SAN ANTONIO — The Celtics continued their six-game Western Conference road trip with a win over the San Antonio Spurs — their 8th straight victory and 15th win in 16 games on the road.
That improves the Celtics record to 55-19 on the year, just 4 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs have lost 5 of their last 8 games and the Celtics have a chance to close the gap — with 8 games left — albeit an unlikely one.
Here’s what stood out from on the ground in San Antonio.
Luke Kornet has a monster game
Kristaps Porzingis dealt with foul trouble in this one, but Luke Kornet had a monster game, finishing with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 assists in 31 minutes. He was also a game-high +21 in the win.
It’s no secret that Kornet has evolved his game from a three-point shooting big in college to a much more physical one that embraces contact. He said postgame that part of the transition involved simply hitting the weight room and becoming stronger. He also credited current Celtic assistant coach Amile Jefferson and former assistant Charles Lee for aiding in his development.
“A lot of it for me was just a transition in terms of, I used to definitely see the game a certain way, and now kind of just like looking at it through different lens,” he said. “One, just always physically bringing the energy, seeking the contact and initiating contact.”
Asked Luke Kornet (16 rebounds tonight) about what the process of becoming much more physical has looked like.
He said a lot of it was in the weight room and working with coaches like Amile Jefferson — as well as a mindset shift:
“A lot of it for me was just a transition in… pic.twitter.com/Gv9zqELnva
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) March 30, 2025
Kornet was also asked about whether it’s hard for him to be “mean” on the floor when he’s such a nice guy off it, which led Sam Hauser to stop in his tracks in the middle of the locker room and sarcastically quip, “a nice guy???” multiple time before he headed to the showers.
More seriously, Kornet explained that part of his evolution toward being tougher.
“I think a big part — honestly, just being able to watch our team for a couple of years, and you see JT, JB and stuff, and the physicality that they play with — and the advantages that it creates,” Kornet said. “And I think over time, you just kind of see — especially at the high levels — that’s what it takes to play.”
Jrue Holiday finds offensive rhythm as he plays through a mallet finger
On the two-year anniversary of his career-high 50 points, Jrue Holiday posted 21 points (8-12 FG, 5-7 from three), his third-highest scoring game of the Celtics season. He also tallied 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
That standout performance came just two nights after he scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting vs the Phoenix Suns; he’s now scored in double-figures in five of the last eight games.
The 34-year-old guard is still playing with a black cast on his pinky finger due to an injury he suffered on Feb. 26.
“It is what it is,” Holiday said of the mallet finger injury. “It’s kind of weird. It’s just kind of like you have four fingers on one hand.”
Jrue Holiday said that the mallet pinkie finger is “what it is” at this point:
“It’s kind of weird. It’s just kind of like you have four fingers on one hand.”
“You don’t really need it [the pinkie]. But, since it’s there, I’d rather have it.”
(Qs: @tvabby & @GwashburnGlobe) pic.twitter.com/PdL20G1lSR
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) March 30, 2025
Holiday said he hasn’t been more intentionally aggressive than usual.
“I’m still taking the shots that are given to me,” he said. “I think I’m trying to be as aggressive as possible, and I think I’ve been trying to do that. Shots are falling — that always feels good.”
Jayson Tatum returns from ankle injury, flirts with triple-double
Jayson Tatum ended up missing a total of one game after suffering what appeared to be a scary ankle injury on Monday against the Sacramento Kings.
While things looked good when he went through a full shootaround on Wednesday in Phoenix, any concerns about how Tatum might be impacted by the injury in the long-term were completely put to rest on Saturday, when he returned to the lineup and finished with a near-triple-double: 29 points (10-22 FG), 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 block.
“[I’ve] been bored, but I’m glad that it recovered and healed in a good way, and I was able to come back out here and rejoin the team,” Tatum said.
Tatum said that he was initially afraid the injury was serious but realized shortly after that he was in better shape than he thought.
“The initial reaction is it’s an ankle I’ve twisted a handful of times, and you heard something pop. It was painful but kind of a shock factor,” he said. “But once I got up and was able to put weight on it and walked off the court, I didn’t think it would be too long of an absence.”
Jayson Tatum asked by @tvabby about the last couple of days recovering with ankle injury:
“Bored.”
He said that he initially heard something pop.
