It was a humbling Saturday for the Boston Celtics as they lost handedly to the Los Angeles Clippers inside TD Garden by a score of 115-96. Star Jrue Holiday was candid to the media after the game as the Celtics have been red hot being at the top of the Eastern Conference.
To put it bluntly, Holiday called the loss to the Clippers a “good old-fashioned a**-whooping” according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic where Los Angeles played to their strengths and Boston was uncharacteristic in their shot-making. The Celtics shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.
“A good old-fashioned a**-whooping,” Holiday said. “They did everything better: Rebounding, transition, 50/50 balls, it seemed like they were a step ahead.”
Holiday talked about how the offense dictated the defense
Holiday would go on to talk about the shot-making, or lack thereof, and saying they had open opportunities to come back in this game. Once the offense faltered, he mentioned the defense followed with it which propelled the Clippers to take advantage and take control of the game
“Honestly, I think especially at first, we had a lot of good shots. Lot of wide-open shots. Missed them,” Holiday said. “I think sometimes that kind of affects our defense, but at the end of the day, you still have to take them. Even when they’re not falling it looks bad, but you just have to have the confidence to keep going out there and shooting them.”
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With a team like the Celtics that has been riding a high since the beginning of the season, this loss can be seen as “humbling.” It definitely was for Holiday, especially since the game was on their home floor where they have had major success this season.
“Definitely humbling, I think, to be able to kind of come home and get your butt kicked,” Holiday said. “But we know it’s a long season. We know we can learn from this and just kind of hold it in our back pocket. It’ll always be in the back of our head when we have a good game the game before.”
Joe Mazzulla compares the Celtics to Clippers after loss
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also spoke to the media after the game and compared the Clippers to Boston in the way they play their respective play-styles. He cites both teams physicality, having “switchable wings,” and more.
“If you’re not going to make open shots against a good defensive team, then you’re not going to score,” Mazzulla said per The Atheltic. “I think that’s why the Clippers are also one of the — they’re very similar. Like we’re very similar teams. They have switchable wings, they got physicality, they don’t have a clear matchup that you can attack to create two-on-ones, and so it’s two very similar teams. That’s kind of why what they did to us tonight, we did to them a month ago.”
If there is a bright side, the Celtics are still 35-11, which is still good for the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. Their next game and opportunity to bounce back will be against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night.