Everything you need to know about the Spurs beating the Celtics 115-96 with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Shorthanded Celtics get run over Spurs, Aldridge: LaMarcus Aldridge has given the Celtics problems for years and Sunday night proved to be no different. The 6-foot-11 power forward erupted for a season-high 48 points against an Al Horford-less Celtics front line, setting the tone for San Antonio what turned into a second-half romp at the TD Garden against the listless hosts. Boston was playing catch up for most of the game without Horford (sore knee) and Jayson Tatum (sore back), watching helplessly as Aldridge dominated the host of defenders (Baynes, Theis, Morris, Yabusele) that were thrown at him. Offensively, the Celtics came up empty on the perimeter for much of the evening, shooting just 20 percent from downtown (7-of-35) as no one managed to score more than 14 points on the night. A seven-point game at halftime was quickly put out of reach in the second half by Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan (16 points, 11 assists), which produced garbage time for the majority of the fourth quarter.
Four straight losses for a floundering defense: The setback was not a huge surprise given the missing personnel but it was the fourth straight game Boston has allowed 115 or more points as a team, which unsurprisingly produced their fourth straight loss. This team has been a mess on defense for a couple of months now and that has been consistent no matter what players are healthy any given night.
“We have to be better," Brad Stevens said. "You know, we were a better defensive team in the first two months of the season than we’ve played at any time in the last month. So, to me, it’s not about what we’re doing, it’s about how well we do it every single night, and that’s – that’s where we have to get back to. And so, we’re getting exposed by good teams; tonight, again, Aldridge was incredible, but at the end of the day we have to be a lot better for 48 minutes defensively.”
The defeat dropped Boston two games behind Indiana for the No. 4 seed in the East with eight contests remaining in the regular season.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics kept things tight with their starting five at the start of the third quarter, but once Stevens was forced to go to the bench to replace Baynes and Hayward for a stretch, the Spurs opened things up, rolling off a 13-2 run to push the lead back up to 15. San Antonio led by double digits for the final 15 minutes after the outburst.
INJURY REPORT
Kyrie Irving suffered a nail injury at the end of the first quarter that forced him to head back to the locker room for a brief spell. He returned midway through the frame though after his usual rest and finished with just 13 points.
? semi-graphic: Kyrie Irving is already back on the court despite peeling off almost his entire nail pic.twitter.com/pNqmmQkP0C
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 25, 2019
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— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 24, 2019