Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 141-133 win over the Clippers with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Tatum erupts in an instant classic: Jayson Tatum finished two points shy of his career-high with 39 points and Marcus Smart added 31 points, helping the Celtics grind out a win in a double-overtime classic on Thursday night. Tatum was at his best in crunch time, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter and both overtime frames combined, outplaying Kawhi Leonard (only 5 of his 28 points came in 4th qtr and overtimes), putting together arguably his best two-way performance in a Celtics uniform.
Five players scored in double figures in the win overall with the starting five combining for 122 points on the night. Gordon Hayward added 21 points and 13 rebounds including several big plays in the final minutes of double overtime to lock down the game for the C’s. Lou Williams had a team-high 35 points for the Clippers but needed 33 shot attempts to get there.
Celtics win 11 of 13 heading into the All-Star Break: The schedule has been unforgiving over the past month with no more than one day off between games for nearly six weeks but the C’s have navigated that brutal slate and injuries (Brown sat with a sore calf on Thursday) to a terrific run of basketball leading into the All-Star Break. Boston has won 11 of their past 13 games and has also earned home wins now over the five best teams in the league during the first half of the season. The schedule remains tough for the rest of February but there has been enough quality wins in this stretch for this group to feel mighty confident about their ability to compete with anyone this postseason. Their best five players can go toe-to-toe with anyone and the consistency that was needed for this group back in January has arrived now, seemingly for good.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics finally seized control of the back and forth affair in the final two minutes of overtime, breaking open the game with a 7-0 run behind the play of Hayward who scored all seven points in the stretch and delivered a crucial block, steal and offensive rebound to keep the Clippers off the board until the game was out of reach.
TWO UP
Tatum: It was the third 30-point game for Tatum over his last five contests and the eighth 30-point performance of his season. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field now over his last five games while averaging 29 points per game and 7.2 free throw attempts.
Marcus Smart: It was the second-best scoring performance of Smart’s career and the fifth 20-point game for the guard in 42 contests this season. That’s a career-high for him in one season.
TWO DOWN
Defending Montrezl Harrell: The reserve big man wreaked havoc against the C’s frontcourt all night, fouling out Daniel Theis over just 24 minutes while tallying up a game-high 14 free throw attempts against the likes of Theis, Enes Kanter and Grant Williams. He’s one of the best sixth men in the league but the C’s did not do a good job keeping him out of the paint.
Gordon Hayward inside the arc: The swingman made some big shots late in this one but couldn’t get any rhythm going for most of regulation, missing 3 of his 13 shots from 2-point range against an active Clippers defense.
TOP PLAY
.@jaytatum0 drops the hammer in tonight's @JetBlue Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/NRYSracXfI
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 14, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
This stretch could be a turning point in Tatum’s career: The leap from good to great usually can’t be easily defined for a player but this is one game that could stand out in Tatum’s career as the time he became a true star in just his third NBA season. He used every club in his bag in this performance, showing off a stepback 3, strong drives, terrific footwork in the post all while limiting Kawhi Leonard to just five points in the final 22 minutes of the game as his primary defender. That type of two-way play has been improving much of the season but Tatum simply looked like he was on a different level in this one against arguably the best team and player in the Western Conference. Saying this was the best game of Tatum’s career given those circumstances wouldn’t be a stretch at all.
Hopefully these minutes don’t come back to bite Kemba’s sore knee: His minutes limit of 30 was lifted for this one with a week of rest waiting after the All-Star Break and positive performances over the last two nights. After running up 36 minutes in regulation, the double-overtime affair pushed the All-Star up to 46 minutes on the nationally televised showdown and there was no way Walker was sitting out late in this one unless it was absolutely necessary. The point guard continues to struggle with his shot of late (sub 40 percent shooting in his last four games) so the training staff is going to have to walk a fine line with him down the stretch. The Celtics need him to stay in the hunt for the No. 2 seed but they also need a better version of Walker for the postseason if they plan on going deep. The week of rest shouldn’t cause any long-term impact from this one but Walker’s numbers as he battles this condition bears close watching.
