Tatum and Boston Celtics Better Than LA Clippers, 119-115

The Boston Celtics defeated LA Clippers in the closing event of Friday’s program, 119-115. Both sides were shorthanded, with the Celtics missing Jaylen Brown, and the Clippers playing without Paul George.

But the C’s had Jayson Tatum, arguably the best player in the league now, who dropped 34 points, and was presenting an enigma for the entire Clips’ roster.

“This was a good win, coming off a loss, down a few guys,” Tatum said.

JAYSON TATUM 💪 pic.twitter.com/Qn2egqZpiC

— ESPN (@espn) February 6, 2021

Boston lost in Sacramento a couple of nights ago, and this win not only erases that minus but also boosts the morale of the team from the east coast. Especially because they managed to beat the Clippers after a tough back and forth contest that saw them falling behind 14-points in the second period and surviving a thrilling finish.

The Celtics came back in the third period, outscoring the hosts, 38-20, and had a nine-point lead early in the fourth. Yet the LAC came back, not wanting to go down without a proper fight. They even had a lead, 112-111, with 46.1 seconds to go, but lost the juice in the final moments, and suffered their seventh loss of the year.

“Sometimes other teams just play better than you, and in that stretch, I thought that’s what they did,” Lou Williams said.

Sweet Lou dropped 18 points in 22 minutes with six assists. It was one of his better performances this year, and it seems that the sharpshooting guard slowed down a little bit compared to the previous campaign. He currently averages 9.4 points with three assists, which is way below his career stats.

Kawhi Leonard delivered 28 points with 11 boards and five assists, missing all five of his three-point attempts. He also had five boards as well. Nicola Batum added 16 with seven rebounds, and Ivica Zubac contributed with 14 and 6 rebounds being perfect from the field in 20 minutes, 7-for-7. Marcus Morris Sr and Luke Kennard had 13 points each.

For the Celtics, Kemba Walker scored 24, 9-for-19 from the field, Thristan Thompson and Grant Williams had 11 each starting together in the lineup. Carsen Edwards played his role off the bench impeccably, with 16 points and four rebounds.

“He just kind of stayed with it, and he’s had a really good couple of months, and his opportunities showed up…We don’t win without him. He changed the complexion of the game,” said Brad Stevens of his young point guard.

Both superstars, Paul George, and Jaylen Brown skipped this match due to knee soreness. George, the leading three-point shooter in the league with 48% of hits from downtown, played a couple of nasty games on the Clippers’ road tour, and the doctors decided that he needs to take a day off.

Meanwhile, Brown was the most constant player among the Celtics this year, and in the moments when Tatum didn’t play, he was the one who carried the team on his back. With 26.4 points per night and 51.8% FG, he, too, is among the best players in the league.

Boston has two more road games before coming back home. They will play against the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz, and then go home to meet the Toronto Raptors.

The Clippers have a divisional derby against the red-hot Sacramento Kings already on Sunday and then hit the road for two more matches, in Minnesota vs. Timberwolves and Chicago vs. Bulls.