BOSTON – Upon first glance, the Los Angeles Clippers beating the Boston Celtics 119-106 doesn’t seem too bad.
But for anyone who saw the game, they’ll tell you the game was never even remotely as close as the final score might fool you into believing.
The Celtics did a lot of good things in the fourth quarter, most of which were accomplished against the Clippers bench which has been arguably their biggest weakness this season.
“It’s easy to play down 30,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens who added, “but those guys (Boston’s bench) that were in played well, as they did the other night, too.”
The Celtics got 59 points from their reserves, led by Isaiah Thomas’ team-high 19 points. In fact, Boston had six players in double figures scoring with four coming off the bench.
It was yet another game in which the Celtics got way, way behind – Los Angeles led by as many as 35 points – before Brad Stevens went deep into his bench to find guys that were more than ready for their opportunity to play.
And to their credit, they made the most of their chance to get play.
Boston Celtics
Gigi Datome was especially impressive in scoring 12 points in 18 minutes which included a 3-pointer that cut the Clippers lead down to 11 points which was the closest Boston would get in the fourth quarter.
While he was certainly pleased with getting minutes, he is well aware that the circumstances – the game was a blowout essentially – played a part in his personal success.
“It’s a group that plays with a lot of energy and they didn’t have their starters in the third and fourth quarter,” Datome said. “Me and those guys, our job is to give energy from the bench when you get in and I think that’s what we try to do every night.”
Now the challenge for Boston becomes trying to somehow channel their finish on Sunday into a better start on Monday against Charlotte.
Closing out the game the way they did can only help, says Boston’s Tyler Zeller.
“We were able to come back and make it a little respectable in the end,” Zeller said. “Anytime you come back like that it makes you feel a little better about the game, doesn’t feel like you got your butt kicked quite as much.”