Celtics Celtics cruise to victory over Victor Wembanyama, Spurs: 10 takeaways Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla praised the team’s mentality after a subpar third quarter for Boston defensively. San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks to pass during an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Boston. AP
The Celtics took care of business against the Spurs with Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis sidelined, claiming a 117-98 victory to maintain their spotless record at home.
Here are the takeaways.
1. The Celtics weren’t perfect against the Spurs, and if you ask Joe Mazzulla, that’s to be expected.
After the game, Mazzulla was asked what it takes for the Celtics to constantly be constructively critical of themselves. He pointed to the way the Celtics responded after giving up a 33-point third quarter.
“The trick isn’t to get caught up in trying to prevent it,” Mazzulla said. “I know that. It’s never going to happen. The trick is, when it does happen, quickly get yourself out of it. So if we were to follow up the third quarter with another fourth quarter, that’s a problem. But for us to have the third quarter and then come back and have a 20-point quarter, that to me is the trick. Don’t get caught up in trying to be perfect. Just constantly have an awareness of, ‘Are we playing the way we should be playing or are we not? How quickly do we get back to that?’”
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Mazzulla seems to place a lot of emphasis on the team’s mentality, but he does it in a different way. On Wednesday alone, he emphasized how important it is for the Celtics to have a “healthy relationship with success,” and that they live in “the healthy space of, ‘We’re really good, but let’s be picky. Let’s be hard on ourselves about the details.’”
Over the last few years, the Celtics’ various pitfalls have often seemed more driven by mental letdowns than talent. One person missed a three? Now everyone is missing. The opposing team is applying a lot of ball pressure? Everyone is coughing up turnovers. You’re playing a bad team? Bet on the Celtics to play down to their competition.
This year’s team is different. It’s unclear whether that’s a credit to maturing players, an older roster or Mazzulla, but a decent bet would be “some combination of those things” and Mazzulla’s rhetoric certainly seems to line up with a Celtics team that lives in the healthy space of “We’re kicking in the teeth of every bad team we face.”
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2. The Celtics got hot from three, shooting 18-for-38 (47.4 percent). The Spurs didn’t have a lot of answers defensively, but the Celtics found a lot of creative ways to create and take open triples, and 3-pointers were the backbreaker when the Spurs tried to cut into a lead that got as high as 30 before their run in the third quarter.
3. Jrue Holiday was responsible for several of those triples, finishing 6-for-7 from deep en route to 22 points. The remarkably even-keeled guard said that having White and Porzingis out doesn’t change his mindset offensively, but it does change the flow of the game.
“I’ve been getting a lot of open shots, being in the places I’m supposed to be in,” Holiday said. “And I’ve been knocking down shots, playing with confidence and I feel like my coaches and teammates give me that. So any chance I get to go out there and be aggressive offensively, I do it.”
4. The main attraction for many Celtics fans, of course, was Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, whose alien dimensions make him one of the more noticeable players before the game even tips off.
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Of course, when the game does tip off, he’s pretty good too. Wembanyama finished with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, as well as five rebounds, a blocked shot, and eye-opening dunk over Luke Kornet, who certainly does not lack height or length himself.
This dunk by Victor Wembanyama over Luke Kornet is insane pic.twitter.com/Bojzc9vscc — Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) January 18, 2024
5. Incidentally, Wembanyama seemed to enjoy the experience of playing at the TD Garden. He called the parquet floor “special” and “just beautiful,” and he liked the locker room, although he said the weight room is “way too small.”
He is also impressed by the Celtics.
“I mean, it’s the depth,” he said. “Everybody can hoop on that team. Everyone’s a threat on the court, but at the same time, they all know their roles and they’re all willing to share the ball. From the most important franchise guys to the role players, everybody is ready to compete and make the sacrifices. I can see that more compared to the past years as well. Just watching them, I remember clearly watching them in the Finals against Golden State (two) years ago and I can see the growth of that team.”
We can too, Victor.
6. With Porzingis out, Neemias Queta re-entered the rotation for 12 minutes, during which he scored six points and grabbed eight boards. He also put Wembanyama on his back with a strong post move in the second quarter.
Queta just BODIED Wemby ‼️💪 pic.twitter.com/j1QXnDePJx — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 18, 2024
Mazzulla praised Queta profusely after the game, hinting that there’s a lot of untapped potential in the 24-year-old.
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“He’s one of those kids that doesn’t know how good he can be,” Mazzulla said. “He hasn’t been in the league a long time. He’s only played like 300 minutes in the NBA, and so he started to see when he plays with a certain presence, we’re a different basketball team. I thought he did that tonight.”
7. Jordan Walsh played his first NBA minutes and got himself into the box score with four rebounds in the final three minutes of the game. He drew a big cheer from the crowd, and the anticipation nearly rose to a roar when Walsh lined up an open spot-up 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining.
Unfortunately, the rookie missed.
“I’m never going to forget that,” Walsh said. “Wish I would’ve made the shot, though.”
Mazzulla noted that Walsh was recently named Defensive Player of the Game by his head coach in Maine, where the 19-year-old has spent much of the season. Walsh, meanwhile, praised the Celtics organization for facilitating his development.
“The guys around me have made it so easy for me. The coaches have made it easy for me,” he said. “Even when I’m in Maine, they’re up in Boston still, texting me, coming to games, stuff like that. So they’ve been a very big part of it. They’ve been very helpful.”
8. After Jaylen Brown threw a … questionable behind-the-back pass in the first half, he found Oshae Brissett with a between-the-legs dish and immediately pointed to the bench as Brissett scored in transition.
That was a fun sequence. Timely cut from Jrue Holiday, good follow by Kornet, great steal by Jaylen Brown, and then Brissett flushes it home. pic.twitter.com/x4M8pLa90z — Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) January 18, 2024
Why?
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“They were giving me s— for my behind-the-back pass in the first half,” Brown said. “I was looking for Payton on the behind-the-back, but Payton be running so fast sometimes, I mistimed it. So they were giving me some s—. I got that one, and then they were still giving me that. But that’s what that was.”
Anybody in particular?
“Derrick,” Brown said. “He was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’”
Brown finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and (Derrick White, please take note) a team-high five assists.
9. At 32-9, the Celtics are now halfway through their season.
“I feel good,” Brown said. “I don’t think we skipped no steps. I think we still are improving. This is the part of the regular season where you’ve got to embrace because you get complacent, and you can get mentally checked out. But we’re trying to make sure that we’re all engaged.”
Mazzulla expects there to be tough times ahead.
“We have to stay in the space of, ‘We’re really good, but we could lose any game,’ and we’ve got to be really hard on ourselves,” he said. “So it’s annoying to be super critical of yourself, but we’ve got to do that. Just hold each other accountable.”
10. The Celtics’ next game could put their perfect home record to its toughest test yet: A visit from Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets on Friday, which tips off at 7:30 p.m.
Celtics cruise to victory over Wembanyama, Spurs
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