Inside The Celtics

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. Spurs: Boston Never Trails but Has to Fend Off San Antonio in Game That Goes Down to the Wire

The Spurs gave the Celtics everything they could handle, but Boston led wire-to-wire in a game that came down to the end.

Bobby Krivitsky

Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
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The short-handed Spurs gave the Celtics all they could handle Saturday night in the Alamo City.

Between Boston's beautiful ball movement, assisting on 30 of 47 field goals, Jayson Tatum generating a game-high 34 points, and Jaylen Brown chipping in 29, the visitors never trailed.

But as effective as the Celtics facilitated the rock to create open, in-rhythm shots or points at the rim, producing 54 points in the paint, they also committed 14 turnovers, leading to 19 points for San Antonio.

Between that and the hosts consistently generating points off cuts, scoring 70 points in the paint, even when the Spurs got down double digits, they repeatedly made a counter-run.

On a mission to stick it to his former team in what he clearly considered a revenge game, Josh Richardson registered 18 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two blocks.

Between him matching Tre Jones and Zach Collins for a team-high 18 points and Doug McDermott contributing 13 off the bench, San Antonio's second unit chipped in 51 points.

But Boston also got significant contributions from a bench that contributed 41 points. Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon, in particular, were excellent.

Brogdon finished with 23 points on 8/12 shooting, went 5/6 from beyond the arc, had seven assists and no turnovers.

Williams registered ten points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and two steals, making a significant impact at both ends of the floor.

Now, for a deep dive into the Celtics' 121-116 win over the Spurs.

A High Scoring First Frame in the Alamo City

The Spurs ran their first play for former Celtic Romeo Langford, who got an open look at a floater off two feet but missed the 15-footer.

Boston built an early 9-2 advantage, turning stops into transition buckets, including an open three for Jaylen Brown from the left corner. 

The visitors also pushed off San Antonio's lone make, leading to a Derrick White layup against his former team, prompting Gregg Popovich to call for a timeout with his club down seven.

At the 6:50 mark, Brown worked a give-and-go with Al Horford, producing a finger roll layup that gave him ten points in just over five minutes. That came on the heels of Brown working effectively as a playmaker on a drive-and-kick to White for an open corner three.

Speaking of White, he registered two blocks in the opening frame, including coming from behind to swat a Josh Richardson floater.

Richardson paid it forward, rejecting Sam Hauser at the rim later in the period.

But the Spurs turned three Boston turnovers into seven points, including converting a poor pass from Sam Hauser into a layup that helped the hosts stage a 9-1 run, a burst that got them within one, bringing the score to 26-25.

San Antonio also got a significant boost from its bench, outscoring the Celtics' second unit 16-9, led by five points from Richardson.

While Boston got less from its second unit, Robert Williams made his presence felt. His two points came from cleaning up a Jayson Tatum missed layup. He turned another offensive rebound into a Malcolm Brogdon three and picked off a Richardson pass that eventually led to a Tatum mid-range jumper.

Williams also delivered a skip pass to Tatum for a three from the right wing and swatted a Malaki Branham three to end the quarter, preserving a 33-30 Celtics lead.

Tatum, Brown, and Beautiful Ball Movement Propel Boston to Double-Digit Halftime Lead

After a four-point first frame, Tatum dominated the second. He registered 13 points on 5/5 shooting, with all his points coming beyond the arc or at the rim.

Brown produced eight points, entering the half leading all scorers with 18. He did so on 7/14 shooting.

The Celtics' ball movement in the first half was fantastic. They assisted on nine of 13 field goals in the opening period, then did so on 8/14 in the second.

On a play that exemplified the beautiful ball movement that led to those assists, on a drive-and-kick, Brogdon's paint touch put the Spurs' defense in rotation. Jeremy Sochan bumped to the corner when White collected the kick-out pass, so White quickly swung the ball to Smart for an open three.

Shortly after that, the Timelord annihilated a Branham three-point attempt, then tracked it down and went in for a layup that put Boston ahead 68-53 with 1:04 left.

The visitors entered the break leading 68-57.

The Celtics did have four turnovers in the second quarter, raising their total to seven in the first half, but only got burned for four points after giving up seven in the first 12 minutes.

And while the Spurs got ten points from Richardson and Zach Collins and stayed active, often scoring off cuts, Boston did well defending the three-point line, limiting San Antonio to 4/14 on first-half threes, including 1/7 in the second frame.

