November 16, 2025 • 19 mins
James Harden put all the pressure on the Boston Celtics as he scored 18 of his 37 points during the fourth quarter. But Boston, behind Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta, didn’t blink and made all the plays it needed to make to close out the win. We highlight the end of the game, Brown’s and Queta’s performances, and the challenges of defending a future Hall of Famer like Harden during crunch time.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Sound off with we folks down the Boston Celtics cracking
the code a little bit on Sunday afternoon on how
to win a closed game.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
As we know, the Celtics have struggled.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
In these situations so far this season, but not on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
They grab a one to twenty one to one.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Eighteen win over the visiting LA Clippers on a night
when James Harden had an unbelievable fourth quarter, the Celtics
still found a way to win. Listen, some people after
this game are trying to say that the Celtics almost
gave this game away. I feel very differently about that.
I feel that the Celtics found a way to still
(00:43):
win despite another player going off.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
That's what happened if we're looking at reality.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
James Harden had an unbelievable fourth quarter eighteen points, made
a couple unbelievable shots down the stretch, was getting to
the free thrown free throw line all during the fourth quarter.
But the Celtics still did not make mistakes. They scored
baskets when they needed. They made their free throws. Four
clutch free throws during the final twenty or so seconds,
(01:11):
two by Derek White, two by Peyton Pritcher to finish
off this win. They committed only one turnover during the
entire fourth quarter one and they scored Basically every time
they had to have a bucket or made free throws,
they did it. So this was not a situation where
(01:32):
it felt, to me at least like the Celtics almost
gave the game away. It was a situation where the
Clippers and James Harden in particular, almost stole it.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
But the Celtics didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Allow that to happen because they took care of the ball,
they made their free throws during critical moments, and they
were able to score when they needed to score. Now,
are there a couple opportunities where they could grow, Yes,
there are always lessons to learn from games. Like Lesson
number one is that Jordan Walsh cannot commit that foul.
(02:04):
He can't commit that foul on James Harden. James Harden
goes to line for three free throws. The game should
be over at that point. Jordan Walsh follows him on
the right wing sends him to the free throw line
for three free throws to make it a game again.
You can't commit that foul now it is James Harden
so he gets some calls. We're going to talk about
that later on, but Jordan Walsh has got to know
(02:27):
challenge the shot, yes, but you can't put yourself in
position where you might commit a foul at that very moment.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So that's lesson number one.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Lesson number two is that you simply cannot let go
of the rope at all during an NBA game when
you're playing, especially when you're playing against an all time great,
if you let go of that rope just a little bit,
like that player who is so great, or the opposing
team that is always going to have a lot of talent,
because this is the NBA is going to take advantage.
(02:59):
You can't let go of the rope. And that happened
a couple times defensively, like the like we said, James Harden,
he was followed by Jordan Watshed. There were some other
moments where the Celtics probably could have contested shots a
little bit better. At the defensive end. The offense was fine,
but defensively they could have tightened some things up. You
just can't let go of the rope at all in
(03:20):
the NBA, and especially when you're playing against an all
time great, because those are the types of players that
can seize that moment, and James Harden did and he
almost sees the entire moment for his team on this night.
But as I said, the Celtics did not allow that
to happen. And mainly this is because of a one
player who shined for Boston throughout this game, and that
(03:41):
is Jalen Brown. I mentioned that James Harden scored eighteen
points during the fourth quarter of this game to get
the Clippers back into it. Jalen Brown scored thirteen points
during the fourth quarter to help the Celtics maintain a lead.
At one moment it got down, he pushed it back
up with some critical plays and and one in transition,
(04:02):
just really played well tonight his final Italian. By the way,
he notched his first double double of the season tonight,
and it was a thirty point double double because he
scored thirty three points to go along with twelve rebounds. Now,
did it take him thirty three shots to score those
thirty three points. Yes, not the most efficient game that
Jalen Brown has had all season.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
He's still shot fourteen for thirty three.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
But he made critical plays in critical moments when the
Boston Celtics needed him, and it didn't really feel like
an inefficient game from him, like it actually felt like
a game where he was taking control and asserting himself
at the moments when the Boston Celtics needed it. He
is a main reason why the Boston Celtics grabbed this win.
