BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jayson Tatum tossed in a team-high 24 points and the short-handed Boston Celtics made 18 of their 38 3-point attempts en route to a 117-98 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Jrue Holiday finished with 22 points and Jaylen Brown added 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Boston. Holiday made six of his seven shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Celtics played without starting center Kristaps Porzingis (right knee inflammation) and starting point guard Derrick White (left ankle sprain).
The victory improved Boston’s home record to 20-0. The Celtics are the only NBA team that hasn’t lost on its home court this season.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 27 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes. He shot 10 of 19 from the field and made 2 of 6 3-point attempts.
Wembanyama entered the game leading all NBA rookies in scoring (19.6 ppg), rebounding (10.3), blocks (league-best 3.2) and steals (1.14).
Devin Vassell scored 21 points for San Antonio, which received nine points and 10 assists from Tre Jones. The Spurs never led after the first quarter.
San Antonio shot 41.9 percent from the field (39 of 93) and 20.6 percent from 3-point territory (7 of 34).
The Celtics, who received 12 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard, outrebounded the Spurs 54-41. Boston hit 46.7 percent of its field-goal attempts (42 of 90).
The Celtics led 30-25 after one quarter and outscored the Spurs 40-20 in the second to take a 25-point halftime lead. Boston shot 60 percent from the field in the first half, when it made 13 of its 19 3-point attempts. The Celtics ended the half on a 12-2 run.
NOTES: Boston had a 30-point lead early in the third, but San Antonio shaved 14 points off of its deficit and trailed 94-78 entering the fourth. The Spurs failed to pull closer than 16 points in the final 12 minutes.
It was the second game between the teams this season. Boston won the first meeting 134-101 at San Antonio on Dec. 31.
–Field Level Media