Spurs Swing Back in Third Quarter

The Celtics got off to a slow start to the second half. The Spurs opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run, generating most of their points at the rim as they whittled Boston's 11-point lead down to one.

Facing the dilemma of whether to bring Robert Williams in ahead of schedule or save his minutes for later, Joe Mazzulla opted for the latter.

The Celtics could've used his two-way impact to help combat a San Antonio team that built confidence throughout the period, but saving the Timelord's minutes for when there's less margin for error is justifiable.

There's also merit to Mazzulla challenging his team to flip momentum against a short-handed Spurs squad.

Williams played the final 3:43 of the third frame, immediately making a difference. He had a block, dissuaded drives from reaching the rim, a dunk, and an assist.

In a concerning development, with just under eight minutes left in the quarter, Collins got whistled for an illegal screen, kneeing Smart in the back of the latter's knee. It wasn't malicious, but it sent Smart to the floor. When he got up, he reached for the back of his knee. He then had to get helped down the tunnel.

The Celtics' initial determination is Marcus Smart has a left knee contusion. He's doubtful to return to tonight's game.

Continuing to provide a needed boost off the bench, Brogdon registered five points in the third frame, including tracking down an errant pass and drilling a three, extending Boston's lead to 79-72 with 5:36 left in the period.

That gave Brogdon 14 points on 5/6 shooting, including 4/4 from beyond the arc. He also had three assists and no turnovers.

Brogdon's other basket came on a layup that was a part of a 9-2 run, including four points at the rim by Tatum, boosting the visitors' advantage to 91-82 with 1:39 remaining in the quarter.

But San Antonio closed the frame on a 7-2 run, including five points from Richardson, narrowing the gap to 93-89 entering the final 12 minutes.

Celtics Fend Off Spurs in a Fourth Quarter That Goes Down to the Wire

After scoring five points on six shots, Brown missed his first attempt of the fourth frame, a three, then committed a turnover. Needing to get himself in rhythm, he wisely went to his mid-range game, burying a pull-up jumper from 20 feet. That gave Boston a 105-97 lead with 8:21 on the clock.

On the Celtics' following possession, after a Spurs timeout, Mazzulla dialed up a misdirection play where Brogdon found a cutting Brown for a layup as part of a 9-2 run, extending their advantage to 107-97.

But shortly after that, the Spurs got back to producing points at the cylinder. San Antonio's 12-2 run featured eight points at the rim as the hosts got to within one, 114-113, with 1:12 to play.

That stretch included Langford uncorking a floater off two feet from inside the paint, then slicing his way to the basket for the layup that pulled the Spurs within one.

Boston, who turned the ball over on a Brown push off on the possession before Langford's layup, is lucky Tatum didn't get the same call its next time down the court. He didn't extend his arm to create separation from Tre Jones, but the latter went flying, drawing a loud reaction from the crowd and the ire of coach Popovich.

With the officials allowing the play to continue, Tatum dished to White, who lofted a lob to the Timelord, putting the visitors ahead by three with 48.1 seconds left.

But the Spurs answered, drawing up a misdirection play out of a timeout that got Richardson a clean look at a three, tying the game at 116 with 37.1 seconds to go.

Boston countered with Tatum quickly going to work off the catch, knocking down a step-back jumper from 14 feet with 33.1 seconds on the clock.

On San Antonio's final possession, Robert Williams did an excellent job against Langford, not allowing the latter to get a shot off. But with the defense scrambling, Jeremy Sochan wound up with an open look from the right wing that would've given the hosts the lead with less than ten seconds left.

Lucky for the Celtics, the shot missed the mark, and they closed out the game at the free-throw line. That included Brogdon grabbing the miss when Tatum made his first one but missed his second, then swished his two attempts, sealing Boston's 121-116 win.

Up Next

The Celtics return home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The game tips off at 7:30 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and afterward. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

Further Reading

[Film Room] How the Celtics Limited Luka Doncic's Impact as a Scorer and Facilitator

Boston Fans Will Absolutely Love What Jaylen Brown Said Before Celtics-Mavericks Tilt

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. the Mavericks: Adhering to the Right Approach and Tatum's Triple Double Leads to 29-Point Victory

The Top 5 Plays from Thursday's Celtics-Mavericks Game

The Reasons Behind the Celtics Trading Noah Vonleh to the Spurs

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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