TNT on Friday: Celtics/Nets, Warriors/Clippers

The NBA is back for the final sprint to the playoffs! Let’s take a look at the first TNT doubleheader of the second half.

Hello and welcome to another edition of Thursday Night Thoughts (TNT) on Friday! In this space I will give my takes on both games of the NBA’s premiere weekly broadcast. Do you have any thoughts on last night’s doubleheader? Hit me up on Twitter and let me know!

Just a heads up: There won’t be a “TNT on Friday” on March 18th, as TNT’s airwaves will be showing the NCAA Tournament on that evening. This column will return on March 26th! See you then!

Brooklyn Nets 121, Boston Celtics 109

FINAL BOX SCORE

The Brooklyn Nets picked up where they left off at the end of the first half with a decisive 121-109 win over the Boston Celtics. They tip off the second half with their 11th victory in 12 games. It’s also the eighth time over that span that they have scored at least 120 points.

Boston jumped out to a 27-16 lead early in the game. However, the Nets wrangled control of the game back midway through the second quarter. The Celtics did jump back ahead for part of the third, but otherwise Brooklyn was fully in control. The Nets pulled away by closing out the game on a 13-3 run. With Kevin Durant still out (strained left hamstring), Kyrie Irving led the way with a phenomenal 40-point performance. James Harden chipped in 22 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn just had the more cohesive offense in this game. The Nets finished with a shooting split of .477/.452/.818, while Boston came away with a .451/.325/.636 split. If a team can’t keep up with Brooklyn’s offense, they’re going to fall behind pretty quickly.

Jayson Tatum paced the C’s with 31 points. Marcus Smart finally returned from his strained left calf injury, and dropped 19 points from off the bench. Daniel Theis also had a strong night with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. However, Boston as a whole just couldn’t find the same potency that allowed them to close out the first half on a four-game winning streak. They threw the first punch with their big early lead, but couldn’t really hold the fort the rest of the way.

It would be easy to chalk it up to post-All-Star-Break rustiness, but the Celts are now 19-18 on the season. They have their flaws in the form of consistency issues, and those issues cost them this divisional matchup on Thursday night.

Los Angeles Clippers 130, Golden State Warriors 104

FINAL BOX SCORE

Two teams that ended the first half on three-game losing streaks entered Staples Center on Thursday hoping to start the second half off on the right foot. The LA Clippers successfully carried out their mission with a decisive 130-104 victory, while the Golden State Warriors fell flat on their face out of the second half starting block.

I’m sure the big story out of this game will be the fact that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr held rookie center James Wiseman out of the first three quarters as punishment for missing a COVID testing appointment during the All-Star Break. The assumption is that Wiseman’s absence greatly affected Golden State’s fortunes in this game.

However, I’m not buying that. We’ve seen the Warriors win a Thursday night game without their starting center, or any center for that matter. No, this was simply a woefully uninspired evening from a team that has been inconsistent all year. In fact, this loss puts the Warriors smack dab at .500 with a 19-19 record. This isn’t the Dynasty Dubs we’re looking at. This team is exactly what their record says they are: mid.

The Clippers, meanwhile, got back on the winning track by asserting their dominance at home. After starting the first half of the season 21-8, they closed it out by going 3-6. Starting off the new half like this is quite a statement! LA led by as many as 39, when they were up 104-65(!!) with 32 seconds left in the third quarter. They trailed or were tied with GSW for just 2:01 of game time, all in the first quarter. The Clips outscored the Dubs 76-42 in the second & third quarters.

This was another game where the home team came out clicking more than their guest. Through the first three quarters — when both teams were still playing their rotation players — the Clippers’ shooting split was .493/.533/.857. The Warriors’ responded with a .358/.226/.722 split. Specifically, the Clippers torched the Warriors from distance, going 16-of-30 from three-point range in that span! Golden State went 7-of-31.

Golden State has now lost four consecutive games. This is their third double-figure defeat of this slump. I’m sure it was a painful loss for Warriors fans to watch. However, this team is just as capable of bouncing back with strong wins as they are to suffer an embarrassing defeat. LA, meanwhile, showed why they are still one of the top teams in the Western Conference. They can embark on their three-game road trip knowing they once again have the mojo to pummel their opponents.