Kemba Walker said he would improve in the fourth quarter and he did just that as Celtics top Clippers, and other observations
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Celtics point guard Kemba Walker’s fourth quarters have been filled with missed opportunities since he returned after missing the start of this season with a left knee issue. But he insisted that those moments would not last.
And on Friday night, with Boston trailing the Clippers by a point and just over a half minute left, Jayson Tatum stole the ball moments after turning it over himself, then fired a pass to Walker, who surged into the lane and hit one of his trademark 12-footers, ultimately putting the Celtics in front to stay as they grabbed a 119-115 win at Los Angeles.
Walker finished with a season-high 24 points. Tatum scored 34, and Carsen Edwards provided a lift off the bench with 16.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown sat out because of left knee soreness and Marcus Smart remained out because of a calf strain, but the Clippers were without All-Star Paul George and their own defensive pest, Patrick Beverley, so the absences were essentially a wash. Daniel Theis sat out the second half because of a sore right knee.
The Celtics trailed at halftime, 62-51, but outscored the Clippers, 38-20, in the third quarter thanks to a rejuvenated defense and scorching 8-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc.
Boston led by as many as 9 points in the fourth quarter before the Clippers pushed back with their own run and took a 108-106 lead on a Kawhi Leonard baseline jumper. But Edwards, who was inserted for some rare crunch-time minutes, was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to give Boston the lead. Lou Williams put the Clippers back in front, 112-111, on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 45.8 seconds left.
After a timeout the Clippers trapped Tatum at the right arc and his pass was stolen by Nic Batum, but Tatum made up for it by taking it right back and getting the ball to Walker, whose 12-footer with 32.1 seconds to play put Boston back in front, 113-112. Leonard missed a mid-range jumper and Tristan Thompson grabbed the rebound and was fouled before calmly hitting both free throws. Leonard then missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and the Clippers ran out of chances.
Observations from the game:
· With the Celtics leading, 102-99, midway through the fourth quarter, they couldn’t take advantage of several excellent opportunities to pad the cushion. They missed five total shots on a single offensive possession, including a Tatum 3-pointer that went almost all the way in before popping out like the rim was a carnival game.
· At Purdue, Edwards was known as a streaky shooter who could become unstoppable once the right kind of streak started. Those moments have been few and far between in the NBA, but he showed a rare glimpse in the first half Friday. Edwards checked in during the first quarter and hit his first shot, a 3-pointer from the left arc. That might have given him a boost of confidence, because he was the Celtics’ best offensive player for the remainder of the half. In the second quarter he hit another 3, then pulled up for one on the right arc on a fast break.
He added a cutting layup and a mid-range pull-up before finishing the first half with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. His strong play earned him a second-half start in place of Theis. It would be a boon for the Celtics if Edwards can offer any kind of consistent scoring pop off the bench, especially while the team is undermanned.
· With Brown out, Brad Stevens went with a big lineup featuring Thompson at center, Theis at power forward, Grant Williams at small forward and Tatum at shooting guard. Then the Clippers outrebounded Boston in the first half anyway, 16-5.
· Stevens picked up a rare technical foul, and it was especially unusual because of how quickly it arrived. When Theis was called for fouling Leonard on a drive just 34 seconds into the game, Stevens made it clear he disagreed, and the officials made it clear Stevens had gone too far. Maybe Boston’s coach was just trying to set an early tone, but Leonard’s march to the foul line continued throughout the night.
· Luke Kennard started in place of George, and in the first half there was no regression in offensive production from that slot. Kennard hit three early 3-pointers and scored 13 first-half points. Kennard played with Tatum at Duke for a season.
· Rookie point guard Payton Pritchard returned after missing two weeks with a knee sprain. It was a pretty quick recovery. After Pritchard suffered the injury in a loss to the 76ers the Celtics said he would resume basketball activities in two weeks. But he was doing that within days, and on Friday it was if he had never left. He started 3 for 3 with a pair of key 3-pointers during Boston’s emphatic third-quarter run.
· The Celtics’ defense has been better recently, but there was some regression in the first half. The Clippers shot 60.5 percent from the field and 53.5 percent from the 3-point line, helping them stretch their lead to as many as 16 points. But the effort and intensity level both increased at the start of the third quarter. The Clippers were held scoreless for the first 2:30, and that did not even include Boston’s 11-0 run that gave them a 74-73 lead, their first of the night.
· Williams was a key part of Boston’s third-quarter comeback. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and came up with a steal before drawing a foul on Serge Ibaka. He continues to shoot the ball very well after a tough start beyond the arc as a rookie last year, and he continues to mostly be left wide open. At some point defenses will have to start accounting for him more.