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Celtics Wrap: Aron Baynes, Rebounding Lead Boston To Win Vs. Lakers

NESN by Nicholas Goss on Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 10:25PM

BOSTON — It wasn’t pretty, but the Boston Celtics won their 10th straight game Wednesday night to remain atop the NBA standings. The C’s, who were without veteran starters Al Horford and Gordon Hayward entering the game, lost rookie forward Jayson Tatum at halftime to right ankle soreness. Boston didn’t shoot well, either, but its excellent defense was enough to beat the rival Los Angeles Lakers 107-96 at TD Garden. Aron Baynes led the C’s with 21 points, while Jordan Clarkson and Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 18. The Celtics improved to 10-2 with the victory, while the Lakers fell to 5-6. Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Marcus Morris C: Aron Baynes

DOMINANT START The Celtics started out hot, hitting six of their first 10 shots. Morris, who started in place of the injured Horford, hit two 3-point shots in the first five minutes. Boston’s early perimeter defense also was solid, as L.A. began the matchup 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Irving scored six points on 3-for-5 shooting, including a sensational display of ball-handling that resulted in a layup. Rozier banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the C’s closed out one of their best first quarters of the season. They led 33-16, forced nine turnovers and held the Lakers to 6-for-18 shooting.

LAKERS CLOSE THE GAP The Celtics continued to pour it on in the second quarter. The bench grew the lead to 18, led by 10 combined points from rookies Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis. Ojeleye converted a nice and-1 play off a nice behind-the-head pass from Marcus Smart. But the Lakers fought back, hitting a pair of 3-pointers midway through the quarter to trim Boston’s lead to 11. Los Angeles got within six points at 58-52, but an Aron Baynes 3-point play pushed the Celtics’ lead to nine at the half, 61-52. L.A. shot 4-for-7 on 3-point field goals in the second quarter after going 0-for-5 over the first 12 minutes. Boston finished the half 4-for-15 from beyond the arc.

BACK-AND-FOURTH Smart started the second half in place of Tatum, who the C’s ruled out for the remainder of the game with right ankle soreness. The Lakers forced the C’s to take a timeout after trimming the lead to 70-63. L.A. started the quarter in style with a Kyle Kuzma jam. The Lakers continued to shoot well and attack the basket, and they got within two at 76-74 midway through the third stanza. Baynes pushed his scoring total to a team-high 17 with a put-back dunk to widen Boston’s edge. Irving finished the third quarter shooting 5-for-16 overall and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. The Lakers did a good job contesting him at the rim, even blocking a few shots, and that turned into fastbreak opportunities. The Celtics were able to get the lead up to 87-81 at the end of the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Brown and a driving dunk by Theis put an end to a horrible run of shooting for the C’s.

CLOSING TIME The Lakers kept it close to start the quarter, staying within three of the lead through the first four minutes before the Celtics upped their lead to 96-88 with a run that included a 3-pointer by Smart. Smart was shooting 1-for-8 from the field before that shot. Irving came back into the game an hit a pair of shots, which pushed Boston’s edge to 100-90.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT The Truth is in the building.

UP NEXT The Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Jayson Tatum leaves game vs. Lakers with right ankle soreness

By NBC Sports Boston Staff November 08, 2017 9:30 PM

The Celtics have announced that Jayson Tatum will not return to Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers because of right ankle soreness.

LEFT WITH WALKING BOOT.
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Celtics step up after Tatum injury, beat Lakers 107-96 for tenth straight victory

NBC SPORTS BOSTONBy A. Sherrod Blakely November 08, 2017 10:26 PM


BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics came into the season looking to build around a new Big Three of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford.

Eleven games into the season and Irving is the last man standing, with Hayward (ankle) expected to be out for the rest of the season and Horford (concussion protocol) out indefinitely.

Boston took another blow when rookie sensation Jayson Tatum (ankle soreness) left the game in the first half and did not return. He played just nine minutes and finished with five points.

But instead of being overcome by a string of adversity, the Celtics continue to be a next-man-up kind of team that regardless of who’s not playing, it’s not an excuse to lose sight of the mission – find a way to win.

