Boston Celtics Gameday Live: Celtics run away from Spurs, 108-84
The Boston Celtics (4-2) return home to take on the San Antonio Spurs (4-2) Monday night at TD Garden.
Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics will look to build on their four-game winning streak when they take on the San Antonio Spurs Monday night.
This will be an interesting matchup for the green, as they will be looking to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Spurs. In fact, the last time the Celtics beat the San Antonio, Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double against the Tim Duncan led Western Conference powers.
If there was ever a time for the Celtics to get one against the Spurs, it would be Monday night. San Antonio will not only enter the game on a two-game losing streak, they will also be without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. They seem right for the picking, however, the big man tandem of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol could give the Celtics problems down low.
Greg Popovich vs. Brad Stevens
Monday night’s game matches up two of the premier head coaches in the NBA. Greg Popovich only needs one win to tie former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson for sixth place on the career NBA coaching victories list. Brad Stevens hope that doesn’t happen against his team tonight.
The young Celtics coach also has a chance to show the rest of the league how he matches up with one of the best.
Game Notes
Australian big man Aron Baynes will get a chance to stick it to his former team. The Celtics big bangin’ center played for the San Antonio Spurs from 2012 through the 2014-15 season.
In those three seasons, he averaged 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 12.6 minutes played per game. He won a championship with the team in 2014 and looks to help limit the production by both Aldridge and Gasol.
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Projected starting lineup
G – Kyrie Irving
G – Jaylen Brown
F- Jayson Tatum
F – Al Horford
C – Aron Baynes
Who’s Hot
Kyrie Irving is coming off two strong performances against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. Against the Bucks, Irving was masterful with his ball handling skills and closed out the game with a couple of clutch shots.
Irving also put the team on his shoulders against the Heat Saturday night. The veteran guard scored 24 points in the team’s 96-90 victory in South Beach. More importantly he showcased that he can be a presence defensively with three steals.
How to watch Spurs vs. Celtics online
When: Monday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden
Live Stream: Watch NBC Sports, fuboTV
Prediction
The Celtics should win this game tonight. The Spurs have the veteran leadership, but Boston’s young talent should be enough to hold off San Antonio.
Next: Boston Celtics: 3 reasons to love big bangin’ Aron Baynes
Expect Jaylen Brown, who has failed to reach double digits in scoring the last two games, to bounce back with a big offensive game. This won’t be a blowout either way, but the Celtics will find a way to pull away in the second half to give Popovich’s team their third consecutive loss.
Spurs vs. Celtics: Live updates, highlights, commentary
7:52 p.m.: Celtics take a 17-12 lead with 5:34 left in the first quarter off a layup by Al Horford. Prior to the layup Jaylen Brown hit three free throws after he was fouled shooting a three-pointer.
7:55 p.m.: Celtics take a 23-17 lead on a nice drive to the hoop by Al Horford. San Antonio calls timeout with 3:37 left in the first quarter. Jaylen Brown leads all scorers with 9 points. Horford gets a standing ovation before the time out.
https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/925149779272830976
8:01 p.m.: Ball movement has been spot on early in the game:
8:06 p.m.: End of 1st quarter, Celtics lead Spurs 30-26. Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown lead the team with 9 points each.
8:13 p.m.: With 8:38 left in the 2nd quarter, the San Antonio Spurs have fan out to a 37-31 lead after trailing by 4 to end the 1st quarter. The Celtics have started off the quarter cold and have addd some sloppy play.
8:24 p.m.: Celtics close the lead to 44-41 on a nice ally-op pass from Irving to Horford. The two continue build chemistry.
8:29 p.m: Kyrie Irving continues to do Kyrie Irving things:
Kyrie with the dime to Theis... Celtics Rewind is presented by @NissanUSA. pic.twitter.com/vPVbYzVhGb
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 31, 2017
8:38 p.m.: At the end of the half, the Boston Celtics lead the San Antonio Spurs 54-49. Kyrie Irving leads the team with 16 points and 5 assists. Jaylen Brown has 11 and Al Horford has 8 points and 7 rebounds.
8:47 p.m.: More beautiful basketball by Irving:
https://twitter.com/celtics/status/925160547045195776
8:57 p.m.: Celtics come out of halftime on fire. The team extends a five point halftime lead to 64-51 with 9:14 remaining in the 3rd qtr. Irving has scored 8 points so far and now has a game-high 24 points.
9:08 p.m.: With 3:19 remaining in the 3rd qtr, the Celtics take a 70-59 lead on a offensive rebound put back by Aron Baynes. The Australian big man is playing well against his former team with 6 points and five rebounds.
9:17 p.m.: Marcus Smart hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Celtics a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown is having a nice bounce back game with 18 points. Al Horford has a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
https://twitter.com/CelticsDirect/status/925171339685752832
9:25 p.m.: Jayson Tatum gets his first basket of the game with just over 9 minutes left in the game. He is 1-of-6 from the field and has 4 points in the game.
9:27 p.m: Terry Rozier scores 8 consecutive points, including back-to-back 3’s to give Boston a 93-74 lead with 7:52 left in the game. After a slow start, Rozier now has 10 points in the game.
9:41 p.m.: Tatum knocks down his second 3-pointer of the night to give the Celtics a 105-87 lead with 2:30 remaining in the game.
9:47 p.m: Boston Celtics snap an 11-game losing streak against the Spurs with the 108-94 victory at TD Garden. Kyrie Irving lead the team with 24 points, Jaylen Brown added 18 and Horford contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Celtics have now won five consecutive games to improve their record to 5-2.