Celtics Wrap: Boston Falls 107-104 In Overtime Thriller Vs. Clippers

What a game.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers met Wednesday night at Staples Center and treated fans to quite the matchup.

A back-and-forth battle for four quarters wouldn’t be enough for either team to seal the win, as overtime was needed to decide who would emerge victorious. LA went up by five in the extra time and Boston was able to come within three and looked destined to tie it at the buzzer, but Kawhi Leonard got his hands on what would have been Kemba Walker’s game-tying triple, and the C’s would drop the game 107-104.

Jayson Tatum (30), Marcus Smart (15), Brad Wanamaker (14) and Kemba Walker (13) all had double-digit points for Boston, while Lou Williams (27), Paul George (25), Kawhi Leonard (17), Patrick Beverley (14) and JaMychal Green (10) notched double-figures for the Clippers.

With the loss, the Celtics fell to 11-3, while the Clippers moved to 10-5.

Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis

SLOW START FOR C’S
The Celtics played from behind for much of the opening 12 minutes.

Los Angeles began the game on a 6-0 run, thanks to the dynamic duo of Leonard and George.

But some nice defense from Walker helped bring the C’s within two when he stripped George and dished it to Daniel Theis for the finish.

Boston struggled from beyond the arc going 0-for-9, but somehow was down just one point in the final minute. The C’s took their first lead of the game with 1:02 on the clock when Smart showed off his defensive skills and hit Tatum with a bounce pass for the fast-break dunk to make it 21-20.

Green finished the quarter with an easy bucket to give the Clippers a slim 22-21 lead after 12 minutes. Green’s points were two of four Los Angeles had in the final four minutes of the quarter, while the C’s closed out the first on an 8-2 run.

Enes Kanter and Williams led all scorers with six points, while Leonard and George had five apiece for the Clippers.

UGLY SECOND
The Celtics took a six-point lead that rookie Grant Williams began with a strong play in the paint.

Boston continued to struggle from downtown, going 0-for-16 through the first 17 minutes of the game. But despite all that, it still found a way to remain in the lead, albeit narrowly.

The Clippers went back up by two when Brad Wanamaker was whistled for a foul, paving the way for George to drain both his free throws to break the 33-33 tie. Wanamaker made up for his foul when he sunk the Celtics’ first trey of the night to put Boston ahead 36-35.

The teams went back-and-forth, trading leads before Boston, despite its ugly shooting struggles, went up 42-40 on a Tatum running layup to close out the first half.

George was the only player from either team to reach double figures with 12. Kanter led the way for the C’s with eight.

TATUM HEATS UP
A quick 5-0 run helped Los Angeles retake the lead, but a trey from Smart knotted things at 45.

The Clippers hit four 3-pointers early in the quarter, but strong defense, and Tatum 3’s, kept the game close.

A step-back 3-pointer from Tatum broke the 63-63 tie before the visitors extended their lead 75-69 to end the third.

Tatum led all shooters with 21 points, while Wanamaker had 14. Boston also scored 33 points in the third after knocking down just 42 in the first half.

WILD FOURTH
Leonard got the scoring started in the final quarter with a beautiful shot from behind the backboard. But Jaylen Brown hit a straight-away three to help build the cushion between the Celtics and Clippers.

Boston continued to pull away thanks Walker heating up in the fourth quarter with a clutch shot from downtown to build the Celtics’ lead to eight with 8:12 to go. Walker, once again, hit another one from beyond the arc to give Boston its first double-digit lead of the night.

The Clippers responded with an 8-0 run, but Boston followed that up with a 4-0 run of its own for a six-point edge. Leonard answered by absolutely posterizing Theis.

Smart answered at the other end with an easy two points, but the Clippers kept crawling back and made it a two-point game in the final two minutes.

Williams nailed a three with 30 seconds to go to take a one-point lead before two free throws made it 97-94 Clippers. But the Celtics wouldn’t go away quietly, as Tatum broke George’s ankles to nail a step-back three.

Los Angeles couldn’t hit the buzzer-beater, sending this game to overtime.

Williams led all scorers with 27 points, while Tatum paced the C’s with 24.

CLIPPERS WIN THRILLER
Brad Stevens was called for a rare and untimely tech with his team down five, but the Celtics rebounded to make it a one-possession game with three minutes left in OT.

But with 43.4 seconds left, a wide-open Beverley hit a 3-pointer to make it 107-102.

Tatum made it a three-point game with an easy dunk off an inbounds pass from Smart. The guard came through on the defensive side against Leonard, as he had done all night, and stripped him from the ball to give Boston the ball with 10 seconds left.

But Leonard just got his fingers on Walker’s shot from downtown to deny the Celtics their 12th win of the season.

PLAY OF THE GAME
*insert heart eyes emoji.*

UP NEXT
The Celtics continue their road trip Friday when they travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets. Tip-off from Pepsi Center is set for 9 p.m. ET.