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Spurs 111, C's 89: Champs dominate 4th

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics hung around with the San Antonio Spurs for three quarters, but as if to demonstrate the difference in the state of the two teams, the defending champs simply ran away from the rebuilding Green in the fourth quarter en route to a 111-89 triumph at TD Garden.

It was a one-possession game with 10 minutes to play when Manu Ginobili turned the ball over. The Celtics, who led by nine at one point, had a chance to tie the game, but Brandon Bass was whistled for an offensive foul. Ginobili drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing, then sneaked his way to the rim on the next trip for a little finger roll on the next possession pushing the Spurs out front 85-77 with 9:21 to go.

As the game slipped further away, Aron Baynes put the exclamation point on the afternoon. Retrieving the ball above the 3-point arc in a late-clock situation, he turned and heaved a desperation shot for his first NBA triple. He followed with a finger roll soon after as the Spurs' lead ballooned to 97-80 and sent fans racing to the exits with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff looming for the Patriots-Packers clash.

• Baynes his way: Baynes became the latest low-profile Celtics killer. The 28-year-old center put up 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting with five rebounds over 18 minutes. Danny Green paced the Spurs with 18 points behind four triples (one open look left Brad Stevens throwing his hands in the air in disbelief at the lack of a defender nearby).

• Something in reserve: The Celtics ran with a mere four-man bench for most of the game, but three of those players provided double-digit scoring in Evan Turner (12 points), Brandon Bass (10), and Marcus Thornton (10). Once the game got away, the Celtics operated with a late lineup that included rookies James Young and Dwight Powell alongside Phil Pressey, Kelly Olynyk, and Tyler Zeller.

• Loose balls: The Celtics started Zeller (7 points, 10 rebound over 23 minutes) in place of Olynyk (3 points, 3 rebounds over 25 minutes). ... Jeff Green scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting for Boston. ... Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was back on the bench after missing the last two games while undergoing an undisclosed minor medical procedure.

• What it means: Mercifully, the month of November is over for the Celtics, who emerge at 4-10 overall. Boston takes Sunday off before visiting the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

112288
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5 THINGS WE LEARNED AS CELTICS CAN’T KEEP PACE WITH SPURS

WEEI

By Julian Edlow  

After another collapse at home on Friday, the Celtics played their second afternoon game of the holiday weekend against the Spurs on Sunday at the TD Garden. Similar to Friday, the Celtics dropped another one in which they remained competitive until late. This time, however, the Spurs’ hot second half led to a 111-89 victory for the road team.

The Celtics high man was Jeff Green with 16 points. He was one of five Celtics in double figures, while Tyler Zeller ripped down 10 rebounds. The Spurs also had five players in double figures, led by Danny Green with 18 points. San Antonio had much deeper contributions than Boston, though, as 10 of their players scored five or more points.

(Click here for a complete box score and recap.)

Here are five things we learned in another home loss for the Celtics:

BRAD STEVENS IS NOT AFRAID TO PLAY MATCHUPS

 Stevens told the media prior to the game that Zeller would be getting the start at center over the struggling Kelly Olynyk.

The coach felt that the decision was based more on a need for Zeller in this particular game more than anything. When asked why the choice to start Zeller was made, Stevens simply responded, “Defending Tim Duncan would be the obvious answer.”

Although the move may last only one game, Stevens didn’t close the door on Zeller remaining in the starting lineup in the future.

“I look at this as a very temporary thing,” Stevens said before tip-off. “I don’t look at this as a full-time thing, nor do I look at it as something that our guys will over-blow. I just think it makes sense today and we’ll reevaluate things on Tuesday.”

The move may not have paid off exactly how Stevens wanted it too right away — Duncan had six points and two rebounds in the first quarter. However, Zeller was able to neutralize him in a sense, finishing with four points and five rebounds of his own.

In the end, the matchup was almost meaningless. Duncan played only 24 minutes and scored 14 points, while Zeller played only 18 minutes before finding himself on the court during garbage time.

THE CELTICS PLAYED DEFENSE IN THE FIRST HALF

The Celtics entered Sunday’s game ranked 28th in the NBA in opponent points per game, giving up 107.3 through 13 games. It’s safe to say that defense has been a struggle for Boston all season long.

Sunday was a different story. The Celtics kept the Spurs to 45 points in the first half, but it was how they did it that was most impressive. The C’s forced 10 turnovers in the half, blocked four shots and held San Antonio to 39.5 percent shooting. The second quarter swung the game significantly, as the Spurs shot just 29.4 percent and committed seven of their turnovers. The Celtics were able to outscore the Spurs in the second quarter by seven points, 27-20.

THE CELTICS DIDN’T PLAY DEFENSE IN THE SECOND HALF

After managing just 20 points in the previous quarter, the Spurs came out and scored 17 in the first six minutes of the third. San Antonio finished the period scoring 33 points, just 12 fewer than they had in the entire first half.

Even if you are good enough to stop the Spurs for a portion of the game, they also brought the league’s best defense to town, allowing only 92.7 points per game. Still …

THE CELTICS FOUND WAYS TO SCORE ON THE LEAGUE’S BEST DEFENSE FOR THREE QUARTERS

As they have all season, the Celtics found ways to score the ball. Through three quarters, the Celtics put up 73 points on 44 percent shooting — not great, but not bad. It was enough to keep the Celtics in the game (along with their early defense), as the Spurs shot 44 percent through three quarters as well. An 18-4 Boston run in the second quarter showed what they are capable of when playing their best on both ends of the floor.

However, as we know, basketball is a sport where you play four quarters. The fourth one can be tricky for these Celtics.