(04:45):
Now he's not the only reason why, because a couple
other guys that we got to talk about. Number one Nimiashkida,
just a great game from him tonight, played almost thirty
four minutes. This guy's averaging only about twenty three to
twenty four minutes per game this season, played almost thirty
four during this game. One reason is because Luca Garza
filed out of the game early on during the fourth quarter,
(05:07):
so Kaida had to come back in. But another reason
why is because he was awesome. Like nimish Kida was
fantastic during this game at some moments, showing incredible adept
and agile defense playing against I'll show a play right here,
Bogdan Bogdanovic in a one on one situation, Nimis Kida
did not shy away. There are seven footers in the
(05:28):
league that will sag off in this situation. You see
right here, nimis Keda is applying pressure, he has the
confidence in his agility to apply pressure and then he
forces the miss. This was just one moment defensively, but
he was outstanding at that end throughout this game against
zubachid some missus. Zubach is one of the better centers
(05:48):
in the NBA. Now, he did finish with sixteen points
in twelve rebounds during this game, but I thought Kida
did a really good job against him all night long,
really kind of keeping him under control and now not
allowing him to go off and really make an imprint
on this game. And then later on during the fourth quarter,
Cada was the second leading scorer for the Boston Celtics
(06:11):
behind Jalen Brown. As I said, Jalen Brown had thirteen
during the fourth the Miashkeda had six, and those six
came at a critical moment when the Clippers were trying
to make a run. It was little past the midway
point of the fourth quarter and the Celtics were trying
to regain control, and they did in part because of Dimiashkeida.
As I said, he scored six points and two of
(06:33):
them were just I mean, this was a moment for
him where he gets the ball and misses a shot
in the paint, then misses it put back, and then
gets the rebound again battles through everything to put it
up and put it in for a critical play. At
that moment, Andy was fouled. Now he didn't go to
(06:55):
the free throw line and make that free throw. But
watch this again as nimiash Kida just takes over in
this moment, and you can see in his celebration at
the end of this play, but right now you see
he's grabbing these rebounds. He's not quitting, He's getting it,
giving an extremely high level of effort in a critical
(07:16):
moment of the game, and winds up battling through all
of the physicality down there around the rim to put
a shot home with an and one. Again he misses
the free throw, but that's okay, with an and one
to give the Celtics two points that.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
They needed in this game.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
If he didn't score that bucket, who knows what ends
up happening during this game. As we saw down the stretch,
it got a little bit dicey. But these are the
plays in the moments that nimis Keida hasn't been able
to log during his NBA career because he hasn't been
one of the top big men. Now he is the
top big man on this team, and he gets to
(07:54):
play in these critical moments and learn that he belongs
and prove that he belongs. That play with that and
one put back after a couple of misses is just
the latest evidence that he needs to believe that wholeheartedly.
(08:16):
And I'm not questioning his confidence or anything. His confidence
has got to be sky high, but he hasn't had
to do this much in his young career. Now he's
doing it every night and he's proving it, and he
proved it for the Boston Celtics tonight that he is
one of the more important players on this team, and
behind Jalen Brown, he might be the reason why the
(08:37):
Boston Celtics grabbed this win. Now, yes, he played great
and Jalen Brown scored thirty three points with a double double,
his first double double of the season, but we can't
forget to mention Peyton Pritcher because this man went off.
He was red hot during the first half. I believe
he was seven for ten, eight for eleven. Shortly into
(08:58):
the second half, he was eight for eleven from three
point range, winds up, scoring winds up, scoring thirty points
for his new season high in that category, eight for
thirteen overall from three point range, ten for sixteen overall.
From the field, Peyton Pritchard struggled shooting the ball early
on this season. That is no longer the case. This
(09:18):
man has found his stroke, as has Derek White. By
the way, now the Celtics are back to five hundred
at seven and seven, they're even on the season, and
they've got those two critical guards who are key cogs
in their offense finally getting their rhythm offensively. So you
can see things starting to get better at that end
of the court for the team as a whole, and
(09:41):
they are playing a huge role in that. And Peyton
Pritchard did that tonight by scoring thirty points on only
sixteen shots. So great to see him back looking like
he has for his entire career. The confidence number one
and number two, the efficiency, We've seen it throughout his
career and now it's showing face season.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Let's get into a couple comments from our fans.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Both of these have to do with actually the other team,
but these are very interesting points that we want to
touch on. First and foremost, we've got Connecticut Pete on
James Harden's performance, particularly during the fourth quarter, and then
t mac in Vermont talks about the challenges of playing
against elite players like James Harden in crunch time in
(10:23):
the NBA. So again, Connecticut Pete, you're up first, all right.
Connecticut Pete's comment after this game is Celtics played great,
but Harden was unreal.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He's still an elite player at thirty six years old,
all right.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So let's get into James Harden's performance during the first
three quarters combined, he scored only fourteen points, attempted only
seven shots. The Celtics had really bottled him up. Jordan
Walsh had some great moments defensively, and really the whole
team played well defensively in bottling up James Harden. But
during that fourth quarter, the man simply went off. As
(11:00):
I already said earlier in the episode, eighteen points during
the fourth quarter, only had to attempt eight shots to
get there, gets to the line for five free throws,
drills three of his four to three pointers.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
The guy just caught fire. And sometimes that happens in
the NBA.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
As we talked about, especially with players who are this good.
