The surging Boston Celtics look to keep alive their fleeting chances for the best record in the Eastern Conference when they square off against the host San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in a late-season interconference game.
The Celtics (54-19) travel to San Antonio on a seven-game winning streak, the most recent a 132-102 victory in Phoenix on Wednesday. Kristaps Porzingis racked up 30 points and eight rebounds, and Jaylen Brown added 24 points in the win.
The triumph was accomplished without Jayson Tatum, who missed the contest with a sprained left ankle. Al Horford added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Derrick White and Jrue Holiday hit for 16 points apiece for the Celtics.
Boston has captured 12 of its past 13 outings and won the first four games of a six-game road trip that concludes Monday in Memphis. The defending NBA champion Celtics have won 14 of their past 15 away contests and have a league-best 30-7 record on the road.
The Celtics are five games behind Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference and 8 1/2 clear of New York for the Atlantic Division championship with nine games to play.
Brown continues to fight through a knee injury that kept him out of three games last week.
“It’s new for me,” Brown said about his knee. “I haven’t really had issues with my knees ever in my career. I’m just trying to find a good routine to make sure I’m prepared and ready to go every night, but it’s definitely been a challenge mentally.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla praised Brown for his play on Wednesday and for his overall toughness.
“(Jalen is) just a guy that whatever he has to do to put himself in the best chance to be at his best for us and to help us win, he does,” Mazzulla said. “For a couple games, it was taking care of his knee, and now it’s doing what he needs to do. His presence was great for us.”
The Spurs (31-41) head back to the Alamo City after a 124-116 loss in Cleveland on Thursday. After trailing by as many as 16 points in the second quarter and by three heading into the final period, San Antonio surged to a two-point lead on Stephon Castle’s 3-pointer with 6:25 left but could not sustain the front, losing its second straight game.
“At the end of the day, I still want to win,” Castle said. “We really don’t do moral victories. It’s a tough loss. It’s a good team. We gave ourselves a chance to win. We could have won.”
Castle led San Antonio with 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Devin Vassell also had 22 points, Keldon Johnson racked up 17 points and 10 rebounds, Julian Champagnie hit for 16 points and Jeremy Sochan scored 13 for the Spurs.
“There was some really, really good moments of game-plan execution,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after Thursday’s game. “We did a really good job showing some fight and some resilience.”
San Antonio fell to four games off the pace of 10th-place Dallas for the final spot in the West play-in tournament. The Spurs would have to climb over Dallas, Phoenix and Portland in their final 10 games to earn a postseason berth. San Antonio has five home games remaining, including the next three contests.
