BOSTON — The San Antonio Spurs didn’t bring their A-game to TD Garden on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they didn’t need to.
The Spurs got out to an early lead thanks to a poor shooting effort from Boston, and new addition LaMarcus Aldridge hit several key shots down the stretch to help San Antonio hold on for a 95-87 win.
Aldridge led all scorers with 24 points. Boston had five players reach double figures but didn’t have a 20-point scorer. Avery Bradley led the way with 18 points, while Marcus Smart tallied 17 and Isaiah Thomas netted 15.
STARTING FIVE
Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, David Lee, Tyler Zeller
SUNDAY BLUES
Maybe the Spurs and Celtics did a bit too much trick-or-treating Saturday night.
Both teams got off to rough starts from the floor, shooting a combined 2-for-14 with several turnovers through the game’s first five minutes. The score was 3-2 Spurs at that point.
San Antonio finally shook off the rust, but things didn’t get much better for Boston. The Celtics scored just 31 points in the first half on 14 of 48 shooting while committing 10 turnovers.
The Spurs never trailed after the 8:23 mark of the first quarter.
DEFENDING THE BEST
On the bright side, the Celtics put forth a solid defensive effort Sunday afternoon.
Boston held a Spurs team that topped 100 points in its first two games to just 64 points through three quarters. San Antonio committed an uncharacteristically high 18Â turnovers, a testament to the Celtics’ aggressive play on defense. The Celtics tallied nine steals on the afternoon.
PLAYING SMART
Smart was the best player on the floor for Boston on Sunday.
The second-year guard had his best game of the young season, scoring 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He was as aggressive on defense as he was on offense, tallying a team-high four steals and making impressive plays like this:
Head coach Brad Stevens went to Smart often in this one, playing him a team-high 39Â minutes. Thomas — the Celtics’ leading scorer in the first two games of the season — played just 27 minutes after struggling from the field early.
COLD AND HOT
The Celtics had their chances to come back early in the second half thanks some poor shooting from the Spurs, but they just couldn’t knock down the big 3-pointer when it counted.
Boston hit just two of its 20 long-ball attempts through three quarters.
The C’s turned it on from deep in the final frame, though, knocking down four of nine deep balls — including two from Jared Sullinger — to climb back into the game.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Bradley came out of nowhere with a monster dunk over several Spurs late in the fourth quarter to bring the Garden crowd to its feet.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Indianapolis on Wednesday to take on the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
