Victor Wembanyama dominates as Celtics fall narrowly to Spurs: 7 takeaways

Wembanyama is simply too big and skilled to be stopped. The Celtics had to hope that 1) they could outscore the Spurs by enough in the 22 minutes Wembanyama spent on the bench to counteract the minutes he was on the floor and 2) that Wembanyama would miss. 

Neither element happened enough for the Celtics to pull out a win on Saturday. 

Jaylen Brown is irate. 

The Celtics, notably, shot just four free throws, and two came in the closing seconds. 

The Spurs, meanwhile, took 20. 

A livid Jaylen Brown after the game took the officials to task, guaranteeing himself a hefty fine.

The initial question touched on the way the Spurs defended the Celtics — a crossmatching look that Joe Mazzulla lauded as one of the reasons the Celtics’ offense struggled. 

“It was definitely unique trying to protect some of their guys,” Brown said. “They didn’t want to go man. They didn’t feel like they could guard us.”

After taking his subtle shot at the Spurs, Brown got to the crux of the matter.

“I feel like, honestly, they just got away with a lot, and I’m tired of the inconsistency,” he said. “I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some bulls*** tonight. I think they’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips because it’s the same s*** every time we play a good team. It’s like they refuse to make a call, then call touch falls on the other end.”

Brown called out official Curtis Blair and the rest of the crew, saying they were “terrible tonight.”

“They can fine me whatever they want,” Brown said. “But it’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same bulls***. Somebody please pull up the clips. I’m irate at how they officiated the game today.”

Brown noted that the Celtics only got four free throws and lost the game by four.

“Not to say that’s the whole game, the whole story. We’ve got to be better in spots,” he said. “I’ve got to be better in spots. 

“But goddamn. I’m driving to the basket. I’m physical. I don’t flop. I don’t shy away from contact. I go up strong. I’m athletic. And nothing. Zero free throws tonight. The inconsistency is f***ing crazy. Give me the fine.”

Brown added in response to a follow-up question that he has his “conspiracies” about the officials before he was quickly dismissed by a member of Celtics PR, but the damage is certainly done — Brown will be smacked with as much of a fine as the league can hand out. 

Whether the tirade will do anything positive for Brown and the Celtics remains to be seen. He has voiced his displeasure repeatedly this year, and it’s hard to imagine that he is a particularly popular figure in referee circles these days. 

Brown seemed to be forcing it.

On the court, Brown was less than stellar. He finished 11-for-28 from the field, and while he grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists, he turned the ball over five times as the Spurs attacked his dribble aggressively — something of a concerning trend, given that the Celtics have succeeded this season in no small part because of how well they have limited their turnovers.

Meanwhile, after making a couple of moonball 3-pointers over Wembanyama in the first quarter, Brown also seemed to get a little caught up in the matchup. There’s a lot of benefit to attacking a shot blocker head on, but there’s also a lot of benefit to making smart decisions as a driver, and Brown’s repeated attempts to recapture the magic of his first two moonballs were less than inspiring. 

“Obviously, he’s a special talent,” Mazzulla said of Wembanyama. “He can close the gap on 2-on-1s extremely fast, so they do a good job of keeping him as close to the rim as possible and rotating around.”

Baylor Scheierman had one of his best games of the year.

Despite the late basket by Wembanyama, Scheierman played well in his extended run — in addition to his defense, he was 4-for-5 from the floor and 2-for-3 from 3-point range. 

“He’s been amazing,” Derrick White said. “He’s always ready. It’s tough — you never know how many minutes or if he’s going to play, but he’s always ready, and when he comes in, he just does a lot of things for us, and I feel like it’s always a positive segment when he’s out there with us.”

Scheierman is an odd NBA player — coming out of college, he showed promise as a 3-point shooter with some ability to handle the ball and pass. In the NBA, he has shown some promise as a hustling forward with great size who reads the game instinctively as a defender. 

“I have a bunch of confidence in myself that I can play at this level and impact the game and play against anybody,” Scheierman said. “Regardless if I played tonight or not or played yesterday or not, that confidence doesn’t change going into the next game. I think just seeing the results of the work I’ve put in has given me that confidence that I know that I can hang out there on the floor.”

Luke Kornet got a nice tribute video.

Prior to the game, Kornet spoke with Celtics reporters and quipped that he was more proud of his off-the-court content than his on-the-court content from his time in Boston, which doesn’t play “as well in an arena,” as he put it. He wondered whether he would get a tribute video before concluding “I’ll be honest, I imagine there’s going to be one. Especially in these times and days. For those potential Hall of Famers like myself, you kind of expect it at a certain point.”

Kornet was correct: He got one, and the Celtics found a great mix of clips. Kornet’s tribute video, which was shown between the first and second quarters, included a few clips of his on-court play, but most of it was focused on his antics — his moose antlers, his dabbing as he ran down the court, his famous butterfly celebration, and several instances of his even-more-famous Kornet Contest. They also, of course, showed clips of Kornet celebrating the Celtics’ championship and hyping up the crowd during the championship parade.