Everything you need to know about the Spurs’ 105-102 win over the Celtics in quickie form.
HEADLINE
Headgear crew puts up a valiant fight: Kyrie Irving (36 points) played his last game in a mask while Jaylen Brown (15 points) sported protective goggles for the first time to protect his inflamed eye. The starting backcourt combined for 51 points on 20-of-31 shooting, which nearly led the Celtics to a gritty road win over one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Manu turns back the clock: The veteran guard scored just 11 points in the win off the bench but changed the game with a pair of 3-pointers at the end of the second and fourth quarter. Both were heavily contested go-ahead baskets and the second one ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
TURNING POINT
After the Celtics forced a miss late in the shot clock, Manu Ginobili snuck in for the offensive rebound with 27 seconds remaining. The crafty veteran ran the clock down in a tie game at the top of the arc, before using a pick from LaMarcus Aldridge to pull up for the game-winning 3 on the right wing, rising over Al Horford for the jumper.
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving:
The All-Star was red-hot in the opening frame, scoring 17 of Boston’s first 25 points of the game on 5-of-6 shooting from the field (4-of-5 from downtown). The superb offense helped the Celtics build a 12-point lead in the quarter that was slowly whittled away before halftime.
Terry Rozier in the first half:
The third-year guard carried the offense for the second unit in the first half after the Spurs threw a 2-3 zone out them at the start of the second quarter. Rozier helped neutralize it by making jumpers and snatching three steals that led to easy transition opportunities. He scored 11 points in just 12 first-half minutes on 5-of-7 shooting.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Morris:
The veteran forward may have been better off taking this game to rest his sore knee. He took plenty of his usual midrange shots but none were falling (0-of-3 from 16-23 feet). He also didn’t have much lift in traffic in the paint, which forced him into a couple unnecessary fadeaways in the paint.
The officials:
Gregg Popovich blew a gasket for a technical in the first quarter and it seemed to pay off with whistles. The Spurs got the benefit of the doubt on whistles for the remainder of the evening, including a number of questionable calls and non-calls that went against Marcus Smart. He fouled out in just 22 minutes.
TOP PLAY
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Brad Stevens wanted this one:
The head coach has been committed to protecting his starters from big minutes, but it was evident in the second half how badly he wanted this game. Stevens brought back Horford and Irving with 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, a bit earlier than both return to the floor in crunch time. It was a savvy move in what was a great regular season test for this squad, knowing he’d need the services of both All-Stars to pull this one out on the road.
Could use a little more time with the starting five:
The NBA is turning into a small-ball league but the Celtics still playing their best defense when Aron Baynes and Horford share the floor together. The starters built a 12-point lead in the opening six minutes of the game with the starters on the floor, yet Stevens didn’t go back to Baynes for the remainder of the first half as the C’s lost their entire lead. Against a team with plenty of true bigs in San Antonio, Baynes deserved to see some more tonight before his injury, if only to keep up the C’s defensive intensity.
