Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images The Spurs didn’t have enough size to control the boards The Spurs made the game interesting, but were never able to close the gap against the Celtics’ hit squad, losing their third game in a row. The champs were able to put the game away with a C+ effort because of the wide talent gap. The Spurs had another slow start and went down as much as 11 in the first quarter behind an inability to shut down the corners and faulty 3-point shooting. But Harrison Barnes, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson kept the boat from sinking. Coach Mitch Johnson called a stoppage a minute into the second quarter because the team’s defensive pressure was lacking. Then the Celtics started getting sloppy as they played with their food midway through the frame, being unable to defend without fouling and allowing access into the lane. The Spurs went into halftime down a dozen after briefly slicing a 16-point deficit to four, even with undependable 3-point shooting. Their best work came when they pushed the pace, some of it sparked by five steals. The top concerns were pressuring the 3-point line and controlling the glass. Next, the Spurs made 40 percent of their attempts while getting shredded by Boston’s dribble penetration. Jayson Tatum, Luke Kornet and Jrue Holiday did the most harm, each scoring multiple field goals. The Spurs were able to cut the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter off moves from Chris Paul, but the Celtics traded enough baskets to stay in control. Observations The Celtics started this game, exposing San Antonio‘s miniature size by feeding Kristaps Porziņģis for jumpers at short and long range. The Celtics even deployed Kornet next to KP, and the Spurs couldn’t handle their length on both sides while getting smacked on the glass. Particularly, Kornet had seven offensive rebounds. The only chance the Spurs had to counter the size was pushing the pace, but they didn’t have the horsepower to keep it going. The Spurs started doubling Jayson Tatum in the first quarter to get the ball out of his hands, and it had mixed results because he is good at passing to teammates on the go. His jumper was off-target, but he torched the Spurs as a playmaker in single coverage as well. No Spur is strong and agile enough to guard him going downhill. The half-court attack scored 96.5 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 46th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Jeremy Sochan had an off-night shooting against Boston’s length, but his determination to keep attacking got him 12 free throw attempts, making 10. He was also the Spurs’ top rebounder, picking up eight. The offense went through Stephon Castle early, and the Celtics only had a six-point lead at the first Spurs timeout. He missed his first three shots but went on to score in transition, drew multiple fouls, and poured in six shots in the paint. K. Johnson was the team‘s biggest threat on offense early because he was in rhythm on the catch and on the dribble. He was immaculate on five first-half shots and followed up with four baskets in seven attempts in the second half. Additionally, Barnes gave a 13-point scoring boost, most of his work coming in the first half. Paul went 26 minutes without a field goal attempt. He redeemed himself with four fourth-quarter baskets, keeping the Spurs within striking distance in crunch time. ...read more read less