Final: Celtics 137, Spurs 93 - Brown drops 41 as C's pull away in second half

Game 75: Celtics (-16) vs. San Antonio Spurs, 6:00 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari, Payton Pritchard (heel), Jayson Tatum (hip)

San Antonio: OUT- Charles Bassey (knee), Khem Birch (knee), Jeremy Sochan (knee), Romeo Langford (abductor)

QUESTIONABLE- Keldon Johnson (foot), Malaki Branham (back)

Spurs Probable Starters: Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Keita Bates-Diop, Sandro Mamukelashvilli 

Refs: John Goble (#10), Lauren Holtkamp (#7), Jason Goldenberg (#35)

Last time they played: Celtics 121, Spurs 116, January 7- The Celtics came out well, but the Spurs were able to keep it close thanks to some missed layups and, after the Celtics let up a little, some bad bad turnovers. Malcolm Brogdon helped the Celtics build a lead as high as 15 and it looked like this could be a comfortable game. The Celtics, though, had a lazy third quarter and let the Spurs come within a point. Then Robert Williams checked in to save the Celtics. The Spurs did it again in the fourth, but Williams, again, checked in to save Boston.

A little something about this game: The Spurs have lost three in a row and five of their last six. They are 6-30 on the road this season. Keldon Johnson returned in the last game after missing two straight with a neck strain and dropped 30/10/4 for his fifth double-double of the season. Tatum is missing just his fifth game of the season. 

One thing I’m looking for:

It’s very simple today: Come out strong, stay strong

In a lot of ways, the Celtics are set up for a letdown here. They’ve played two great games and they have Milwaukee coming up on the schedule (after Washington). The Spurs are shorthanded and not good to begin with. The Celtics should come out and make short work of San Antonio.

“If we come in and just expect it to be a blowout, it probably won't go our way,” Joe Mazzulla said before the game. “So I don't care if we went by three or we win by 33. At the end of day, we have to continue to play the basketball that we have been playing. We’ve shown signs of playing really good basketball, and so I don't care how we do it. It's just important that we win.” 

That last part isn’t entirely accurate, and I don't think it’s exactly how Mazzulla meant to say it. The goal here is playing well. If San Antonio also plays well and it’s a close game, so be it. But more likely, if Boston plays well, they’ll run away with this game. 

But it requires them to play like one of Gregg Popovich’s earlier teams, the vaunted 2014 champions. A lot of teams have tried, and Brad Stevens has been desperately attempting to replicate it here in Boston, but it hasn’t been able to work consistently. 

So I asked Popovich why that's been the case. 

"Because Timmy, Manu, Tony, and Boris aren't out there,” he said, referring to Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Boris Diaw. “It had nothing to do with me or teaching this or that. You get combinations of guys that really get it, and they got it."

This is one of those quotes that you hope filters back to the team, because it’s as damning to those who can’t pull it off as it is complimentary of those who did. Popovich wasn’t trying to throw shade at anyone. He was trying to be self-deprecating. But buried in that is an unintentional swipe at teams who don’t get the way those Spurs did. 

The Celtics have been doing it recently, and they need to continue to if they're going to win a championship. The question is whether they can actually get it and make that their default moving forward. 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.