San Antonio Spurs (48-18) beat Boston Celtics (43-22) 125-116 at home on Tuesday, March 10.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Celtics struck first, taking the opening quarter 31-29 and a 2-point lead after one. The Spurs pulled even with a 29-27 second quarter, sending the game to halftime tied at 58.
The Spurs won the third 39-32 to turn the game around, taking a 7-point lead into the fourth. The Spurs took the fourth 28-26; the Spurs finished the job for a 125-116 regulation win.
What decided it
The Spurs grabbed 22% of their own misses, while the Celtics recovered 12.5%. The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 63.5% effective field-goal shooting compared with 57.9% for the Celtics. The second chances kept adding up.
The Celtics did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 8 against 11.2. The Spurs made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 126.6 points per 100 possessions to 117.5 for the Celtics.
Who made the difference
Victor Wembanyama was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 39 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast on 11-20 shooting. His Game Score of 30 led everyone. His team was +5 with him on the floor.
Derrick White led the Celtics with 34 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast on 11-22 shooting, good for a 27.9 Game Score.
Victor Wembanyama (39 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Spurs about a 71% chance.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Boston Celtics lead 2-1.
The Spurs are now 48-18, and the Celtics are 43-22. The Spurs last five before this game: L-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.