Post Game - Celtics at Spurs - Sunday, December 31 (W)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585076

Celtics vs. Spurs takeaways: C's assert their dominance in NYE blowout

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-vs-spurs-takeaways-cs-023753519.html

Justin Leger
Sun, Dec 31, 2023, 9:37 PM EST·5 min read




Celtics vs. Spurs takeaways: C's assert their dominance in NYE blowout originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

The Jays finish 2023 strong
Derrick White dominates in homecoming
C's get the full Wemby experience

The Boston Celtics put a bow on 2023 with a decisive road victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

It was a refreshing wire-to-wire win for the C's after their nail-biters against the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors. They led the Spurs by as many as 37 points in their New Year's Eve showdown and cruised to a 134-101 triumph.

Twelve different Celtics players scored in the blowout. Jayson Tatum (25 points) and Jaylen Brown (24 points) led the way in that department while Derrick White tallied 17 points in his return to San Antonio. Devin Vassell (22 points) and Victor Wembanyama (21 points) were the top scorers for the Spurs.

Next, the Celtics (26-6) will visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (21-9) on Tuesday night for their first game of 2024. Before we look ahead to the New Year, here are three takeaways from Sunday's win.

The Jays finish the year strong

When both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are making their shots, this Celtics team is near-impossible to beat. That was evident in Sunday's blowout.

Tatum set the tone with 15 first-half points. The four-time All-Star stayed hot in the third quarter with 10 points before resting the entire fourth.

He finished an efficient 10-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. His five 3s marked the most ever by a Celtics player on New Year's Eve. To top off his stellar performance, Tatum logged six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 31 minutes.

It was a similar night for Brown, who started strong with eight first-quarter points and stayed efficient the rest of the way. He tacked on 14 points in a dominant third quarter to finish with 24 in 26 minutes. Like Tatum, he was rested in the fourth with the C's up big.



Brown has been playing some of his best basketball for the last month. That continued Sunday night as he shot 9-of-13 from the floor while hitting both of his 3-pointers. He also notched six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Derrick White shines in homecoming

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich heaped praise on White, who played for him in San Antonio from 2017-22, before Sunday's game.

"I just couldn't be more proud of a player," he said. "When he first came, I don't think he believed he belonged in the NBA. And to watch him develop through the years here, starting with the G League and playing with us and then starting for us and then taking more steps in Boston has just been a thrill to watch.

"He's one of the greatest guys ever and his confidence has just exploded. ... It's been a great story. Starting out at the bottom and believing in himself and doing the work necessary to get where he is now. So, just thrilled for him."

White was traded to the Celtics at the 2022 NBA trade deadline and has been a key contributor for Boston ever since. In his return to San Antonio, he showed the Spurs and their fans what they've been missing.

The All-Defensive guard racked up 13 points in the first half while knocking down three 3-pointers. He also dished four assists through the first two frames.



White put the exclamation point on his homecoming with a thunderous dunk in the third quarter.



White sat for the entire fourth quarter alongside Tatum and Brown. In his 26 minutes, he totaled 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with five assists and two rebounds.

The performance wraps up a sensational month for White. In December, White averaged 20.3 points, 5.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 14 games.

The San Antonio crowd recognized White with a "White's an All-Star" chant during Sunday's game. Given how great he's been on both ends of the floor, that's getting tough to argue against.



The full Wemby experience

Sunday's game marked the Celtics' first glimpse at 2023 first-overall pick Victor Wembanyama, the most hyped NBA draft prospect since LeBron James. At 7-foot-4 with an eight-foot wingspan, "Wemby" has made the Spurs must-watch television despite being among the worst teams in the league.

The France native's unique talents were on display vs. Boston. Fifteen of his 21 points came in the first half, and he made it look easy with plays like this one:





Later, White thought about blocking one of Wembanyama's lay-ups before the lengthy 19-year-old comically lifted the ball out of his reach.