THE CELTICS LET ANOTHER ONE SLIP AWAY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER

As they have against the Raptors, Thunder, Cavaliers, Suns, Blazers, Bulls, and now Spurs, the Celtics lost a home game that was close in the fourth quarter.

All seven of those loses have either gone down to the wire, or have been winnable at the start of the fourth quarter on the Celtics’ home floor. Good teams win games in situations like that. Even bad teams win some of those games. But the Celtics couldn’t find a way to win any of them.

Boston only managed 16 fourth quarter points, while the Spurs scored 33 again, as they had in the third quarter. The Spurs’ 66 second half points are everything that is wrong with how the Celtics have played at home this year.

The Celtics have shown they have potential this season. None of it will matter until they prove they can close out a tight game at home.
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Celtics can't keep up in 111-89 loss to Spurs

CSNE

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON — When San Antonio's third-year big man Aron Baynes drained a shot clock-beating 3-pointer with about six minutes to play - the first of his career - it only added insult to injury.

It was bad enough for Boston that the Spurs were playing well. But when shots are made that had no business going down like Bayne's 3-pointer, it only makes a rough night even worse.

That's how things are these days for the Celtics whose free fall continues after a 111-87 loss to the defending NBA champion Spurs.

Boston (4-10) has now lost four in a row and seven of their last eight, looking more and more like the horrific 2007 Celtics team rather than last season's squad that seemingly played every team tough.

But keep in mind, this was the defending NBA champions who came into the game as the hottest team in the league with their winning streak after today's victory at seven in a row.

The Celtics managed to take a 49-45 lead into the half. But as we've seen repeatedly with the Celtics, no lead is ever safe.

True to form, the Spurs went ahead 62-61 following a short jumper by Tony Parker in the third.  San Antonio closed out the third with a 9-4 spurt which gave them a 78-73 lead going into the fourth.

From there, the Spurs just pulled away with suffocating defense and lots of baskets coming from all over the floor.

Here are some other keys to today's outcome:

WHAT WORKED

For a half at least, the Celtics did a good job of limiting their mistakes. A big reason why they had a 49-45 lead at the half was because they only turned the ball over three times. But in the second half, Boston coughed the ball up 12 more times.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK

Boston didn't make a ton of mental mistakes, but they made enough to where a team as good as the Spurs simply pounced on their miscues and made them pay dearly. Whether it was not getting a body on a player to be boxed out or taking an ill-advised shots. Boston needed to play with great focus and attention to detail. They were pretty good, but against a team like San Antonio? That's not enough.

KEY STRETCH/PLAY

With 1:16 left to play in the third quarter, San Antonio's Danny Green nailed a 3-pointer that put the Spurs ahead 76-71. From there, Boston never recovered as the Spurs steadily pulled away for the blowout win.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Celtics are off to Atlanta for a Tuesday night matchup with the Hawks.

Interesting note that Tommy said prior to the end of the game. He said when building a team....you have to teach the players habits. He stressed ball movement and defense as 2 habits.

As we see with this team during a game, they perform both for periods of time and then it disappears....case in point .........1st half ....second half.

That bring me to the question.........if they are performing these 2 habits well and then it stops, is it the floor general/quarterback of the team fault..........or is it the coach....or both.

Perhaps is Stevens is too nice a guy when a kick in the ass is needed.

The way SA exposed the Celtics pick and roll defense was classic. You had guys just rolling to the rim with no Celtic giving them any sort of coverage. No one paid the price by putting a guy on the parque floor!  The Celtics are a soft team.....it's is time that Brad starts teaching physical basketball rather then the team looking like they are performing Swan Lake at a dance recital!

112288 - That's One Man's opinion!

Jackie MacMullan commented after the game that the Celtics have been 0-13 on field goal attempts in the last two games.  That's their default.  At practically the first sign of trouble, start heaving the ball from behind the arc.  That's just another indication of being soft, as 112288 says.  This team has a very admirable work ethic for two or three quarters.  I have no idea what happens to it, but it disappears when the chips are down.

Jackie also singled out both Rondo (2 points, 10 assists) and Jeff Green 16 points and 2 rebounds) as veteran players who sort of disappeared as the game progressed—or just when you'd expect veteran players to step up.

But neither of them is expected to be a defensive stalwart, and the late game defense wasn't even good enough to be called "horrid."  There were no defensive rotations, with the result being open layup after open layup for the Spurs—some on pick and rolls and other on basic cuts to the hoop.  The Celtics simply seemed to have no clue as to what to do in such situations; and their feeble attempts to pay attention to the lane resulted in wide open threes for San Antonio.

Tyler Zeller started instead of Kelly Olynyk at center.  Tyler had a quiet 7 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes; but they looked superhuman when compared with Tyler's 3 and 3 in 25 minutes.  As Jackie said, we should be worried about Kelly psyche at this point.  It's almost as though we're watching the destruction of a good prospect.  Among the NUMEROUS challenges facing Brad right now, I'd put Kelly's situation among the leaders.

Even Turner had a good game, starting quickly and even keeping them in the game in the third quarter.  Brandon Bass played his usual steady game, and Jackie remarked that Brandon's play of late is forcing Brad's hand in terms of playing time for Olynyk.

This is the second game in a row in which the starters' collective +/- was much worse than that of the bench.  It was -17 to -5 in this one.

Here's hoping Brad can figure out some way to get a 48 minute effort from this team.  I think I know where I can get a used cattle prod if it would help.

Sam

Sam, you must have meant Kelly's psyche was in danger, not Zeller's,

You're right, W.  Thanks for picking that up.  I've made the appropriate change.

Sam