O'Neal added eight points and seven rebounds but Ray Allen (6 points) continued to fall into a shooting slump.

UMass-Amherst product Gary Forbes led the Raptors with 18 points, off the bench no less. I think he's the only Minuteman currently in the NBA besides greybeard Marcus Camby. DeMar DeRozan (11 points) was the only other Toronto player in double figures.

I predict that Boston will go on a fraudulent winning-streak since they are about to embark on what undoubtedly is their easiest three-game stretch of the season: vs. Phoenix on Friday and at Washington on Sunday.

Right now, the Celtics are beating up on the bums of the NBA and once they meet a playoff contender, they fold. It's just that easy to explain.

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Any Big East fan could have told you, Luke Harangody is a beast

Earlier in the week, I made a mistake when I referred to Celtics guard Von Wafer as the last guy on the bench. I neglected to mention rookie guard Avery Bradley and rookie forward Luke Harangody, two college players that came out too early (Bradley) or seem to be undersized and without a position in the NBA (Harangody).

With Kevin Garnett out the last five games, Harangody has been playing more minutes and last night was his first real solid performance as he put up 17 points and 11 rebounds (in a career-high 27 minutes) that fueled a 122-102 win over the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden.

Anyone that pays attention to college hoops could tell you that both, particularly Harangody can ball. You don't play four years in the Big East at Notre Dame and dominate like he did when you're a stiff.

Clearly, it'll be hard for him to find minutes on a championship contender like this one but he seems to have the ingredients to be a solid role player in the Ryan Gomes, Leon Powe mode.

Since the Raptors (12-24) don't play any semblance of defense, it should be no surprise that the Celtics (28-7) usually own them, save for one weird choke job in Toronto earlier this season.

Paul Pierce led the Cs with 20 points, Ray Allen scored 17, Glen Davis had 14 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 12 points. Nate Robinson regained his scoring touch, putting up 15 points off the bench.

Rajon Rondo had nine points and seven assists in 26 minutes (with six turnovers) as Doc Rivers tried to limit the starters minutes in the first night of a back to back stretch and three games in four nights.

DeMar Derozan paced Toronto with 20 points, Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza both added 17 points, Jose Calderon had 11 points and nine assists while Amir Johnson scored 10. Off the bench, Leandro Barbosa scored 15.

The Raptors must possess as many foreigners (four played last night) as almost any other team, fitting since they're in Toronto which is a very diverse city, especially for Canada. It also makes sense that they don't have any interest in stopping anybody on the defensive end.

Boston was up 34-22 after one quarter and 67-45 at halftime (their most first half points this season). The Raptors cut into the deficit a bit in the third quarter (32-27) but it didn't matter as the Celts closed it out (28-25) and sent everyone home happy.

It was the second straight outstanding shooting display by Boston (57.5%) and Toronto wasn't shabby either (50.6%). The Celts made five more 3-pointers (11-6), three more free throws (19-16) and had 12 more rebounds (43-31). Boston had six more assists (31-25), three off their season-high while Toronto had four more steals (8-4) and five more blocks (7-2).

Thanks to Rondo's carelessness, the Cs had five more turnovers (16-11) and half the amount of fastbreak points that the Raptors had (14-7). The Cs did pound it down low with 10 more points in the paint (54-44).

Boston is in Chicago to face the Bulls tonight. Derrick Rose seems to always play well against the Celtics and this has developed into one of the Cs bigger rivalries over the past few seasons.

Business as usual with Rajon Rondo back on the court for the Boston Celtics

As spoiled as we are with the Boston Celtics the past few years, a two-game losing streak is truly a cause for alarm.

Yes, NBA teams can successfully go through the motions of the monotonous 82-game regular season (see: Celtics 2009-2010) but if Boston is relatively healthy, they should win most games that they play, no questions asked.

That equation was proved once again last night in Canada as the Cs (25-7) beat the Toronto Raptors (11-22) 93-79 at the Air Canada Centre.

Rajon Rondo returned from his ankle injury and played 34 minutes but only contributed four points, eight assists and five turnovers. However, just his presence alone allowed things to open up for the Celts. For example, Paul Pierce dropped a game-high 30 points with seven rebounds and four assists while Ray Allen added 23 points.

Even Glen Davis, who looked completely lost on Friday without Kevin Garnett, managed to snap out of his funk (starting 1 of 7 last night) with a near triple-double: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists.

Toronto is not good but they are young and athletic which can always make for a tough matchup for our lovable group of old men that play basketball.

DeMar DeRozan apparently is becoming a star now as he had 27 points while Joey Dorsey (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Amir Johnson (10 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles.

After a tight first quarter (24-23 Boston) and halftime (43-42 Celtics), it looked like it could be a close finish but Doc Rivers and his staff (mostly excitable midget Lawrence Frank) convinced them to play some defense and as a result, they managed to hold the Raptors to only 37 points in the second half.

When you look at the numbers, it's easy to see why the Celtics pulled away. They shot 54.3% to Toronto's 37.8%. The Celtics had five more 3-pointers (6-1) which offset a big deficit in rebounds (49-37 Toronto).

And what a shock, Rondo made for much more ball movement (30-20 assists for Celtics) and less hero ball. Toronto had four more steals (9-5) but thanks to Shaq (4 blocks), Boston had four more blocks (6-2). The Raptors used their speed to almost double up the Celts in fast break points: 29-15 and gain 10 more points in the paint (42-32).

Boston comes home to host Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at the TD Garden. Minnesota is exactly the type of team you want to face in the second half of a back-to-back, a squad that you can beat even if you play you're B or B- game.