And the Celtics did just that, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 107-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston (10-2) has extended its winning streak to 10 in a row, and in the process handed the Lakers (5-6) their fourth straight defeat in this head-to-head series.

Boston got a season-high 21 points from Aron Baynes. Kyrie Irving had another strong game with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Marcus Morris, starting for the second time this season, had 16 points.

Meanwhile, the Lakers were led by Brandon Ingram and Jordan Clarkson who each had 18 points. Lonzo Ball had nine points, five rebounds and six assists for the Lakers.

The Lakers had cut Boston’s lead down to as little as four points in the third quarter following a 3-point play by Julius Randle. But the Celtics bounced back to take an 87-81 lead into the fourth.

Randle, who finished with 16 points, had another 3-point play that cut Boston’s lead down to 89-86 with under nine minutes to play.

Boston responded with a 7-2 run capped off by a pair of free throws by Terry Rozier.

The Celtics dominated the first half of play with a lead that peaked at 21 points. But the Lakers gradually chipped away at the deficit which was down to single digits in the last couple minutes and were within six following a driving lay-up by Kyle Kuzma with less than a minute to play in the half.

But the Celtics wasted no time coming back with a 3-point play by Baynes that put the Celtics ahead 61-52 with 25.6 seconds to play in the second quarter and would serve as the final points scored by either team in the first half.

112288

Only reason why this game was close is because the Celts shot poorly.
Celts were just 38.8% from the field.

80 - 2 THE DREAM LIVES ON!

IN BAYNES WE TRUST!

What an effort by Baynes! We finally have a tough SOB in the likes of Perkins who can mix it up down low - rebound, box out and score!

Hay what about Morris.............great game and its only his 3rd since returning.

Tatum...........oh boy............keep your fingers crossed he will be ok.

Theis........what a great defensive player..........another steal by Danny.

112288

112288 wrote:80 - 2 THE DREAM LIVES ON!

IN BAYNES WE TRUST!

What an effort by Baynes!  We finally have a tough SOB in the likes of Perkins who can mix it up down low - rebound, box out and score!

Hay what about Morris.............great game and its only his 3rd since returning.

Tatum...........oh boy............keep your fingers crossed he will be ok.

Theis........what a great defensive player..........another steal by Danny.

112288

Agree!

Ainge signed Theis for the minimum and it's for 2 years.

Theis is a steal indeed!

Baynes as a starter gives me confidence. I don't feel the same way with Morris. He reminds me of Tim Wakefield. He'll eat a lot minutes and not hurt you.

We can't afford any more injuries. Brad needs to start stretching out the roster.

Is Perk available? We need Horford 100% for the playoffs to have a real chance.

Maybe Perk is too slow. I have no clue who is available. We don't want to go with any more rookies. Danny should do something?

Please don't run Kyrie into the ground. Get Smart and Larkin pg minutes. Let them run it. Adapt to them a little as pg's.

A guy like Larkin is a bit useless unless you play it a bit more old-school. He shoots well, but that's my eye test. Smart has proven he can do it. Smart's problem is he shoots too much or is inept at it. He can get you assists with no turnovers. I doubt Rozier can do that.

Anyway, I am worried about long term stamina and playoffs. I would take some losses in return for a healthy postseason. Like if Baynes got injured, I think we become a lottery team.

Or Stevens is Belichick for basketball and can replace anyone and still pound out wins.

Rozier can play smart with a good assist to turnover ratio. Bradley was no good at pg. But I don't think Rozier is in Smart's tier for pg.

Next man up mentality from a bunch of gritty young players as Boston takes 10 in a row. So far this is one of the most enjoyable Celtics teams to watch in several seasons. What they've shown over the past three weeks is no flash-in-the-pan. The defense alone is going to keep them in tight games. I suspect they're going to get the attention of some people out west when they make extended swings in January and March this year.

It probably won't happen this year, but LA is going to be a good, playoff bound, team. That is yet another young team that is going to grow together, with several talented youngsters. Among the examples, Ingram is going to get where he was projected to be, Ball is going to be lights out, and Randle will eventually start games, getting big minutes while filling the stat sheet too. Resurgent Boston and LA teams, re-igniteing a competitive rivalry would be excellent news for the NBA.