Wemby shot 8-of-16 from the floor (3-8 3-PT) while logging seven rebounds, three assists, and a block. He impressed in his first career game vs. the C's and the scary part is, he's only going to get better. Much better.

The Celtics will host Wembanyama and the Spurs for a rematch on Jan. 17.

From another perspective:


San Antonio vs. Boston, Final Score: Spurs end 2023 with a blowout loss to Celtics, 101-134

https://www.poundingtherock.com/2023/12/31/24021053/san-antonio-vs-boston-final-score-spurs-end-2023-with-a-blowout-loss-to-celtics-101-134

Boston rode a definitive advantage in talent and experience to win fairly handily after a competitive first half from San Antonio

By GaryQfromSanJose Dec 31, 2023, 8:14pm CST 2 Comments / 2 New



The Boston Celtics (26-6) improved on their league-best record with a dominant road victory over the San Antonio Spurs (5-27). Any chance of a Spurs comeback was done in by a putrid third quarter (outscored 23-40), and the Celtics owned the hosts on the boards (56 to 39) and from the field (54% to 43%).

San Antonio, absent rotation players Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson, got its main production from Victor Wembanyama (21 points and 7 rebounds) and Devin Vassell (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals).

Boston, missing Jrue Holiday, brought Al Horford into the starting line-up to guard Wembanyama, and received its biggest production unsurprisingly from Jayson Tatum (25 points and 6 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (24 points and 6 rebounds) with steady playmaking from Derrick White (17 points and 5 assists).



Former Spur White shot out of the gate with four buckets in the first quarter, and the Celtics took advantage of a porous paint for early success. Wembanyama and Vassell were the Spurs’ main answer throughout the frame, and went down eight after one quarter.

Boston took advantage of a decided rebound advantage to extend possessions, and Tatum found his shooting touch in the second period. Wembanyama compiled 15 points before getting any other statistic (2 assists), and Vassell was nearly able to match his production with scant support elsewhere.

Brown awoke from a half-game slumber and detonated on any defender in his vicinity in the third period as the Celtics ran their lead up to 28 at one point. Brown and White led a dunk and 3-pointer parade throughout the frame, while it seemed like Wembanyama was producing mostly by himself.

Observations

Pounders - doing Final Scores is one of the things that truly brings me joy in this existence. Thank you and Happy New Year!

Victor Ease: Side-step three? He made it look very easy early in first half action. There’s no way that any player could block the shot at its apex.

Devin’s Deeds: Near the end of the first period, he took the dribble into the paint and did a two-footed stop for a pop-a-shot. It feels like he could average 4-6 more points if he pushed the ball in transition.

Blake Wesley, though not looking like he made much of a visible impact, dished out four assists in his handful of first half minutes!

Sequence of the Game: Sochan, late in the first half, found a streaking Malaki Branham for an electrifying dunk and-1.

One could start a drinking game with how many times Sean Elliott has quipped “that’s not a pass you would have seen a few weeks ago” as San Antonio sought out Wemby more often on the attack.

White’s (8 points) early offense allowed Boston to jump ahead in the first. When he wasn’t getting buckets, he found easy offense for Luke Kornet. On a fast break, Vassell somehow threw a missile over Wembanyama by a good 10-12 feet. Kornet turned away two Spurs shots at the tim, and the Celtics leapt ahead by nine. Vassell and Wembanyama did their best to counter at the other end, but despite Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis combining for one field goal, Boston left the first up by eight.

An offensive track meet broke out to start the second. Wembanyama impressed with buckets from all three levels. A Branham and-1 in transition brought the Spurs within four briefly. The teams traded buckets liberally until the well dried up for San Antonio. Branham’s buzzer-beating three brought the Spurs to within 53-65.

