Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Frustrating Loss to Clippers

Familiar problems plagued the Celtics in their loss to a Clippers team playing without their two best players. Boston fought valiantly in the second half, but Wednesday's loss was a frustrating one.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Losing to a team that's missing its two best players is concerning. The same goes for coming out flat after getting dominated the night before against a rival franchise. There were a lot of positives in the second half analyzed below, but the Boston Celtics' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday is a frustrating one.

Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly that stood out from the game.

Celtics Get Embarrassed in the First Half

After their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, the Celtics stressed the need to play with greater urgency and intensity. However, when Wednesday night's game got underway, Boston was slow out of the gates.

The Celtics often looked lethargic in the first half. Defensively, on-ball pressure and rim protection were absent. At the other end, despite facing a Clippers team that ranks 26th in points allowed in the paint, Boston was reluctant to attack off the dribble. And too often, there was a lack of player and ball movement, problems that have plagued the Celtics for years.

Boston committed 13 turnovers, which fueled 22 points for the Clippers. Los Angeles consistently created high-percentage shots, helping LA, down its two best players, convert on 55.6 percent of its field-goal attempts, including cashing in on 8/16 threes. Reggie Jackson and Brandon Boston combined for 30 points, and while the Clippers were only up 12 at the break (63-51), they were in firm control of the game for the first two quarters.

Boston Wakes Up in the Third Quarter

After trailing by as much as 21 points earlier in the third quarter, the Celtics proceeded to go on a 14-3 third-quarter run to trim their deficit as low as four points.

As Boston worked its way back into the game, the Clippers went over five minutes without making a field goal. LA shot 6/24 (25 percent) in the third frame, while the green and white made 48 percent of its shots. The Celtics also went 7/7 at the free-throw line; they assisted on seven of their ten made field goals, and their full-court press produced four steals and five turnovers by Los Angeles. Boston scored eight points off those turnovers, helping the green and white amass 20 points in the paint in the third frame.

Simple Mistakes Derail Celtics' Comeback Attempt

The Celtics whittled the Clippers' lead down to as few as two points, but simple mistakes on both ends of the floor stood in the way of them completing their comeback.

In the fourth quarter, there was a Josh Richardson missed layup. Marcus Smart was excellent in the second half, but he failed to connect with Jayson Tatum when throwing a lob on an uncontested alley-oop. Along with squandering those two possessions, there were fourth-quarter defensive blunders that made the path to success more difficult.

With the Celtics trailing by five with just over 3:30 remaining, Reggie Jackson came off a screen with the shot clock winding down; the normally reliable Al Horford didn't come all the way up to contest the shot, and Jackson made him pay for granting him a clean look, knocking down a triple that extended the Clippers' lead to eight. On LA's next possession, Josh Richardson abandoned the strong-side corner to double Jackson, leaving Luke Kennard wide open for a corner three that he converted to put the Clippers up by 11 with 2:40 left.

Familiar Problems Plague the Celtics

The Celtics fought valiantly in the second half, but Wednesday's loss is a cause for concern. For starters, the Clippers were without their two best players, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

And after getting dominated on Tuesday by their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, in a 15-point loss where the scoreboard is kinder than the story that played out on the court, the Celtics were flat to start Wednesday's game, as discussed earlier in the article.

There were also the 23 turnovers the Celtics committed, which led to 33 points for Los Angeles. No matter who the opposition is missing, it's tough to win when that happens.

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