Second ugly win in a row.  Still a win, but...

Credit to the Lakers.  They were getting blowtorched early but played hard and created opportunities for themselves with their hustle and running game.  They didn't give up, they showed tremendous pride.  6 Lakers in double digits and one with 9.  That's extremely balanced scoring for a team that only scored 96 total.

Baynes is a beast.  He completely outplayed All-Star Brook Lopez, especially on the inside.  Only the 4x in his career he has been his team's high scorer in a game and Thank God for us this was one of them.  21 points on 8-12, 8 boards and 3 assists for our Aussie.  5 of those rebounds were my beloved offensive rebounds.  All in only 23 minutes.  Lopez played 18 minutes and had 10 on 5-11 but only 4 boards and wasn't an impact player.  Baynes was THE impact player in this game.  Perk, with much softer hands and a shot, but with the same love of contact.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/928451618953154561


Randle was the second most impactful player of the game, and he came off the bench.  16 on 5-9 and 12 rebounds in just 21 minutes.  He brought them back from the brink of an epic blowout almost singlehandedly.  I understand why he's benched; Kuzma's an unexpected star, Ball, Ingram, Lopez and Caldwell-Pope at the other guard squeezes him out of the starting lineup but he played well.  Really well, almost well enough to steal this one for the Lakers.

The Lakers are at their best when they're running, and they out fastbreaked us 10-0, we won by taking 13 more fgas than them.  21 TOs for them vs 13 for us is the difference between a young team pulling itself together and a young team with enough veteran leadership to not kill itself.  The Lakers will outgrow those problems.

Jaylen Brown 3-11.  To his credit he guarded Kuzma for much of the game and Kuzma only shot 4-10 for 10 points.  That's a win in my book because Kuzma's a key scorer for them.  It would have worked better if people were scoring for us, but Jaylen did his job and cooled their shooter.

Sorry, not feeling the Ball Love.  He's a rookie and all but so is Tatum and Tatum looks better, so does Simmons.  Fultz looks like he can't figure out which arm to shoot with.

Kyrie with flash but 7-21 and 0-7 from 3 turned this into a MUCH closer game than it should have been.

Morris with a good, solid game.  I don't know if he'll be a regular starter, I suspect Brad will pencil in that 5th starting spot depending upon matchups, but Morris showed he can get the job done if called upon.  He hit some big shots when everybody else was ice cold.

Is this the first game we've been outrebounded?

Smart 3-11 but doing Smart stuff.  Took charges, got some floor burns and had 6 assists and only 1 TO.  He had one pass that has to be on Sportcenter, the one where he did a give-and-go with Semi where he flipped the ball over his head, blind, to the cutting Semi who laid it in while getting fouled.  Dare I say "Bird-like"?

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/928439105817600000




And then there was his weak-side block on Ball:

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/928443455336058881




TRo also a big game.  14 points on 5-12, 8 rebounds with 3 offensive including a big one with a few minutes left and we're trying to hold them off.  8 of our total 16 offensive rebounds from Baynes and Rozier.

Theis got 22 minutes with Horford out.  3 blocks, 5 boards and 8 points on 3-6, 2 steals.  He's 25 years old but let's remember he's never played against these players before, so he doesn't know their moves and the refs don't know him.  To them, he's just another rookie.  He's going to be very valuable in April.

Jayson Tatum hurt his ankle and only played 9 minutes.  He is in a walking boot and will be re-examined tomorrow.

We were missing 2 starters, Horford and only 9 minutes from Tatum and we won, albeit ugly as sin.  We did it, in part, because non-stars like Baynes and Morris combined for 39 points.  Brad said we'd need to compensate for Al's absence "by committee" and that's what they did.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974912











Smart's block on Ball














bob



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Baynes was a Beast tonight.
A great all around game for him.
His toughness is what Boston has been looking for.

Luke made a huge mistake in the first quarter.
Randle has had a great year so far.
How does Luke not play Randle in the first quarter when LA is desperate for offense? Instead he brings in Bogut who hasn't played this month.