San Antonio was victimized again by its third quarter doldrums as Brown took over the Celtics’ production to help push them ahead by as much as 28. Wembanyama threw down a comical Nerf-like one-handed floating dunk over a clearly overmatched White. Dominick Barlow took advantage of playing time to be a pesky presence at the defensive end. Once Brown sat, Tatum resumed the go-to guy mantle and Boston left the third up 105-76.

The fourth quarter was mostly the territory of the reserves. Kornet was the recipient of three nice lobs. Payton Pritchard and Sam Houser almost kept scoring pace with the San Antonio bench by themselves. Devonte’ Graham found Barlow for a nice alley-oop. Barlow then rattled home his first NBA three. Sidy Cissoko looked ‘okayish’ in his game action.

Hi,
Happy New Year! Health and happiness to all, and #18!

AK

Well, you couldn't ask for a better ending to a great first third of a season for the Celtics.

Sans Jrue, and as it turned out this was one of those nights where we really didn't need him, this team was firing on all cylinders. It seems rare that both J's are this efficient at the same time. That's not a criticism. As a matter of fact, it's just another bullet in our arsenal come playoff time, depending upon the situation. We actually very rarely need both of them on at the same time. We have too many talented others that can not only pick up the slack, but actually exceed expectations. This team is starting to look like Desert Storm. Whatever the Iraqis (the rest of the NBA) throws up at US(A), we not only have the answer, we annihilate/obliterate the target, making opponents look stupid and considering things like am I/are we even in the right profession. i don't think anyone but us wants to see what we saw last night plus adding some hellacious defense from Jrue on your best guy or guys. We see that all the time and we will be the first team to sweep the playoffs, 16-0.

Yes, this was the hapless Spurs even with Wemby. SAS however should not go sewing new banners anytime in the foreseeable future. And by foreseeable future I mean easily 7-10 years out. Somewhere in the next few years, Pop is going to hang it up. He's 74 now. And if he and the owners can't make the necessary adjustments to fix things there in a hurry, Pop is an EXTREMELY smart man, will read the tea leaves, retiring just before the ax swings and not allow the door to hit him in the ass on the way out.

Kornet is getting some really good PT here and capitalizing. Right now he's a poor man's RWIII, hanging around the rim being fed by the Big 6. He's doing a great job. His physique still reminds me of the great Kevin McHale. But imagine that guy with a mid- and 3-point game?! Well, that's what this summer will be for. He's coming around into his game as did Doogie and Pritch have going before him. He's just going to develop infinitely more quickly than RWIII did because Kornet's time on the bench will be much less than RWIII.

Well, we can check off the box of learning the lesson from the GSW game. Now it's time for another Clash O' The Titans against a West contender, OKC. This bar is set a little higher than the LAC team we demolished. Of course, LAC will complain there was no Kawhi. We'll come back with no KP. I'll give them three points MAX for the net. Face it, Clips. You suck. Anyway, early pre-game check shows OKC at full strength on the IR. Of course. Insert Pat Benetar. Nothing final on Jrue or any other surprises that may arise in the next 24 hours. No line just yet either. This will be a very interesting, entertaining game. Both teams, BOS (6) and OKC (4), on the longest current winning streaks in the league. After Tuesday, someone will be starting over.

Happy New Year. Welcome to 2024!!!

db

We are just on another level than a team like the Spurs, especially with them missing a couple of their best players.

The J's just did whatever they wanted. Both are playing some great basketball. Kornet, once again, was solid. I am pleasantly surprised at his performance on both ends of the floor. He and Queta can only help us.

Got to say that dunk by Wemby was impressive. He also showed some nice shooting touch. The guy is very raw, but he is going to be a force in a couple years.

Last night the Celtics finished the year off by going 12-2 during the month of December.  They have posted a 26-6 record overall which puts them 20 games over .500

They have a 15-4 record against .500 and above teams.  They are undefeated at home at 16-0 and are tied with the best road record of 10-6 with the T'Wolves.  They are 16-2 in games decided by 10 or more points, tops in the league.

