Recap: Celtics lose just their second game of the year with 100-99 loss to Kings

Although he had a rough night shooting 2 for 16 (12.5%) from the field and 1-8 (12.5%) from three and troubling guard a certain Kings shooting guard, Marcus Smart had a nice game distributing the ball, dishing out 9 assists to go along with his not as impressive 5 points. His attempt at a game-winning floater just barely missed, but came after his foul that sent Sacramento to the line and gave them a one-point lead. 

Daniel Theis had a huge game as well with a double in points and rebounds in just 22 minutes of play. He put up 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. His shooting percentage was impressive on the night as he 83% (5-6) on the night. 

Off the bench, Semi Ojeleye had his first solid game of the year with 11 points on 80% shooting in 21 minutes. He played a pretty big role in keeping Boston in the game at the points where it seemed like they could have lost it before the clock had even hit zero. 

Speaking of solid performances, Kemba Walker continued with his somewhat quiet outings as he finished with 15 points and 9 assists on 42% shooting (5-12). Most of his first-half points came from the free-throw line, which he managed to get to 5 times and hit every attempt. 

Jayson Tatum did not have the best shooting night for the Celtics early on either but came to play in the fourth, it was just too little too late. He scored just 14 points on 6-13 shooting and snatched up 6 rebounds. He also finished the game with a team-high +/- of +12, but you can take that for whatever it is worth.

Finally, it's time for that one player on the other team who just went off against the Celtics and tonight it resulted in a win. In today's matchup, that player was Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield who put up 35 points on 58% shooting, looking pretty unstoppable during his 38 minutes on the floor. On defense, he swiped 4 steals as well, keeping the Kings in contention all both sides of the ball.

In my personal opinion, this loss was a result of a lot of turnovers and just an overall lazy start to the game that Sacramento made the Celtics pay for. By the time Boston started getting into it, Sacramento had found their groove and was not willing to give it up.

Despite this, the Celtics still almost won but that last-minute was just not what we wanted. A badly timed foul by Smart that came from the right mindset gave the Kings the lead and although I understand the thinking by not immediately calling a foul and drawing up a play in that last possession, that Smart shot attempt was not really what everyone had in mind.

Nonetheless, it was a good look for the win and almost fell. We all knew the Celtics win streak was going to end on this road trip, this just probably not what we had in mind.

Check out a full box score of tonight's loss here as well as a highlight reel of the best plays of the game down below.



You can follow Thomas Desmond on Twitter @td_654.