Final: Clippers 91, Celtics 82 - Celtics miss 38 3-pointers en route to 3rd straight loss

Game 35
Boston Celtics (16-18, 9-6 home, T-9th East) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (17-17, 5-7 road, 6th West)
TD Garden
7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Payton Pritchard, Josh Richardson, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Clippers: Terance Mann, Marcus Morris, Sr., Luke Kennard, Eric Bledsoe, Ivica Zubac 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Celtics in Health and Safety Protocols: Bruno Fernando, Enes K. Freedom, CJ Miles, Aaron Nesmith, Dennis Schroder, Jayson Tatum

- Marcus Smart is still out with the laceration on his right hand. 

“He’s better. The laceration is still there and painful, doesn't have a lot of grip or touch,” Ime Udoka said before the game. “Should it be back soon, tried it out a few times doing some different things and you don't want to risk getting worse, if he reaches for a steal or something like that. So obviously the bandage or padding or whatever he needs doesn't help to the extent that he needed to, but it's a short-term thing that should be next game or so.”

- Josh Richardson returns with no minutes restriction

- Clippers in Health and Safety Protocols: Brandon Boston, Jr., Jay Scrubb, Moses Wright

- Clippers injuries: Paul George (elbow ligament tear), Nicolas Batum (right ankle sprain), Isaiah Hartenstein (left ankle sprain), Jason Preston (right foot), Kawhi Leonard (continued ACL recovery). Reggie Jackson is doubtful due to Return to Competition Reconditioning. 

- Today marks the first return of Brad Stevens’ lead assistant, Jay Larranaga. 

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Limit Zubac: The Clippers are in rough shape, so Morris is handling the bulk of the scoring load. He’ll need some help, and Zubac is one of the guys who can do it, especially if the Celtics (and Robert Williams) continue to overreact to drives and fakes. Morris plus a big Zubac performance will be a problem for the Celtics.

2. Jaylen Brown settling down: He was hard on himself after the loss to the Clippers, saying he missed reads and over-thought the game. That's not great, but a bounce back in this one where he embraces being the focal point of the defense, uses it to draw attention and get his teammates easy buckets, and patiently waits for an opportunity to pounce on his scoring after that would make up for it. 

“It’s not a short-term fix. These are things that aren’t going to change overnight and haven’t always been consistent,” Udoka said of his recent conversations with Brown. “So it’s not just a one-film session and then you’re on to the next one. He took that tough, obviously, with Jayson being out, and being the main guy out there, I’m sure, puts some on his shoulders. But it’s never just one guy.”

Brown certainly has the capability to carry a team for stretches, but he needs to let the offense flow and make the defense guard his teammates. THAT'S when Brown can make his move. 

3. Stopping runs. The Celtics have gotten back to the horrible habit of letting opponent runs get out of control. It’ll be very interesting to see if Richardson’s return will help calm that down. He’s another guy who can put the ball on the floor and get to a spot where he can score. The Clippers will certainly make runs, but they're also prone to droughts in their depleted state. Keeping LA’s runs to 7-2 rather than something like 18-4 will be key to the Celtics coming away with the win. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.