The shorthanded Celtics fell to the San Antonio Spurs 125-116 Tuesday night at the Frost Bank Center and were swept in the season series 2-0.
Derrick White finished with 34 points on 11-of-22 from the field, while Jayson Tatum added 24 points in his third game back from a torn Achilles and Ron Harper Jr. scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-9 from deep off the bench for the Celtics -- who were without Payton Pritchard (neck spams) and Nikola Vučević (finger fracture).
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown was ejected after picking up two technical fouls following a no foul call after he lost the ball out of bounds with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
Brown had to be restrained by teammates and team security while he argued he was pushed and official Tyler Ford assessed the first technical, before official Suyash Mehta assessed a second technical seconds later, which resulting in an automatic ejection. The All-Star had eight points on 4-of-8 shooting and seven assist in 15 minutes of playing time before retrieving to the locker room for the night.
"I understand completely where Jaylen's coming from," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters. "Absolutely. I got his back 100%. I think he was 100% right to be frustrated and to do what he did."
Victor Wembanyama had a game-high 39 points, including eight made 3-pointers, to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocks. D'Aaron Fox had 25 points, nine assists and Stephon Castle chipped in 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Spurs -- who improved to 48-17 on the season.
Despite the Celtics getting off to a cold start, missing their first six of seven field goal attempts and trailing 11-3 to start the game, they finished the first period on a 28-18 spurt to take a one-point lead into the second.
Following Brown's ejection late in the first half, the game was tied 58-58 at the break, before White scored 11 points within the first five minutes of the third and a Tatum layup put the C's ahead 76-75 with 6:55 remaining in the quarter.
White ended up with 19 points in the third alone, but it wasn't enough as the Spurs just kept knocking down 3-pointers, while Boston went cold from beyond the arc and were behind 97-90 entering the final frame.
Tatum scored seven straight points to start the fourth and cut the deficit down to 100-97 and Boston eventually got within one, but the Spurs went on a 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead with 3:18 left to play. The Celtic made one last effort with a quick 8-0 spurt to cut San Antonio's advantage to five with 1:43 left on a Tatum 3-pointer, as that was the closest they'd get and the Spurs won their fifth-straight.
The Celtics (43-22) head to Oklahoma City to face the reigning NBA champion Thunder (51-15) Thursday and conclude their three-game road trip. Prime Video has the tip-off at 9:30 pm ET.
Game Notes:
Boston made 47% of their field goal attempts, including 19-of-57 (37%) from 3-point range, while the Spurs hit 52% from the floor and 20-of-47 (43%) from long distance. The C's were out-rebounded 44-37 and outscored in the paint 40-34. The Celtics had 27 assists on 42 baskets and committed eight turnovers, while San Antonio also had 27 dimes on 44 made shots and turned the ball over 12 times.
Joel Pavón
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