The Boston Celtics blew out the Los Angeles Clippers 146-115 at the Intuit Dome on Saturday in what was a clash between two red-hot teams. The Clippers were on a six-game win streak coming into this one, but failed to keep up with a Celtics team that has now won seven of its last eight games.
Jaylen Brown was the star of the show, as he matched his career-high with 50 points (18-26 FG) and also chipped in with three rebounds and five assists. Derrick White impressed too, with 29 points (10-20 FG), four rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two blocks.
The Clippers’ big guns weren’t able to match their Celtics counterparts. Kawhi Leonard had 22 points (6-17 FG), three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. James Harden, meanwhile, had 18 points (7-15 FG), three rebounds, 12 assists, and one steal.
The Clippers had trimmed what was once a double-digit Celtics lead down to six at multiple points in the third quarter, but were blitzed after that. The Celtics won the fourth 33-16 to improve to 22-12 and drop the hosts to 12-22.
The Jaylen Brown Show
Brown was quite upset about losing out on Player of the Month for December to Jalen Brunson, and he looks to have taken out some of his frustration on the Clippers. The 29-year-old had 20 points at halftime, but it was in the third quarter that we saw him at his destructive best.
Brown had 19 points in the third as he made light work of that Clippers defense. The four-time All-Star went 7-8 from the field and was just in the zone. The Cippers defended Brown fairly well on quite a few possessions, but it didn’t matter. It was an exceptional shot-making display.
The Clippers were desperate to prevent Brown from getting to 50 in the fourth, as they kept sending double-teams to make him give up the ball when he had 48 points. It was only a matter of time before he hit the half-century, though.
Brown got to the landmark with just under four minutes remaining and then headed to the bench. The crowd gave him quite an ovation and deservedly so.
Clippers’ Role Players Shine, But Kawhi Leonard Cools Down
If you’d told someone before this game that John Collins would rack up 22 points (9-10 FG) and Derrick Jones Jr. would finish with 19 (8-9 FG), they’d have backed the Clippers to win. Collins and Jones missed just two shots between them, too, and were incredible here.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Leonard didn’t deliver here as he only had 22 points and was inefficient. He was the biggest reason why they were on that win streak, averaging 39.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game during that stretch. Leonard was looking unstoppable, but Brown stole the show here.
Getting back to Jones, a great night for him turned sour in the fourth quarter. He injured his right knee and was forced to leave the game. Worryingly its the same knee Jones had injured the last time the Clippers played the Celtics on Nov. 16. He missed 17 games due to it, and the hope is that it won’t be anywhere near that long this time around.
A Three-Point Barrage And Domination On The Glass
The Celtics love shooting threes, and they made one too many here for the Clippers. The visitors went 24-51 (47.0%) from beyond the arc on the night. Brown was 6-10, Anfernee Simons 5-8, and White 5-12. They were just raining down threes all night.
The Celtics matched a season-high, as they had drained 24 threes in a 126-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 5 as well. They are now 12-0 in the season when they make 17 or more threes. Talk about a recipe for success.
The Clippers actually had a pretty good shooting night as well, as they went 15-38 (39.4%) from three. You’d win a lot of games where you shoot that well, but the Celtics were even better.
As if that three-point barrage wasn’t enough, the Celtics also had a 46-30 advantage on the glass. They hauled in 16 offensive rebounds, punishing the Clippers for going small at times.
Ivica Zubac had made his return here for the Clippers after missing five games with an ankle sprain, and he had seven rebounds off the bench in 21 minutes. No other Clipper even got five.
Jordan Walsh of all people had six offensive rebounds alone, and that is unacceptable if you’re the Clippers. They had done a lot right in the lead-up to this game, but fell flat on the night.
