Final: Spurs 129, Celtics 114 - Kemba Walker's ejection leads to blowout loss

Despite having their starting five back at full strength for the first time in weeks, the hosts came out incredibly flat in this one, giving up a 24-5 lead over the first six minutes that led to boos from the Garden crowd on their way to a 129-114 defeat. Boston’s second unit helped to slow down the bleeding in the first half but the C’s didn’t make any real headway into cutting the big early lead until the third quarter when the starters opened up a 22-11 run to begin the second half. Gordon Hayward led five Celtics in double figures with 18 points but Boston shot just 40.9 percent from the field in what was another subpar night from the offense. DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 30 points for the visitors who shot a collective 55.2 percent from the field, a season-best for a Celtic opponent this season.

The bigger story of the night was the ejection of Kemba Walker, who made his return after a three-game absence due to flu-like symptoms. He only lasted 18 minutes after he was handed two quick technicals by referee Evan Scott while protesting a missed moving screen call at the 5:46 mark of the third quarter. It was the first career ejection for the normally soft-spoken Walker who was given a very short leash by the official in the sequence that resulted eventually in a personal foul going against Daniel Theis. Brad Stevens also got whistled for the tech in the hysteria while one fan threw a drink onto the Garden floor. The Celtics trailed by double digits for the final 18 minutes of the game after the ejection as the Spurs erupted for a 15-4 run to help put the game away.

• Kemba Walker has been upgraded to questionable after missing three consecutive games due to flu-like symptoms. He will be a game-time decision. Romeo Langford remains out to due to the flu along with Rob Williams and Vincent Poirier. 


• The Celtics are coming off their worst shooting game of the season against the Wizards (34.7 percent). They should have a good chance to bounce back with Walker back in the fold facing off against the 23rd ranked defense in the NBA in San Antonio.


• The Spurs are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the NBA (37.4 percent) but take the fewest 3s in the NBA out of any team, relying heavily instead on the midrange play of DeRozan and Aldridge.


• San Antonio is coming off a blowout win of the Bucks, handing the league's best team their worst loss of the season on Monday night.