LOS ANGELES — The Celtics beat the Clippers in a 117-113 overtime thriller that probably had no business going into overtime. But, the main story of the day wasn’t the late game execution, nor the inconsistent defensive effort: it was Jaden Springer.
Yes, you heard that right — the fourth-year guard who has only played double-digit minutes once this entire season was the story on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome, and dozens of reporters crowded around him as he held his first media availability in the locker room. Jayson Tatum heckled him in the background, yelling “Yeah, Spring!” and “Speak up, Spring!” as Jaden Springer fielded questions from an abnormally large press corp.
Here’s what stood out from a wild night at the Intuit Dome.
Clippers, Celtics are both shorthanded — but “it’s the NBA”
If the Warriors were considered shorthanded on Monday, finding the appropriate word to describe the Clippers’ situation on Saturday night would be tough. The Clippers were without most of their usual rotation — missing Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, Nicolas Batum, and Kris Dunn on the first night of a back-to-back. Part of the significant injury report was the result of the Clippers being in the middle of a 4-games-in-5-nights schedule that was a result of the NBA rescheduling games that had been delayed due to the California wildfires.
The reality is that playing such shorthanded teams can be difficult; players have fresh legs and role players are empowered and eager to capitalize on their rare opportunity. And, the Celtics weren’t at full strength, either — Jrue Holiday (shoulder impingement), Kristaps Porzingis (illness), and Al Horford (left big toe sprain) all sat out.
Still, the Clippers’ performance was an impressive one; Derrick Jones Jr. exploded for 29 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 26 points, both season highs. And, once again, the Celtics found themselves within a few plays from a significant letdown loss against an inferior opponent.
“It’s the NBA,” said Jaylen Brown. “They played well. They hit a lot of shots… I thought they played really well.”
Joe Mazzulla described the preparations for Wednesday’s game as similar to a typical NBA game, despite the significant personnel changes.
“They’ll plug guys into the system with which they use their other guys,” he said of the Clippers. “And so I think it’s just having a clear understanding of [their] tendencies.”
Then, after the overtime victory, when pressed on why the game was so close after the game despite the Clippers being down six players, Mazzulla emphasized that there was no expectation that the game was going to be easy.
Joe Mazzulla asked about the Clippers being down 4 starters:
“I think the first question should be — why would we assume that it was going to be an easy game? [That’s] discrediting a championship head coach and a group of guys that are really, really good.” pic.twitter.com/eBUAaTcX9l
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) January 23, 2025
“The game went the way it was supposed to go,” Mazzulla said. “That’s a championship head coach, those guys are great players — been in the league a long time, a lot of them, and they’ve delivered.”
Celtics-Clippers was the unequivocal Jaden Springer game
Once it became apparent that the shorthanded Clippers were going to put up a fight, the Celtics needed someone to step up on the defensive end. Kevin Porter Jr. was getting whatever he wanted offensively, and the usual match-ups the Celtics were throwing at him weren’t effective (after the game, Jaylen Brown revealed he was limited by an ankle sprain he suffered in the second quarter).
Enter Jaden Springer.
Springer has been used sparingly since the Celtics traded for him last winter. But, with the game at risk of slipping away, and Porter Jr. dominating for the Clippers, Joe Mazzulla called his name, and he delivered. He racked up 4 steals in the second half and was responsible for a few other Clippers’ turnovers, forcing an out-of-bounds violation and travel during his stint.
For Springer, the results of his defensive efforts were immediately evident.
“You can see it,” Springer said. “They stop drawing the plays for him [Porter Jr.] a little bit… you can read the body language. He’s frustrated.”
Still, his most unexpected contribution might have been on the offensive end. Springer — a 21.1% career three-point shooter — hit two of six three-point attempts, a performance that was punctuated by a clutch corner three with 34 seconds left in overtime that gave the Celtics a 5-point lead.
Jaden Springer heckled by Jayson Tatum who yelled “speak up!” during his locker room media availability — with about 30 reporters crowded around him as he talks about how he knows when he’s impacting the opponents pic.twitter.com/4XvoiDptL5
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) January 23, 2025
Springer credited Jayson Tatum for trusting him.
“We train for this every day,” Springer said. “We got a good staff, we’re working on it every day, game situations. We do the best we can to prepare for moments like this — staying ready.”
Springer said that hitting the three in front of James Harden — a former teammate of his on the Philadelphia 76ers — made the moment even more rewarding.
“That’s my dawg.”
Jaylen Brown deemed the victory ‘a great Jaden Springer game.’
“It’s just a testament to him and his work ethic,” Brown said. “He got his name called, defensively we weren’t at our best… Jaden came in, hawked the ball, gave us some energy on defense, and helped us get a win.”
Sam Hauser starts (and shines) as Jrue Holiday sits
Hauser started in place of Jrue Holiday, who missed Wednesday’s game with a right shoulder impingement — and, he capitalized on the increased opportunity, hitting his first 3 three-pointers and finishing the game with 15 points on 5 of 7 three-point shooting.
At shootaround Wednesday, Hauser was asked about whether he feels like his number of shot attempts is a good indicator of how good the Celtics’ ball movement is that night and noted it’s not just his attempts that are indicative of the team’s passing.
“When the ball is moving, everyone’s getting shots, everyone’s getting good looks,” Hauser said. “That’s when we’re at our best because everyone has been contributing in different ways to this team. When the ball is moving, everybody is able to showcase what they bring to the table and how they can help our team.”
Well, Wednesday night sure was another good ball movement game for the Celtics — they racked up 33 assists, and it just so happened to be that Hauser recorded his best three-point shooting game of the season.
Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh earn first-quarter minutes
Fresh off of a very productive garbage time stint against the Warriors, Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman both earned rare first-quarter minutes against the Clippers.
Walsh had a few highlight plays in the first half. He hit a corner three-pointer — his only attempt of the night — and grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a Payton Pritchard three. But, Mazzulla subbed him out in favor of Jaden Springer in the second half.
Intuit Arena is shiny and innovative — but doesn’t ultimately deliver its intended vision
From the moment one enters Intuit Arena, it’s evident that it is vastly different from the average NBA arena. The newly constructed arena boasts a famous “wall” of Clippers fans in front of the baseline and relies on innovative technology and sound effects. There were a couple of fun wrinkles like no lines for the bathroom, T-shirt tosses that reached the balcony, and indoor fireworks during the national anthem.
But, ultimately, Intuit Arena was one of the emptiest arenas I’ve visited this season, and the majority of the fans in the building donned Celtics green. No amount of cool features, sound effects, and cutting-edge technology can make up for the sheer lack of authentic fans present inside the gymnasium.
Jaylen Brown alluded to the arena being empty when asked about the Intuit Dome experience after the game.
“It was loud — the way they built it, the structure of it, it’s more on top of you, and I think that has a lot to do with the sound engineering,” he said. “Because there wasn’t that many people in there — but it sounded like there was.”
Credit to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for trying his best to revive a somewhat anemic fandom, and for doing so in creative fashion. But it’s probably going to take some extended stretches of winning for the Clippers fanbase to have a real presence here, especially against a team with a fanbase that travels as well as the Celtics. By the end of the night, the arena sounded more like a Celtics home game than an away game.
Next Up: Celtics-Lakers
The Celtics are now 2-0 on their Western Conference road trip — and are back in action 10 pm ET against the Lakers. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis should both be back in the lineup on the second night of a back-to-back; whether Jrue Holiday is back in the lineup remains to be seen. After LA, the Celtics will close out the road trip against the Mavericks on Saturday night before returning home to Boston.
