Everything you need to know about the Celtics' loss to the Spurs, with BSJ insight and analysis.
IN A NUTSHELL
Jaylen Brown’s 12 points helped give Boston an early nine-point lead over the cold-shooting Spurs. That lead settled at five heading into the second quarter, and after the teams traded runs, that's where it was at halftime. Victor Wembanyama finally got going to cut a few points off Boston’s lead heading into the fourth, and a late Spurs run put the game away.
HEADLINES
- Tough finish: Maybe they ran out of gas, or maybe there was just too much Wembanyama and Keldon Johnson down the stretch, but the Celtics shot 3-10 over the final 5:23, 0-6 from 3, and were out-scored 16-8.
- Free throw discrepancy: The Spurs shot 20 free throws while the Celtics shot four. I'm the last person to put blame for losses on the officials because, invariably, you can find other things that could have been done better. At the same time, four free throw attempts are out of whack for how the Celtics were playing.
- Throwing everything at Wemby: Hugo Gonzalez started in this game because Victor Wembanyama was coming off the bench and Joe Mazzulla wanted to match Jordan Walsh’s minutes with Wemby’s. Baylor Scheierman also got a turn on Wembanyama, as did Gonzalez, as the Celtics
TURNING POINT
The Celtics led 89-84 when the Spurs took a timeout with 5:23 left to play. San Antonio went on a 13-4 run after that to take a four-point lead with :41 on the clock.
THINGS I LIKED
- Jaylen Brown & Derrick White in the first half: They were both incredible in the first half. Brown was 7-12 from the field, White was 7-13, they’d both made three 3-pointers, and they went into halftime with 17 points each. They cooled off in the second half, combining to shoot 8-29 and 4-16 from 3.
- Baylor Scheierman: He didn’t expect to end up guarding Wembanyama as much as he did, but there he was, getting physical with Wemby and forcing him into tough fadeaways. Of course, Wemby hit those shots, but there's nothing you can do about that. He finished with 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals, one of which led to this play:
Defense ➡️ Offense pic.twitter.com/p3ppNCWCUE
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 11, 2026- Luka Garza: He finished with 11 points and six rebounds, and a block of Wembanyama. He went 3-4 from 3, giving the Celtics some quality minutes spreading the floor.
- Neemias Queta: He had 13 rebounds, four of them offensive, and two blocked shots.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE