On a night where the Celtics were without Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown was ejected, the Celtics were hunting for offense. They found it from a career high 22 points from Ron Harper Jr. However, it was not enough as Victor Wembanyama dominated and the Spurs made 20 three pointers to beat the Celtics, 125-116.
The Celtics were without 2 key bench pieces in Payton Pritchard and Nikola Vucevic. They started their new regulars; Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta.
The Spurs were missing Harrison Barnes and Lindy Waters. They also started their regulars; De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama.
It was a cold start for the Celtics, who missed 6 of their first 7 shots. The Spurs jumped out to a 11-3 lead. However, the Celtics then settled into the game as Jaylen Brown took over. He had 4 points, 2 assists and 2 steals in the first 5 minutes of the game.
We had the Harper brothers going at it in the first quarter as Ron Harper Jr. and Dylan Harper shared the floor as opponents for the first time in a regular season NBA game.
The Celtics led at the end of the first quarter, 31-29. Derrick White led the team with 7 points while Boston’s Harper (Ron Jr.) had 5 points of his own off of the bench.
I found it interesting that Joe Mazzulla matched Neemias Queta’s minutes with old friend Luke Kornet and Luka Garza’s minutes to Victor Wembanyama. It was likely in an effort to pull Wemby away from the basket with Garza’s shooting and open up moire driving lanes.
Jaylen Brown got thrown out of the game with a double technical after he thought he was pushed out of bounds and did not get the call. He got some leeway at the beginning but get yelling until he got not only one technical foul but two and was ejected from the game.
Then again, Tyler Ford was officiating the game.
It was Ford's smug reaction that set Brown off. He's consistently that way and it's why players can't stand him.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 11, 2026
The teams were tied at halftime, 58-58. Derrick White led the team with 13 points while Jaylen Brown had 8 points and 7 assists before he was ejected.
Jayson Tatum was 4/14 in the first half with 10 points but I thought he played well. The shot will come, it just isn’t falling yet, but he got good shots and continued to make all the right reads.
D-White had it going for the Celtics in the third quarter, he had 11 points in the first 5 minutes of the quarter. A Tatum layup put the Celtics up 76-75.
White just kept the Celtics within striking distance throughout the third quarter, he had 19 points in the quarter to keep the Celtics in the fight as the Spurs kept draining threes.
The Celtics trailed by 7 at the end of three quarters, 97-90. D-White led the team with 32 points while Jayson Tatum had 14 and Ron Harper Jr. had 11 of his own.
Tatum had the first 7 points of the quarter for the Celtics to make the game 100-97.
The Celtics were able to get the fame to a 1 point spits lead but a 12-0 Spurs run game them a 13-point lead with 3 minutes to go.
In a night that belonged to Bam Adebayo and his 83 points, this game belonged to Victor Wembanyama. Wemby scored 39 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks while hitting 8 three pointers, tying a career high, in the game.
Derrick White gave 34 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, Jayson Tatum gave 24 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals and Ron Harper Jr. gave 22 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists but it was not enough as the Celtics fell to the Spurs. 125-116.
Boston shot 47% from the field and 37% from three while San Antonio shot 52% from the field and 43% from three. The Celtics next game is Thursday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder at 9:30 EST.
