BSJ Game Report: Kings 114, Celtics 97 - Sabonis dominates as C's fall apart in 4th

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Kings, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Kings came out hot from 3, taking advantage of a sluggish C’s defense. Boston’s shooting couldn't match Sacto’s and they were down seven after one. Payton Pritchard helped Boston get off to a 16-3 start to the second quarter and Boston’s defense held the Kings 19 points to go into the half up two. They finished the third tied, thanks to a big quarter by Domantas Sabonis. The Celtics crumbled after that, hearing a chorus of boos as they lost the fourth quarter, and the game, by 17.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Falling into the trap: One of the hallmarks of last year’s team was not falling into the little traps throughout an NBA season, like a tough first game back from a long road trip. This year’s team seems to be giving into those more often. The defense was spotty at best through the first three quarters and it disappeared completely in the fourth quarter.

- 3-point shooting: The Celtics had a lead at one point in the third with both teams tied at 10 made 3-pointers. They shot 1-7 in the fourth quarter while the Kings shot 8-11. You’ll never overcome that.  

- Sabonis dominates: 23 points, 28 rebounds (eight offensive), and three assists. He dominated the second half, grabbing five of those eight offensive rebounds after halftime. Boston had no offensive rebounds in the second half. Sabonis was one rebound shy of matching the entire Celtics starting five.

TURNING POINT 

The Kings went on an 11-3 run to start the fourth quarter, or a 24-10 run if you prefer, to put the Celtics away. The Kings scored their 100th point with 6:03 left in the game, meaning they could have gone scoreless the rest of the way and still won. 

By the way, if you really want to get nuts, the full Kings run was 51-25 after the 6:51 mark of the third quarter. 

THINGS I LIKED

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Okay, there were some things to like early on. I did like Jaylen Brown’s attacking in the first quarter. And he did throw some nice passes. There were some nice plays and, honestly, it’s not like the effort was missing the whole game. It’s just that every little good thing that I saw was overshadowed by the very big, very bad thing in the fourth quarter. I’m not going to go into it because it feels like I’m searching too hard for the positive, but there were some good things sprinkled throughout the game.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The 4th quarter: Talk about the wheels falling off. Sacramento shot 61% overall and 72.7% from 3 while Boston shot 35.3% and 14.3%. The Celtics grabbed just four rebounds, mostly because Sacramento only missed seven times and the other three misses resulted in offensive rebounds. The Celtics had no offensive rebounds. Devin Carter went off for eight early points to start the quarter, setting the tone for how the rest of the night was going to go. That was just rough. 

- Rebounding: Sabonis is a big-time rebounder, so him grabbing 20 defensive rebounds on a night Boston couldn't hit a thing is not surprising. The eight offensive rebounds are ridiculous, though. That's where the lapses in effort really shone through. 

“Some of that was you come from switching, and then when you're switching and you have a small on him, and he's able to take advantage of that,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Some of them, he just kind of outworked us for them. So it's one of the best things that he does. You’ve got to match his effort every possession, and he did it more than we did.”

- Shooting: These sub-30% nights are happening way too often. They had 12 all of last regular season and are already up to seven this year. I guess the plus side is that it happened 12 times last year and they ended up fine, so if they find their rhythm they can still get back on track. 

- Turnovers: Jayson Tatum had five in the third quarter alone. Boston had 15 overall for 16 Kings points. Even when the numbers aren't off the charts as far as overall totals, Boston is finding ways to make the turnovers they commit poorly timed and incredibly damaging. 

- Another home loss: The Celtics are 13-7 at home. They were 37-4 at home last season. They have to win these games at home. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This was predictable. 

I said it before the game. The Celtics coming off the long road trip would have a tough time at home. When De’Aaron Fox was ruled out, I thought this could get ugly. I almost thought Mazzulla should counter by sitting one of his star players just to force everyone into being focused. 

I’ll get more into this separately. This shouldn’t be predictable. It wasn’t last season. 

- Losing at home is a problem. 

As much as I might be the least-bothered person in Boston media by this team, I will say this new habit of losing games at home is a problem. These are your home fans. There are people who travel here from all over to catch their only game this season, hell, sometimes their only games of their lives in this building.

I get it. They will never be perfect. They don’t -want- to lose here. But these winnable games that come down to controllable issues have to end differently. The fans deserve better. 

Next up: The Celtics wrap up their quick two-game homestand Sunday against New Orleans.