James Harden is such a seasoned veteran and he's so
skilled that that type of player can go off at
any moment. So you bottle him up for the first
three quarters, you just never know what's going to happen
during the fourth. I actually think you know the first
part of this comment. The Celtics played great. They did again,
(11:37):
as I said in the open, they if LA wound
up winning this game, it wouldn't have been the Celtics
giving it away, it would have been James Harden stealing it,
because that's how great he played during the fourth quarter. Thankfully,
Jalen Brown was there to help save the day with
thirteen of his own. Nimiashkeida was there to help save
the day with six points during the fourth quarter, and
(11:58):
then again those clutch free throws down the stretch from
Peyton Pritchard and Derek White to seal the game. Just
huge moments for them. And did anyone have a doubt
that's what those guys do. They are shooters and they
are cold blooded. They were gonna make those three pointers,
those free throws all the way once they stepped to
the free throw line. But really, James Harden deserves all
(12:18):
the credit in the world. He was unbelievable during the
fourth quarter, those final couple minutes, and in particular the
final minute when he drilled a couple of three pointers
that were like really, like how was he making these shots?
That's what he does. But I do have to say
he had a chance to tie this game at the
final moment. We're gonna show the play right here. This
(12:41):
play was run to perfection by the La Clippers.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You've got Zubach out there.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
You throw a rifle quarterback pass, talk about a Sunday
quarterback pass from the other end of the court into
Zubach and he touch passes out to his teammate James Harden,
who was red hot for the entire fourth quarter, but
he wasn't hot enough to grab the win. He misses
this shot at the end of regulation.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
He walked away.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
I kept my eyes on him after he missed the shot,
and he's walking away like, I can't believe I missed
that After everything I just did to get the team
back to where they were and almost getting to overtime.
He could not believe he missed that shot. I couldn't
believe it either. Felt like it was faith that it was.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Going to go in it.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
We were gonna get five more minutes of basketball free
basketball on a Sunday, but he missed it, and that
allowed the Boston Celtics to sneak out with their three
point wins. So, yeah, the Celtics did play great. Harden
was unbelievable. He is still an elite player at thirty
six years old, doing a great job of at least
keeping that very injured LA Clippers team competitive this season.
(13:45):
They haven't won many games, and hopefully they did and
thankfully they did not win one today. All right, next
comment is coming in from TMAC in Vermont, whose comment
is partially be a complaint, partially maybe just an observation
about how hard it is to play against elite players
(14:06):
during the fourth quarter of close NBA games.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
But here's a comment.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
After games like this, I can't help but wonder how
teams are supposed to handle these kinds of games if
they are playing against an untouchable SGA Harden Brunson. You're
damned if you do defend whistle foul, damned if you
don't defend open shot swish. So let's dive into this
(14:29):
a little bit. This is what makes the greatest players
in our game the greatest players because they are the
most skilled, they are the most athletic.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And they are the smartest.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
These are the guys that know how to put themselves
in position that are going to lead to success.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
That doesn't always mean that it's a made shot.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Sometimes, as we're referencing here from t Mac and Vermont,
sometimes that's getting to the line. Now, James Harden got
to the line for I belie believe it was eighteen
free throws during this game. Hold on, let me give
you the full number. Fifteen free throws during this game.
Fourteen of his thirty seven points came from the free
(15:11):
throw line. He's been doing this for his entire career,
and he did it again tonight. The man just knows how.
He plays with a rhythm that's extremely difficult to defend,
and he's also so skilled, as Jordan Walsh can probably
attest that anytime he creates just a little bit of space,
you want to get out there to cant test that
shot as hard as possible because you believe that he
(15:34):
might make it just with that little gap, that little opening.
That's the type of fear that these types of players
instill against opposing defenders and opposing teams in general. So
that is what allows them to really create the contact
and take advantage of situations to get to the free
(15:54):
throw line when they aren't connecting on open shots. That's
what Harden did tonight. But it's true guys like Sga
Hard and Brunson, Steph Kurt, like, these guys are smart,
intelligent players Kobe back in the day, like that's what
they do. Now the Celtics have a couple guys on
their roster who do the same thing. But there might
(16:17):
be a little bit of a lesson here for them
that they can maybe do a little bit more of
that moving forward. Jalen Brown, he has been applying pressure
all season on opposing defenses. Love to see that again tonight.
