5 takeaways as Kemba Walker, Robert Williams help Celtics hold off Clippers – Boston.com

The Boston Celtics won their third straight game on Tuesday night, finishing off the Los Angeles Clippers in a 117-112 shootout.

Here’s what transpired.

The big picture

The Celtics and Clippers exchanged blows for much of the contest, as Paul George (32 points, 12-for-26 shooting) and Kemba Walker (25 points, 6-for-12 from three) led their respective teams in scoring. Boston gained some breathing room in the fourth quarter — building its lead out as high as 11 — and the Celtics held off the Clippers down the stretch.

The Celtics beat the Clippers in both meeting this season.

“We didn’t play them full strength in either game,” Stevens said. “You take that with a grain of salt, but they’re really good and you’d better have your T’s crossed and your I’s dotted to be in the game and have a chance. Our guys did a good job tonight of staying the course.”

Star of the game

Rob Williams — 13 points (5-for-8), eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks in 20 minutes.

Williams wasn’t Boston’s high-scorer, but he had an outsized impact in his 20 minutes, with a packed stat line. He made a great pass to Tatum late in the fourth quarter and pulled down two huge rebounds in the final minute. The Celtics benefitted greatly from his high-low passing, rim protection, and vertical spacing, as has been the case for most of the season.

Stevens still doesn’t seem to entirely trust him defensively down the stretch (not entirely unfair), but we seem to say the same thing over and over here: Williams’ flashes of brilliance are increasingly eye-opening.

What it means

The Clippers were not at full strength, but a win is a win especially on a night when Jayson Tatum looked like a shell of himself for much of the game. Boston is now guaranteed a .500 record entering the All-Star break and could propel itself even higher with a win over a shorthanded Raptors squad on Thursday.

With Marcus Smart’s return looming, Boston seems to be nicely rebounding from its devastating stretch.

Takeaways

1. The Clippers made things interesting down the stretch as Boston’s offense stalled out with a double-digit lead. When Paul George sprang free in the corner with 10 seconds remaining and buried a triple, trimming the lead to two, a clearly exasperated Brad Stevens called timeout. The Clippers managed to force the ball in to Daniel Theis, who is shooting 64 percent from the free-throw line this season.

Theis, however, canned both free throws and Paul George badly missed a tough 3-point attempt, and Boston pulled out the win.

2. Both teams appeared to play relatively solid defense — players were mostly engaged and in position. Neither team, however, could get stops. The Celtics torched the Clippers out of the pick-and-roll and got plenty of second-chance opportunities with balanced scoring. The Clippers moved the ball around and kept the Celtics in rotation, sniping open corner 3-pointers when Boston’s defense broke down.

3. When Jayson Tatum is off, he has a tendency to force shots over tough contests trying to get himself going. That’s an easy trap to fall into, but not a productive one — most players and coaches agree that the best way to get going is to attack the rim or get to the free throw line and let heat build with easy shots.

That happened in the fourth quarter almost by accident — Tatum drove hard to the rim in transition and drew a foul. He made both free throws, and on the next possession, he buried a corner 3-pointer that put the Celtics up nine. Two possessions later, he dropped in a reverse layup that pushed the lead to 11.

Breaking a cold streak doesn’t always have to be hard. Tatum finished with 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting.

4. It’s funny how perceptions can change off a few made shots. Walker had a nice game — he tallied six assists and four rebounds along with his 25 points — but his 6-for-12 3-point shooting carried him.

Walker’s performance could be held up as further evidence of his health, and he has looked significantly quicker and more agile over the last few weeks. But while Tuesday’s game was impressive, Sunday’s may have been a better representation of his improvements — Walker controlled the pace of the game until the final two minutes when Tatum took over.

Both performances are encouraging, but Tuesday’s perfectly exemplified the NBA truism: “It’s a make-or-miss league.” Against the Clippers, Walker had plenty of makes.

5. Payton Pritchard found his range with four 3-pointers, two of which were very deep. Jeff Teague pitched in a pair of timely buckets when the Celtics were floundering a bit. Williams played well. Boston’s bench pitched in quite a bit — crucial in a game when the stars were solid but unremarkable.

“I think we’re getting better playing together with that group,” Stevens said. “I think Rob’s threat at the rim really helps that. But those guys can’t just be bystanders. They’ve got to be aggressive, they’ve got to be assertive, they can’t play passive. And I thought that they backed that up a couple games in a row.”