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Clippers vs. Celtics Recap: Too Close For Comfort

LA Clippers San Antonio Spurs

The LA Clippers found out before tip-off that they would be without Paul George against the visiting Boston Celtics, and it took contributions from everyone to pull off a thrilling 114-111 win. Keep reading for a full recap of the Clippers’ win over the Celtics.

Game Summary

The Clippers can’t seem to put together a full rotation this season. On the night they got Nicolas Batum back in the lineup, they lost George with a right elbow contusion. But George’s absence opened up the opportunity for somebody else to step up, and that happened to be Brandon Boston Jr.

The game was pretty even after the first quarter, and that’s when Boston got going. He came into the game in the second quarter and immediately made an impact with a corner three and a strong drive to the rim that earned him a technical foul for taunting.

He was only getting started though. He hit a couple more three-pointers in the first half including a walk-off buzzer beater from about 30 feet out to give the Clippers a 63-51 lead at halftime.

Boston continued his hot shooting in the second half and he would end up with a team-high 27 points, the Clippers needing all of them. What was once a 21 point lead in the second half was whittled all the way down to single digits as the Clippers penchant for scoring droughts struck again.

They would take an 87-78 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Celtics would get closer. Some full-court pressure and timely shots from the Celtics saw the Clippers lead cut down to 102-97.

Back to back three-pointers from Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard made it seem like the Clippers had firm control again, but the Celtics wouldn’t go away. They pulled within three, 108-105 before Marcus Morris Sr. knocked down a timely three with 43.5 seconds left in the game.

The Clippers still couldn’t put the game away though, as the Celtics pulled to within 111-109 off a Jayson Tatum breakaway bucket. Jackson was fouled on the ensuing possession and split a pair at the line to make it 112-109.

The Clippers opted to foul Tatum intentionally to avoid giving up a three. After his two made free-throws, the Clippers managed to get the ball into the front court and into the hands of Ivica Zubac who was immediately fouled. He calmly sank both free throws and Tatum’s potential game-tying three was off, sealing the win for the Clippers.

Notes