San Antonio started strong, but the Celtics ran away with it as the game went on.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (19-56) had nothing going offensively as they lost to Boston 137-93, making it four losses in a row on their road trip.
Zach Collins led the way with 21 points for the Spurs, but they clearly missed Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan. San Antonio shot very poorly from three (22%) and the floor (37%). Jaylen Brown dropped 41 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics in the blowout, and former Spur Derrick White had 19 points, 8 boards, a steal and 2 blocks against his old team.
San Antonio started strong, as Zach Collins popped in a layup and gave it to Devin Vassell, who hung in the air and finished a tough one.
Vassell made a stepback from mid-range. Malaki Branham hit a short jumper off an assist from Collins, then he drilled a three.
Collins hit a short jumper, then a long one.
Sandro Mamukelashvili knocked down a three to put the Spurs up 19-13. Boston rattled off 9 points in a row to go in front.
Collins ended the run with a layup, then Mamu found McDermott for a dunk.
Devonte’ Graham fed Mamukelashvili and Romeo Langford on back-to-back layups. Mamu missed a shot in close, but Keita Bate-Diop put it back up and in. Mamu drew a double in the post and whipped a pass over his head to Tre Jones, who swished a three. San Antonio led 32-30 heading to the second quarter.
Vassell whipped a pass across the court to McDermott in the corner for three, then he stepped into his own triple to put the Spurs up 8. Boston went on a big 13-2 run, and Derrick White finished a floater to put the Celtics back in front.
Jaylen Brown elbowed Tre Jones in the chops and got a flagrant foul. Jones made one free throw, missed the second, but the Spurs got it back on another foul. Jones hit another free throw, then Vassell found Collins for another three.
Collins made a layup through a foul to put the Spurs up a pair, but Boston responded with an 11-0 run.
Collins settled it down with free throws, and Branham swished from midrange. Jaylen Brown hit his second triple of the half, and went into halftime with 26 points, 5 boards and 3 assists. Boston led 66-58 at the break, and Collins led the way for San Antonio with 18.
Tre Jones opened the second half with a floater off the glass, then Branham made a pair of midrange jumpers. Boston responded with a 9-0 run. Jones found Mamu in transition for a finger roll, but the Celtics kept scoring and went up 18. Mamu made a couple of saucy layups.
The Celtics were up big, but Marcus Smart picked up two techs in two minutes and got tossed. Boston led 96-77 heading to the fourth.
Derrick White drained three threes to start the final quarter. Boston opened on a 13-2 run to push their lead to 30. Jaylen Brown got his 40-piece and came out of the game.
San Antonio lost 137-93, and the 44-point margin was the largest defeat of the year. The Spurs are coming home for their last game of the season at the AT&T Center when they host the Jazz on Wednesday.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 136-124 road loss to the Wizards.
Keldon Johnson had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team while Sandro Mamukelashvili added 10 points. Keita Bates-Diop finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while Tre Jones had 10 points and 12 assists in the loss.
San Antonio was without Devin Vassell, Zach Collins, Jeremy Sochan, and Romeo Langford due to injuries.
“Good effort. We got to play a lot of guys, a lot of guys got minutes, we got a good look at a lot of them. And just feel great about the effort they give every night. We are making mistakes. We will go over them tomorrow and just keep on pushing,” Gregg Popovich said.
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Association Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Celtics have recorded fewer turnovers than their opponents in four-consecutive games.
2. The Celtics have connected on more three-point shots than their opponent in three-consecutive games.
3. The Celtics are 21-5 at home when leading at halftime.
4. The Spurs have been out-rebounded by their opponents in four-straight games.
5. The Spurs are 3-11 on the road against Eastern Conference teams.
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