Spurs 94, Celtics 73

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Paul Pierce stretches out his shoulder/neck after injuring it during a collision in the third period.
Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

The Celtics were down by only one point at halftime, but that deficit quickly grew to 17 in the third period when Boston was outhustled, out-shot and, well, outplayed. But despite that deficit, there was a feeling in the building that the C's could mount a comeback.

Paul Pierce did his best to make that notion a reality when he led a Celtics charge late in the period. He scored four points of his own and assisted on five others that came in a span of two minutes, bringing the C's back to within 11 points heading into the fourth quarter.

That would have been a manageable lead to overcome in the fourth quarter, but the problem is that 36 seconds still remained in the third quarter after Pierce led that surge. And those 36 seconds were absolutely brutal.

San Antonio brought the ball up court with a two-for-one in mind, and the first possession resulted in a quick 3-pointer by George Hill. After Pierce missed a jumper as the shot clock expired as the other end, that two-for-one strategy paid off to its fullest, as Manu Ginobili streaked down court and tossed up a running 3-pointer that banked off the glass and in to end the quarter.

That shot took the Spurs' lead up to 17 just 36 seconds after Boston cut it down to 11. At that point, as Doc Rivers noted after the game, you could tell that the basketball Gods were not on the Celtics' favor, and the Spurs took the game over from that point on.

Key Box Score Line

With the frontcourt depth the Celtics have, that means some players are going to find themselves on the bench much more often than they'd like. One of those players is Shelden Williams, but he got his chance tonight.

With Kendrick Perkins resting his sore knee, Williams became the backup center and delivered 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in only 11:25 of playing time. He didn't do a whole lot outside of scoring the basketball, but it was encouraging to see him have his way around the basket.

Box Score Nuggets

• Paul Pierce scored a team-high 18 points, including 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line.
• San Antonio outscored Boston 33-17 in the third quarter.
• Boston shot only 37.0 percent from the field tonight, including 1-of-14 from 3-point range.
• Tim Duncan finished with only eight points and nine rebounds.
• Three Spurs scored at least 15 points (Manu Ginobili's game-high 28, Richard Jefferson's 16 and George Hill's 15).
• Ginobili also recorded seven assists to go along with his 28 points.
• The Celtics turned the ball over only 13 times, but they also only recorded 14 assists.
• Boston didn't score more than 23 points in any quarter and totaled only 30 points in the second half.
• Kevin Garnett recorded another double-double with his 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Rasheed Wallace, filling in for Kendrick Perkins in the starting lineup, pulled down eight rebounds.
• Wallace (seven points), Ray Allen (seven points) and Rajon Rondo (six points) combined to score only 20 points in the game.
• San Antonio outrebounded Boston 48-37 in the game, 14 of which were offensive boards.

Quote of the Night

Doc Rivers on Manu Ginobili's impact on the game: "When Ginobili has points and assists they usually win. And 28 points, 7 assists is a great indicator for them. That means his hand print -- Ginobili dominated this game. All the loose balls that he kept alive, that he didn't get credit for, defensive plays -- I thought he single-handedly was the will of the game."