Recap: Spurs edge out the Celtics in a thriller, 108-105
The Celtics went into San Antonio tonight facing a tall task in the Spurs and came out on the losing end in a thrilling finish, 108-105.
Boston went back and forth with the Spurs during the entire first quarter. San Antonio went on a run in the 2nd quarter to push their lead to nine going into halftime.
The Spurs went on a 42-20 run between the 1st and 2nd quarter and put on a beautiful display of cutting and ball movement with their bench contributing big time.
In the third quarter, the Spurs bench continued to play well with Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, David West, and Manu Ginobili providing the spark.
The Celtics made a tremendous push in the 4th quarter going on a 14-1 run to come back from down 15 to make it a two point game with two minutes left. Manu Ginobili nailed a huge three pointer with less than two minutes to go to put the Spurs up by 6 points and was answered right back by Bradley who also hit a three pointer. Both squads traded free throws back and forth and the Spurs ran some great back door plays to get to the basket. Bradley attempted to put the Celtics up by one with a three pointer but missed and the Cs were forced to foul Danny Green who hit his free throws. Down by four with seven seconds left, Jae Crowder hit a huge three pointer to make it a one point game with 2.7 seconds remaining. Kawhi Leonard made the subsequent free throws to make a three point game again and the Celts with no timeouts, tried to heave the ball downcourt which Sullinger attempted to keep inbounds but couldn't and turned it over to ice the game.
For the Cs, Isaiah Thomas played extremely well finishing with 23 points and 8 assists while being the catalyst to the Celtics comeback in the fourth quarter. Amir Johnson chipped in a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Both Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder also shot the ball well and went a combined 7-9 from the three point line with Bradley netting 18 points and Crowder contributing with 15.
Evan Turner was the lone spark off the bench tonight with 16 points. Zeller, Jerebko, Olynyk and Hunter all got limited minutes off the bench as Boston relied more on Turner and the starters against San Antonio.
Overall, the Celts played defense as well as they could in this game, especially in the fourth quarter to get back into it, but the Spurs made tough shots and were just too good for the green on the offensive end. However, Boston showed tremendous heart and hustle to not give up and to make this the toughest game of the year for San Antonio.
The Celtics fall to 11-9 on the year and now fly to New Orleans for the final game of their road trip on Monday night.
Photo Credit: ESPN
Follow Kevin Yazhari on Twitter: @KevKevYazhari
