The Boston Celtics were victorious against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night by a final score of 117-112. This game was tightly contested for most of the duration, a late fourth quarter surge would propel the Celtics to victory.
Celtics:
For the Celtics this was a great win against a very good clippers team. They played a extremely clean game on both ends of the floor. They played with great energy and effort and also scoring whatever they wanted against the Clippers. It was great to see another impactful performance again by Kemba Walker hitting shots off dribble, as well as hitting off-screen threes.
Kemba finished with 25 points and 8-19 from the field and 6 assists. Also in key moments the Celtics Played great defense, holding Paul George just 2-7 in the final minute of the fourth quarter. As for scoring the Celtics had as many as six players score in double figures.
Leading the way in scoring was Kemba Walker with 25 points on 8-19 shooting with 6 assist. Also scoring was Jaylen Brown he had 18 points on 8-14 shooting. Jayson Tatum had 14 points on 5-16 shooting. Also scoring Tristan Thompson with 13 points on 6-10 shooting with 9 rebounds. Rob Williams had another Fantastic showing off the bench scoring 13 points on 4-5 shooting while adding 8 rebounds. Payton Pritchard continues to impress with 14 points on 5-8 shooting.
This was a great win for the Celtics as it continues their strong stretch before heading into the All Star Break. With this win the Celtics move into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics get over 500 and improve to 18-17 on the season. The Celtics shot a stellar 48% from the field and 47% from beyond the arch.
Clippers:
For the Clippers they knew going into this game would be a dog fight, the last three meetings with the Celtics have come down to the final seconds or ended up in a one possession game. This game was very close battle by both teams the Clippers fought till the end until a late surge by the Celtics in the fourth quarter came. The Celtics had a lead as many as 8 in the fourth quarter. But it was the Clippers inability to knock down shots and stop the Celtics high powered offense.
The Clippers had four players score in double figures. Leading the Clippers in scoring was Paul George with 32 points on 12-26 shooting. Reggie Jackson inserted into the starting Lineup with Kawhi Leonard being a late scratch, Stepped up in a big way scoring 25 points on 10-14 shooting. Nicolas Batum added 10 points on 4-6 shooting. While Marcus Morris SR. had 10 points off the bench on 4-7 shooting. While Lou Williams had 12 points on a laclester 4-13 shooting night.
This was a heartbreaking loss for the Clippers as they crawled back in this game late but unfortunately missing key shots would give Boston the edge. The Clippers shot the Basketball really well shooting 49% from the field and 47% from beyond the arch. This is now the Clippers second straight loss, as they fall to 24-13 on the season.
Takeaways/Final Thoughts
- The Celtics defensive intensity late in the fourth quarter was great
2. The Celtics Bench really stepped up when needed
3. The Celtics shot the Basketball really well
4. Rob Williams Continues to be a human Highlight reel
5. Kemba Walker has played a great stretch of basketball
6. Jayson Tatum played great defense on Paul George in the Final minutes of the fourth quarter
The Celtics look to continue their hot stretch as they face the Raptors at the Garden at 7pm on Thursday night to cap off the first half of the season.