The Clover Report: Week Nine
After coming off a five game home stand, the Celtics headed down to Texas to start a three game road trip. The first game was against the San Antonio Spurs. Both Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup as Brown had to wear goggles to protect his eyes. Brown had himself a game as he 7-10 from the floor and had one of the nastiest put back dunks I have ever seen. But it wasn’t enough as the Spurs won 105—102. Manu Ginobili hit the game winning shot and Kyrie Irving missed final shot as time expired. While the Celtics played well, they couldn’t overcome the Spurs relentlessness.
Next up, the Celtics traveled to Detroit to take on the Pistons. With the Celtics looking avenge heir loss at home to the Pistons, they came out and put their foot on the pedal. After getting out to a 29—21 lead, the Celtics were in control and won the game 91—81. It was a grid it out type of win but impressive none the less. Al Horford had the best game as he had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. After that, the Celtics finished out the road trip to take on the lowly Chicago Bulls. Going into this game, both Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris were out due to nagging injuries. But despite that, you’d still thing the Celtics would handle the Bulls, right? Well, not exactly. The Bulls cruised to victory in the 108—85 win; which was easily the worst loss of the year of Boston. Honestly this was a case of the Celtics getting down early and them throwing in the towel. So while it was frustrating, I think this was a one off game.
Finally to finish out the week, the Celtics were back at home to take on the Denver Nuggets. Kyrie Irving returned to the floor but Al Horford was held out due to rest. With Denver known for their high flying offense, we we’re in for an offensive affair. The game lived up to that hype as the Celtics outlasted the Nuggets 124—118. Multiple players had great games as Kyrie led the way with 33 points and 7 assists. There were also a few surprises as Aron Baynes scored 17 points and Shane Larkin added 14 points off of the bench. So it was a bit of an up and down week as the Celtics went 2-2 but they still stand atop the Eastern Conference.
Written By: Steve Santoro (SVS_1993)