LA's 1st quarter was dreadful.
33% shooting and 9 turnovers.
Kyrie was a magician with the ball in the first quarter.

The rest of the game was very solid for the Lakers.
Boston made the plays they needed when LA got close.

LA last year and the year before would have lost this game by 35.
This team has a lot of fight in them.
This was a great experience for them.

Boston keeps racking up the wins.
They might run away early with the #1 seed in the East.

Phil Pressey wrote:Baynes as a starter gives me confidence. I don't feel the same way with Morris. He reminds me of Tim Wakefield. He'll eat a lot minutes and not hurt you.

We can't afford any more injuries. Brad needs to start stretching out the roster.

Is Perk available? We need Horford 100% for the playoffs to have a real chance.

Maybe Perk is too slow. I have no clue who is available. We don't want to go with any more rookies. Danny should do something?

Please don't run Kyrie into the ground. Get Smart and Larkin pg minutes. Let them run it. Adapt to them a little as pg's.

A guy like Larkin is a bit useless unless you play it a bit more old-school. He shoots well, but that's my eye test. Smart has proven he can do it. Smart's problem is he shoots too much or is inept at it. He can get you assists with no turnovers. I doubt Rozier can do that.

Anyway, I am worried about long term stamina and playoffs. I would take some losses in return for a healthy postseason. Like if Baynes got injured, I think we become a lottery team.

Or Stevens is Belichick for basketball and can replace anyone and still pound out wins.

You have a point regarding burning Kyrie out. It's a long season........spread out the work load!

112288

Morris and Baynes are two totally different players. Stevens will start whichever one makes more sense according to the matchups. Comparing them is like comparing an apple to an orange. Morris can get his own shot and hit threes. Baynes is a beast in the paint. Theis and Smart helped stave off the Lakers with effort plays. Depth is a real asset to this team That said, Horford and Tatum need to get well soon.

Ball`s shot makes Smart`s look textbook.

http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/08/lakers-dig-early-hole-against-celtics-drop-opener-of-4-game-trip/

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-lakers-celtics-20171108-story.html

Lakers must learn how to pass the ball first.

Numerous times different Laker players passed the ball to no one.

fierce wrote:Lakers must learn how to pass the ball first.

Numerous times different Laker players passed the ball to no one.

That's called hitting the open fan.

Rebounding even... not good for us
Shooting terrible 39% got outshot... not good for us

down a starter (actulally 2 considering GH) and then a second one early... not good for us

About the only stat that stands out to me is we shot it more, a lot more, in large part due to the turnover advantage. ....good for us

It's another one in the left column.

Games in the NBA are full of streaks and momentum shifts. Last night was typical. But when it got close in the 4th we made the plays.

During this streak we have been led in scoring by 4 different players. KI AH JB and now AB

Hopefully big Al and Tatum won't be out long but we are deep and proved how important that is again last night.

beat

As expected Boston beat the upstart Lakers even though they played sporadically for 3 of 4 quarters.  

Randle was the key in getting LA back in the game.  He brought some toughness and low post scoring that made a big difference.

This looked like an old school game with Baynes in the post.  They just kept on getting him the ball and he just kept on making shots.  He gave us extra possessions with his 5 offensive rebounds.  The most amazing thing is that he did all of this in only 23 minutes.

We also got an impressive game from Theis.  He filled up the stat sheet with 8 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive), and had 2 steals and 3 blocks.

In a recent post both Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier were sharply criticized for the way they were playing.  Once again this duo came off the bench and set the defensive tone we needed.  They made countless big plays when needed.  They were the engine behind this win.

Jaylen brown made some shots but did not have a great offensive night but the reason why i love this kid is because he does so many other things even if his shot is not falling.  He lead the team in rebounds with 11 and played defense all over the floor.  He too brought toughness and physicality to the game and greatly contributed to this win.

Kyrie did not shoot the ball well except for the shots he had to make.  Once again when you need a bucket he knows how to get it for you.  His 5 assists and 6 rebounds also helped.

Morris is still on a minutes restriction diet but he played very well on offense and made a lot of shots that were needed.  He scored 18 points in 25 minutes of play.  

