BOSTON – There was sense of jubilation inside the Boston Celtics’ locker room following their 108-94 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Indeed, this wasn’t just another win.
This was a victory that was worth celebrating beyond it simply being another successful night to pad the win total.
Boston (5-2) beat San Antonio (4-3), a team that has had the Celtics’ number like no one else, a team that came into the TD Garden sporting an 11-game winning streak over the Green Team.
MORE:
- Irving leads Celtics as they cruise to 108-94 win over Spurs
- Highlights: Celtics get 5th win in a row as they beat Spurs
- Stevens: You can tell Kyrie is getting more comfortable on the floor
- Rozier: We had to stay aggressive and keep them on our heels
Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum said he didn’t discover just how dominant the Spurs had been over Boston, until after the game.
“Y’all never beat San Antonio? Wow!’” Tatum told NBC Sports Boston he recalled telling his teammates when he was told of the longstanding losing skid.
“After I found that out … every win is a big win, but knowing that just added a little something extra,” Tatum said.
Brad Stevens, in Stevens-like fashion, didn’t seem overly emotional about the victory.
“They’re just a hard team to beat,” Stevens said. “I think a lot of people have struggled against them. They’ve got really good players. Obviously, great coaching. And just a way that they play on both ends of the court that’s really hard to play against.”
And while the Spurs were missing Kawhi Leonard (right quadriceps tendinopathy), Tony Parker (G-League assignment following quadriceps injury) and Manu Ginobili (rest), San Antonio has often proven itself to be just as dangerous a foe when key players are missing.
“They’re the type of team it doesn’t matter who’s out there,” said Boston’s Al Horford. “Their system, the way they play. So for us, it was a good team win.”
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Monday’s 108-94 Celtics win which extended their winning streak to five straight.
STARS
Kyrie Irving
He began the game with the kind of offensive aggression we have not seen up to this point. He led all scorers with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting along with six assists and three steals.
Al Horford
It was another strong game for Horford who tallied his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds with five assists and two steals.
STUDS
Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics
The last couple of games have been offensive stinkers for Brown, who still made a significant impact with his defense. Monday was the best of both worlds for the second-year Brown who had 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.
Brandon Paul
He got a good chunk of his points when the game was out of reach for San Antonio, but that still shouldn’t take away from a solid night when he tallied a team-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting with five rebounds and a blocked shot.
DUDS
LaMarcus Aldridge
With no Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili, the Spurs had to lean heavy on Aldridge. But Aldridge fell well short of delivering for his team, finishing with just 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting which included him going scoreless in the second half while missing all four of his field goal attempts.