Boston collectively shot 10-for-40 (25 percent) from 3-point range in the loss.
After winning their first 20 games at TD Garden this season, the Celtics have now lost two in a row after an embarrassing 115-96 loss to the Clippers on Saturday.
Here are the takeaways.
1. Generally it’s a good idea to remember that every NBA team loses games, and that the Celtics are fresh off a 3-0 road trip. They have a 35-11 record, which is the best in the NBA, and they boast a number of impressive wins on their resume.
Still, Saturday’s game made one thing clear: If the Celtics advance to the NBA Finals, they probably wouldn’t pick the Clippers as their opponent.
The Celtics could win a Finals matchup against the Clippers, of course. They were without Kristaps Porzingis on Saturday, and Porzingis could be a crucial piece of the puzzle – a matchup nightmare who spaces the floor and pokes holes in a Clippers defense that slammed the door on the Celtics all night.
Still, the Clippers have the personnel to defend Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown better than nearly every other team in the NBA. Brown finished 3-for-13, and the Clippers harassed him throughout the evening – he missed his first five shots, and all five were contested by either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George. Jayson Tatum was somewhat better (8-for-18) and got off to a much better start, but his offense fell apart in the third quarter along with the Celtics’ offense.
The Clippers, who have now won 22 of their last 26 games, paid the Celtics back for the 145-108 blowout Boston administered to a tired Clippers team in Los Angeles that was without Leonard (incidentally, Porzingis missed that game too).
“We’re very similar teams,” Joe Mazzulla said. “They have switchable wings, they’ve got physicality, they don’t have a clear matchup that you can attack to create 2-on-1s, and so it’s two very similar teams. That’s kind of why what they did to us tonight, we did to them a month ago. So against teams like that, you have to do a great job of getting stops, getting out in transition, you’ve got to make open shots, and then you’ve got to fight for space and separation.
