Everything you need to know about the Clippers beating the Celtics 121-112 with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Celtics suffer embarrassing second-half collapse: The Celtics put together their best offensive first half of the season against the new-look Clippers, leading by as many as 28 points on their way to 74 points before the break. That lead evaporated in a hurry however as Boston’s offense fell apart in the third quarter without Kyrie Irving (sprained knee) to the tune of 12 points on 18 percent shooting. That putrid output opened the door for the Clippers to come back into the game, largely thanks to the hot shooting of new addition Landry Shamet (17 points off the bench). The Clippers outscored Celtics 70-38 in the second half to pull away with a double-digit victory in what served as another embarrassing home loss for the Green, perhaps the worst of the season.
Kyrie Irving suffers knee sprain in the first half: The All-Star was in the midst of a highly efficient first half (14 points in 14 minutes) before colliding with Montrezl Harrell while trying to navigate a screen. The 6-foot-3 guard came up limping and was removed from the game a minute later after trying to play through the injury initially. He headed back to the locker room with Celtics trainers and was ruled out for the night shortly thereafter with a sprained knee. Boston’s offense self-combusted for much of second half without him, thanks in large part to a 12-point third quarter. Irving will receive imaging on the knee on Sunday.
TURNING POINT
The Clippers closed out a tie game at 102 with just over six minutes remaining with a 21-10 run, featuring numerous open 3s all over the perimeter after Boston's defense broke down repeatedly in the pick-and-roll
TWO UP
Daniel Theis: The reserve center was questionable to play with a sore knee, but he followed up one of his best performances of his Celtic career with another great shooting night. He knocked down his first two 3s of the night to post eight points in just six first-half minutes. The 3-point makes pushed his season average from downtown to 46.7 percent, the second-best mark on the team behind Brad Wanamaker.
First half offense: The Celtics scored a season-high 74 points before intermission, largely on the back of their trips to the charity stripe. They attempted a season-high 23 free throws in the first half and turned the ball over just one, taking advantage of a Clippers team that was full of new faces after three deals during trade deadline week.
TWO DOWN
Jayson Tatum: The Clippers baited the Celtics into going into the post plenty by putting Patrick Beverley on Tatum, but the move backfired for most of the night for Boston. Tatum missed six of his first seven shots from as attacking one of the few above-average defenders on the visitors did not work well.
Third quarter offense: In the wake of one of their best halves of the season, the Celtics’ offense came crashing back down to earth in the third quarter. In a period marred by poor shot selection and limited ball movement, the hosts went 4-of-22 from the field to score just 12 points with their All-Star point guard sidelined with a sprained knee.
TOP PLAY
Terry dances on 'em. ? pic.twitter.com/Rfwa5XBvJl
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 10, 2019