Now that the league is taking notice of the Celtics teams will be lining up to get a shot.  A depleted roster could not have come at a worst time.  Brad will now go deeper into his bench while AH and JT recover from their injuries.  

The Lakers probably left town feeling pretty good about their almost win.  They are at Washington tonight in what should be a revenge game for the Wizards and they visit the Greek Freak and company on Saturday.  Their toughest game may be the last one on the road trip at Phoenix.  

Celtics fans gladly take this win and on Saturday the Celtics will go after 11 in a row against Charlotte.  

dboss

Couple of random thoughts

*With Tatum and Horford on the court - the Celtics blow out the Lakers last night. Without them, Celtics still controlled the game from jump to final buzzer.
*Kyrie is playing 33 MPG, one less than his career average and 35th in the league. Brad isnt even close to burning him out.
*Baynes played a great game -
*Again, not sure why we are reluctant to give Morris credit. 18 points in 24 minutes and a +8. Didnt rebound well, but otherwise a very efficient game.
*Theis and Smart had great games on both ends. Daniel got all the hustle plays and Marcus is tough as nails. He gets under everyone's skin, draws fouls, blocks shots, boxes out - all the things that make a winner.

Win beautiful or win ugly, but just win. 10 in a row baby.

"You have a point regarding burning Kyrie out. It's a long season........spread out the work load!

112288"

I like wins as much as anyone else, but I wouldn't play Kyrie and Al close to full quarters.

I remember a lot of Doc Rivers when he would run the starters into the ground (except KG). Phil Jackson mocked us saying just wait it out and we'll fall apart.

The roster must be stretched especially now.

If a guy like Yabusele is not ready and is just another Jordan Mickey or James Young, basically deadwood or at least for early years, we might want to move on sooner rather than later.

There was an open roster slot? Without Hayward, we went down to 13 players?

How decimated are we? Are there new rules in which the G League guys can play?

Without Tatum and Horford, we are down to 11 players?

I thought it was okay to not worry about completing the roster, but it looks like Danny should make a move. I'm not worried about Al and Tatum, but this is getting close to a situation.

Next man up is good, but if the next guy up is in a walking boot or sleeping off a concussion, that doesn't help.

mrkleen09 wrote:Couple of random thoughts


*Kyrie is playing 33 MPG, one less than his career average and 35th in the league.  Brad isnt even close to burning him out.
*Baynes played a great game -
*Again, not sure why we are reluctant to give Morris credit.  18 points in 24 minutes and a +8.  Didnt rebound well, but otherwise a very efficient game.
*Theis and Smart had great games on both ends.  Daniel got all the hustle plays and Marcus is tough as nails.  He gets under everyone's skin, draws fouls, blocks shots, boxes out - all the things that make a winner.

Win beautiful or win ugly, but just win.  10 in a row baby.

*With Tatum and Horford on the court - the Celtics blow out the Lakers last night.  Without them, Celtics still controlled the game from jump to final buzzer.      

Agree...... I never felt we were in any danger of losing this plan and simple

*Baynes played a great game

4th different player to lead us in scoring  

*Again, not sure why we are reluctant to give Morris credit.  18 points in 24 minutes and a +8.  Didnt rebound well, but otherwise a very efficient game.

Good defender, OK shooter. Played 3 games and has been a factor in each one........only guy on the team that hasn't lost a game this season too.

*Theis and Smart had great games on both ends.  Daniel got all the hustle plays and Marcus is tough as nails.  He gets under everyone's skin, draws fouls, blocks shots, boxes out - all the things that make a winner.

These 2 along with TR had nice games. Very nice games. And I don't give a crap if Smart is shooting poorly, he just does so many other things well, That block on the rook Ball was jawdropping.

And as for minutes .... no one is averaging anything big. Think I'll trust the coach on this one. Think he knows what he's doing.

10-2 looking really good right now.

beat

bob


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Morris is a needed cog in this wheel. Without him we lack big man presence when one of our other bigs goes down. He is a good defender and a much better scorer than I had imagined. We are lucky to have him.

bob



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