The Boston Celtics entered the contest against the Los Angeles Clippers as the favorites but ended up on the losing side. Jrue Holiday, the Celtics’ guard, was a huge critic of his team’s performance. During his postgame conference, Holiday didn’t mince his words when stating that Kawhi Leonard and co. ‘kicked their butts’.
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Jrue Holiday didn’t believe in sugarcoating when talking about the Boston Celtics’ 96-115 loss. When assessing his side’s performance, the two-way guard stated that the Los Angeles Clippers were better in every department.
“Good old-fashioned a** whooping. They did everything better – rebounding, transition, 50-50 ball, seemed like they were a step ahead,” Holiday assessed.
Before tonight, Joe Mazzulla’s boys had won 20 games at home. With the 19-point loss, tonight marks only the second loss that they have suffered when playing at TD Garden. Knowing that the Celtics are not invincible, Holiday stated that the loss was “humbling”. However, he did assure that the Celtics would learn from the mistakes that they committed tonight.
“Definitely humbling, I think to be able to come home and get your butt kicked. But you know it’s a long season, we know that we can learn from this,” Holiday claimed.
The bout between the two powerhouses was expected to be much more entertaining than it turned out to be. However, Ty Lue’s boys seemed to be in control of the game and were in the driver’s seat throughout the 48 minutes.
Jayson Tatum was the only member of the Cs to record more than 20 points, while the remaining starters combined for a forgettable 17-point outing. Kawhi Leonard was the undisputed star of the night, lodging 26 points and 7 rebounds while leading the Clippers to a massive win.
If it wasn’t clear before, this victory has made the Los Angeles Clippers serious contenders to win the 2024 NBA championship. On the other side of things, Holiday’s words about the Celtics being humbled couldn’t have been more accurate. All season long, the franchise has been touted as the favorite to be champions this year. However, they lost to a squad that still has a few things to figure out, despite all the chemistry Boston has. When it all comes down to it, the loss allows the Celtics to wonder if there is more that they can consistently do during their time in the short pants.
The previous loss against Jrue Holiday and Co. motivated Paul George to suit up tonight
The Los Angeles Clippers faced off against the Boston Celtics in December of 2023 as well. During that contest in LA, Jayson Tatum and co. put up a picture-perfect performance to defeat the Clippers 145-108.
The Clippers used this 37-point blowout loss as motivation and approached tonight’s contest with a vengeance. Following the game, Ty Lue explained that his boys were beyond determined to prove themselves tonight.
“The guys were pretty motivated… When they came to LA they did us pretty bad. So guys were locked in,” Lue said.
Due to a groin injury, there were concerns regarding Paul George’s availability for tonight. However, the Clippers’ head coach revealed that PG insisted on suiting up.
“This was a game we thought PG might be out, but he wanted to play to see where we’re at,” Lue disclosed.
Paul George played for merely 22:29 minutes, practically sitting out for the entire fourth period. While shooting the ball at a high efficiency, the forward finished the night with 17 points and 6 rebounds. These numbers might not be as visually appealing but were essential for the Clippers to clinch their 30th win of the season. And with the confidence it has likely brought to the entire team, the squad has been empowered to be dominant against just about any team in the NBA.
