BSJ Game Report: Clippers 140, Celtics 115 - No-show from C's defense in road trip finale taken at Staples Center (Celtics)

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Celtics

BSJ Game Report: Clippers 140, Celtics 115 - No-show from C's defense in road trip finale

By Brian Robb

Mar 12, 2019 • 2:15 am

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Everything you need to know about the Clippers beating the Celtics 140-115 with BSJ insight and analysis

Box Score 

HEADLINES

The Clippers offense runs all over the Celtics: The good vibes from a 3-0 West Coast trip quickly dissipated on Monday night as the Clippers had their way against an overmatched Celtics defense for the better part of four quarters. The Celtics allowed a season-high in points and field goal percentage for an opponent (60.9), as the Clippers had seven different players score in double figures in the 25-point romp. Lou Williams led the way with a game-high 34 points while Danilo Gallinari (25 points) and Montrezl Harrell (20 points) were unstoppable from the perimeter and the paint all night long in the pick-and-roll against a Celtics defense that was playing without Jayson Tatum (sore shoulder). Jaylen Brown (22 points) and Terry Rozier (23 points) had strong offensive games for Boston, but it wasn’t close to enough to keep pace with the Clippers firepower on this night.   

TURNING POINT

The entire second quarter was a defensive nightmare for the Celtics, as the Clippers managed to shoot a scorching 72 percent from the field and were perfect from 3-point range (4-of-4) thanks to the domination of Williams in the pick-and-roll. The Clippers pushed the lead up to double digits in this stretch and held onto this offensive rhythm for the final three quarters on their way to their scoring night of the year in regulation.

TWO UP

Kyrie Irving: The All-Star led the Celtics in both points (14) and assists (5) in the first half, doing his best to keep the visitors in the game against a high-powered Clippers offense. He also tallied his team-leading 13th charge of the season in the opening frame, putting him in another tie atop the leaderboard with Marcus Smart. Irving finished with 18 points and had a team-high 11 assists.  

Terry Rozier: The reserve guard found his rhythm from the outside early on, serving as the only player off the bench providing an offensive spark. He made his first four shots of the night, including a pair of 3s to score 10 points before the break in just 13 minutes. He finished with a season-high 23 points off the bench, including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

TWO DOWN

Marcus Morris: The veteran forward got a little bit shot happy in the first half (second on the team in attempts) and he struggled through the added volume, knocking down just two of those shots while forcing a few of the looks and blowing a layup. With his inability to contain Danilo Gallinari (18 points in first half), it was a rough evening for the free-agent to be on both ends of the floor.

Celtics defense: The Clippers have a very tough offensive attack for Boston to stop with their three guards and pick-and-roll weapons, but the Celtics provided very little resistance, particularly during the opening 24 minutes. The hosts shot a scorching hot 63.9 percent from the field and 54 percent from 3-point range as they seemed to create open looks at will for the likes of Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Gallinari. That trio combined for 44 of the Clippers 63 points in the first half and the lack of resistance from Boston continued in a 39-point third quarter for the hosts  

TOP PLAY




TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER


Speed is still killing the Celtics in the pick-and-roll:
Add Williams to a long list of guards that have burned the Celtics in the pick-and-roll all season long. Even with Aron Baynes back in the fold as a defensive anchor, the Celtics simply were not able to stop the Clippers at the point of attack, which produced easy looks for Williams at the rim or for a rolling big man on a switch. With Baynes and Daniel Theis lacking the mobility to get around big guards and Rozier’s inability to get around screens, this is going to be an area that the C’s coaching staff is going to have to take a long look at cleaning up ahead of the postseason. They won’t face a team as tough to defend as the Clippers every night, but it’s an area that any smart opponent will test Boston as the stakes rise.


It will be fascinating to see the C’s response to this one:
After feeling good about themselves over the past week, the Celtics were handed a slice of humble pie by one of the hottest teams in the NBA on Monday night (Clippers have won five straight). The effort was not as horrific as the performances against the Raptors or Rockets, but it was an embarrassing defensive effort given the team's inability to get stops. The Clippers made plenty of contested shots in this one but there was also disturbing lack of resistance that was primarily caused by the Clippers skill and speed advantage rather than a lack of intensity by Boston. This type of stinker had the tendency to carry over earlier this season, but the Celtics have a series of very winnable games coming up at the Garden (Sacramento, Atlanta, Denver). If anything has changed with this group, they won’t let this game definite the trip and how they respond on Thursday night. A 3-1 road trip is still a successful run for this group given the competition and they have to move past this one quickly and clean up their mistakes.
 

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