“It was painful, but kind of like a shock factor.”
He knew pretty quickly after he wouldn’t miss too much time: pic.twitter.com/WV8or6QOqb
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) March 30, 2025
Tatum’s playmaking leap has been on display in recent weeks. He’s averaging a career-high 6 assists this season and has now recorded 8 or more assists in 5 of his last 7 games.
“[He’s] taking what the defense gives him,” Mazzulla said. “Being proactive. He’s doing a great job playing with pace, reading the two-on-ones, knowing when to bait the two-on-one, when not to. Just doing a great job reading the game.”
March Madness looms in the background
Al Horford, a Florida alum (and two-time NCAA champion), was locked into Florida’s Elite 8 matchup against Texas Tech, though he was already on the Celtics bench watching his teammates play by the time the game was in crunch time.
Tatum, who attended Duke University for one season before being drafted by the Celtics, was similarly glued to a TV screen in the locker room postgame as he watched Duke beat Alabama to advance to the Final Four.
Jayson Tatum was watching Duke men’s basketball advance to the Final Four in the locker room postgame:
“It’s been great… looking forward to hopefully having both teams make it to the Final Four.” pic.twitter.com/bHrKax4Bia
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) March 30, 2025
Tatum gifted both the men’s and women’s programs his Tatum brand sneakers ahead of the tournament, and said he was enjoying watching both teams advance through the NCAA tournaments.
“Looking forward to hopefully having both teams make it to the Final Four,” he said.
Jaylen Brown’s knee and other Celtics injury notes
Payton Pritchard (left hip flexor tightness) and Al Horford (left big toe sprain) both missed Saturday’s contest, while Jayson Tatum returned from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain suffered Monday.
Jaylen Brown, who’s been battling a right knee injury the Celtics officially diagnosed as a bone bruise with posterior impingement, wasn’t on the injury for the second straight game after a three-game absence.
Brown said on Wednesday after the Phoenix Suns game that he was expecting to have to manage the injury through the playoffs, and that he hadn’t dealt with knee injuries before.
“My body doesn’t feel 100%,” he said.
Joe Mazzulla was asked about the process of Brown playing through this knee injury.
“You trust him,” Mazzulla said. “You trust the sports science team. You trust the trainers. He takes care of his body, and he’s doing everything he can to be available. He takes pride in that.”
Asked Joe Mazzulla about the process of Jaylen Brown playing through his knee injury:
“You trust him, you trust the sports science team, you trust the trainers. You trust him taking care of the body, and he’s doing everything can to be available — and he takes pride in that.” pic.twitter.com/DSfYot5Ur0
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) March 30, 2025
Xavier Tillman, who has been out with a left knee joint sprain since March 20th, was active for his first time this road trip, but didn’t see the court.
Two-way player Miles Norris is with the Celtics for his first NBA road trip
Norris, who signed a two-way contract with the Celtics earlier this month, attended his first Celtic road trip game on Saturday. He flew from New York to Phoenix to meet up with the Celtics on their off day, and then travelled with them to San Antonio.
“Business is business,” Norris told CelticsBlog of his first road trip with the team. “Same mindset, same mentality anywhere — home or away.”
Norris has appeared in 8 games with the Maine Celtics, and is averaging 14.5 points on 44.7% shooting, including 39.3% from three.
JD Davison and Drew Peterson, the Celtics’ two other two-way players, were with the parent club for the first three games of the road trip but have since returned to be with the G-League affiliate. Maine’s single-elimination playoffs begin on Tuesday night in Portland.
“It’s kind of like March [Madness],” Norris said. “Just win the game.”
San Antonio is a really cute city
Not a basketball note, but I just had to editorialize a bit. San Antonio was a lovely city to visit for a couple of days! I hadn’t heard great things, but the river walk area is stunning, the food is amazing, and overall, this was one of my favorite cities I’ve seen this year.
Also, shoutout to the San Antonio fans. The Spurs saw their two top players suffer season-ending injuries (Victor Wembenyama was diagnosed with an unexpected blood clot in his shoulder, while De’Aaron Fox had a season-ending left pinkie surgery). And, they trailed by double-digits for most of this one.
Still, this was one of the more lively road arenas I’ve been to in recent months — with a large swath of Celtics fans, but a passionate Spurs fanbase, too.
