In the 1st quarter of today’s game vs the Spurs, Boston suffered some shooting woes, going 9 of 25 from the floor. But Marcus Thornton’s two trey balls late in the 1st had Boston right on the Spurs’ heels. It was 25-22 San Antonio after 1. Boston’s starters got off to a relatively slow start, but the bench kept the C’s in this one throughout.
Boston’s best quarter today was definitely the 2nd. The C’s had a nice rhythm going on the offensive end, and some good defense led to 7 Spurs’ turnovers. 7 was also the number of different Celtics who scored in the quarter. This is where the bench really started to put their stamp on the contest. The reserves had 17 of Boston’s 27 2nd Q points. For the Spurs, Boris Diaw was the man, leading his sqaud with 12 first half points. Manu Ginobli did not score at all in the half, but he would be heard from later.
San Antonio got some of the usual suspects involved in the 3rd, as Duncan, Leonard and Parker (jeez they’re so deep) all contributed. Meanwhile, the C’s had yet another less than memorable 3rd quarter. The defense fell apart, albeit against one of the NBA’s best offenses. But Boston also got sloppy, turning the ball over 6 times. They did manage to shoot the ball pretty well, (52%) with Bradley & Green putting in 7 & 6 points respectively. Boston was down just five points, 78-73 heading into the 4th.
Aron Baynes..not Duncan, not Leonard, not Ginobli, but Aron Baynes snuffed out any hopes of a Celtics upset in the 4th. Baynes used a combination of muscle & hustle to pummel the Celtics in the final quarter. He had 9 points in the final stanza, but it felt like 99. Stevens had seen enough after Baynes’ finger roll made it 99-80 with 4:38 left. He emptied the bench, putting in Powell, Young & Pressey. Spurs win today’s contest, 111-89. Danny Green had 18 to lead the Spurs while Diaw had 15 & Duncan 14.
Granted, Boston did turn the ball over 15 times, and did not get enough offensive production from many of the starters in my opinion. But hey, these are the Spurs we’re talking about. San Antonio shot a blistering 55% in the second half and the C’s were just no match for them. Boston is now off until Tuesday when they face the Hawks in Atlanta. Tip-off is at 7:30pm.
The Green:
- The Celtics bench put in 44 of Boston’s 89 points today. Solid games from Bass, Turner & Thornton.
The Gross:
- Rondo pretty much disappeared in the second half. After 8 assists & 5 rebounds in the first two quarters, Rajon had 0 FG attempts & 0 assists in the last two. He did seem engaged during some of today’s contest, but not in the final two quarters when it really mattered.
The Greenlights:
Jeff Green elevates for a nice dunk
The Grid: (quick stats)