Their 10.5 point differential is also #1 in the league.

This version of Celtics basketball is elite.

They beat up on the Spurs last night because they can turn up the defense when they want to and their offense just rolls along.

As this season continues, the Celtics seem to be getting better. The team is developing great chemistry and I see no drama going on.

D White is now averaging 17 PPG.  That would be really solid for a 3rd top player on a team.  However that puts him as our #4 scorer.   JB has improved the quality of his play in all areas as he got off to a slow start at the beginning of the season.  

The Holiday/Porzingis additions has exceeded expectations.

Our bench is developing into a diverse collection of players that are getting better as this season moves forward.  The center depth on this team really does not look like a problem for us.  The option to convert Queta to a regular contract seems like the next move that is needed.  

Overall, the Celtics have quality depth up and down the roster and they can play so many different lineups that opponents cannot figure them out.

This was definitely a 'workman-like' ending to the year. A comfortable win where the game never really felt in doubt.

dboss wrote:Last night the Celtics finished the year off by going 12-2 during the month of December.  They have posted a 26-6 record overall which puts them 20 games over .500

They have a 15-4 record against .500 and above teams.  They are undefeated at home at 16-0 and are tied with the best road record of 10-6 with the T'Wolves.  They are 16-2 in games decided by 10 or more points, tops in the league.

Their 10.5 point differential is also #1 in the league.

This version of Celtics basketball is elite.

They beat up on the Spurs last night because they can turn up the defense when they want to and their offense just rolls along.

As this season continues, the Celtics seem to be getting better.  The team is developing great chemistry and I see no drama going on.

D White is now averaging 17 PPG.  That would be really solid for a 3rd top player on a team.  However that puts him as our #4 scorer.   JB has improved the quality of his play in all areas as he got off to a slow start at the beginning of the season.  

The Holiday/Porzingis additions has exceeded expectations.

Our bench is developing into a diverse collection of players that are getting better as this season moves forward.  The center depth on this team really does not look like a problem for us.  The option to convert Queta to a regular contract seems like the next move that is needed.  

Overall, the Celtics have quality depth up and down the roster and they can play so many different lineups that opponents cannot figure them out.

Boston is certainly playing at an elite level but the best road record is not our 10-6 mark along with the T-Wolves (and Philly by the way). It's OKC's 9-4. They're a fast-rising team, own the league's third best point differential and will be a good challenge for us tomorrow in their building where they've actually lost one more game with a 13-5 record than they have on the road. Hope Jrue will be available. Gonna need him on SGA who has been on fire all year.

And, just think, we have not really hit on all cylinders yet. Porzingas had a tough night shooting from outside last night yet still had a real effect on the game in alot of other ways, we were without Jrue, it is just scary how good this team could get. No let down guys, OKC is waiting for you and they are a handful. Fast, quick, better be on your best behavior!!! What a way to spend New Years Eve, I even watched the replay instead of watching the ball fall in NYC!! Happy New Year to all

And, just think, we have not really hit on all cylinders yet.  Porzingas had a tough night shooting from outside last night yet still had a real effect on the game in alot of other ways, we were without Jrue, it is just scary how good this team could get.  No let down guys, OKC is waiting for you and they are a handful.  Fast, quick, better be on your best behavior!!!  What a way to spend New Years Eve, I even watched the replay instead of watching the ball fall in NYC!!  Happy New Year to all

Happy New Year folks.

Two things stood out for me.

1) Wemby’s dunk over DWhite when he just lifted the ball out of reach.
2) Porzingis looking a little scared of size. That was new.

Hope that the Celts continue their great ways in 2024.

Steve

You are on Point.  I overlooked their 9-4 record.

OKC is playing excellent basketball.  Tomorrow's game will be very difficult.

I still think the Celtics are better given the strength of their wins.  15 of 19 vs the better teams for us and 10 of 18 for them.