Boston Celtics Hardwood News: Isaiah Thomas, C’s Clipped in L.A

The Boston Celtics could not hold on against the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night.  The green suffered a second-half collapse in the 116-102 loss.

It started off good, but Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics couldn’t hold on against the Clippers suffering their second-consecutive loss on their current West Coast road trip.

In an attempt to erase Sunday’s stunning loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Celtics jumped out to a nice lead in the first half, but poor shooting and an electric second-half spurt by the Clippers pretty much left Boston in the dust.

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Sparked by Jamal Crawford, who had 17 of his 19 points in the second half, the Clippers put the game away with a 24-8 run early in the fourth quarter.  Blake Griffin scored 26 points and Chris Paul added 23 in the runaway victory.

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens could only admire the offensive performance by Crawford, but was disappointed in his own team’s offensive performance and pretty much summed it up after the game.

"“Obviously, he [Crawford] made some tremendous shots, that’s what he does,” Stevens said, via the Boston Herald.  “And then we weren’t scoring on the other end.  So obviously, they kind of flipped the script there at the end of the third.  You know from watching the NBA, 13 is nothing when you’ve got a team like that.”"

The Celtics, who were once again without Al Horford, were led by Thomas’ 31 points.  Marcus Smart added 21 points as Boston went most of the game shooting in the high 30s.

Notes & quotes

Honoring the Truth: With the Boston Celtics playing their only and last against the Clippers on their home court, L.A. took a moment to honor the great career of Paul Pierce in a Celtics’ uniform.

With many Celtics fans in attendance, it was a nice tribute to the soon-to-be retired legend.  The tribute video not only highlighted his greatest moments, but also included congratulatory comments from former and current teammates and coaches.

Avery Bradley on Jamal Crawford’s hot scoring streak via Celtics.com:

"“I could see it in his eyes.  He had the confidence, especially once he hit the 3 on me. I could see it in his bounce when he had the ball in his hands. It’s hard to stop somebody with that much confidence that can score the ball like that.”"

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The Boston Celtics will next head to Oakland to take on the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night.