He wasn't settling, and he hasn't really settled much this season.
He did not settle tonight. He was driving to the basket.
Did he make some mid range shots, absolutely, take some
(16:38):
mid range shots, yes, But he was putting pressure in
applying pressure against the Clippers all night long. He actually
got to the line for seven free throws of his own.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
But lesson to be.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Learned, maybe a little bit by him and Jason Tatum
for whenever Jason Tatum does get back into the lineup,
if that's this season, next season, whenever, that is to
figure out a way to apply pressure opposing defenses, not
only with your skill, but with your mind and being
able to manipulate moments. That's what makes some of those
other guys just unbelievable performers during the stretch, and the Celtics,
(17:12):
those two guys for the Celtics have been that as well.
We're talking about a guy who's won Finals MVP, Eastern
Conference Finals MVP, and Jalen Brown for the Boston Celtics,
and then we're talking about Jason Tatum, who is all
world one of the top five players in the world
when it comes to this game of basketball. However, those
other guys that we're talking about in this comment, sga
(17:34):
Hardin Brunson, those guys are clutched down the stretch because
they know how to apply pressure and manipulate defenses to
a point where if they're not making an open shot,
they're almost always going to the free throw line. So
a little bit of a lesson to be learned, but
that it is extremely difficult to play against those types
of players because they have that rare combination of basketball
(17:57):
IQ where they can manipulate the game a little bit,
and they also have that extremely high level of skill
that allows them to make plays when the whistles aren't coming. So,
t Mac and Vermont, I understand your frustration. I don't
think that the Boston Celtics did anything necessarily wrong tonight.
They did their best to try to defend James Harden
(18:19):
without folling. Some whistles just didn't go their way. But
Harden was that great no matter what. So I think
this game was gonna come down to the final minutes
no matter what, because Harden was just that good. But
the Celtics still, to their credit, they cracked the code
and they found a way to win regardless of what
the other team was doing out there on the court.
So the Boston Celtics have an even record at seven
(18:42):
and seven. Now they've got a two game winning streak
heading out to a little bit of an interesting series here.
They've got a home and home series coming up with
the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night. The first game of that
series is in Brooklyn, tips off at seven thirty, and
the second game of that two game series is back
here Friday, night at TD Garden, where these two teams
(19:03):
will play for the second time in four days. So
that's it for tonight's episode of sound Off. We appreciate
you for giving us a listen and a watch, and
also for our fans who have sent in comments to
me on AX after the final buzzer, I will see
you again Tuesday night. Until then, enjoy the rest of
your weekend and we'll see it after that next game.
Sound off with we folks down the Boston Celtics cracking
the code a little bit on Sunday afternoon on how
to win a closed game.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
As we know, the Celtics have struggled.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
In these situations so far this season, but not on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
They grab a one to twenty one to one.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Eighteen win over the visiting LA Clippers on a night
when James Harden had an unbelievable fourth quarter, the Celtics
still found a way to win. Listen, some people after
this game are trying to say that the Celtics almost
gave this game away. I feel very differently about that.
I feel that the Celtics found a way to still
(00:43):
win despite another player going off.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
That's what happened if we're looking at reality.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
James Harden had an unbelievable fourth quarter eighteen points, made
a couple unbelievable shots down the stretch, was getting to
the free thrown free throw line all during the fourth quarter.
But the Celtics still did not make mistakes. They scored
baskets when they needed. They made their free throws. Four
clutch free throws during the final twenty or so seconds,
(01:11):
two by Derek White, two by Peyton Pritcher to finish
off this win. They committed only one turnover during the
entire fourth quarter one and they scored Basically every time
they had to have a bucket or made free throws,
they did it. So this was not a situation where
(01:32):
it felt, to me at least like the Celtics almost
gave the game away. It was a situation where the
Clippers and James Harden in particular, almost stole it.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
But the Celtics didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Allow that to happen because they took care of the ball,
they made their free throws during critical moments, and they
were able to score when they needed to score. Now,
are there a couple opportunities where they could grow, Yes,
there are always lessons to learn from games. Like Lesson
number one is that Jordan Walsh cannot commit that foul.
(02:04):
He can't commit that foul on James Harden. James Harden
goes to line for three free throws. The game should
be over at that point. Jordan Walsh follows him on
the right wing sends him to the free throw line
for three free throws to make it a game again.
You can't commit that foul now it is James Harden
so he gets some calls. We're going to talk about
that later on, but Jordan Walsh has got to know
(02:27):
challenge the shot, yes, but you can't put yourself in
position where you might commit a foul at that very moment.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So that's lesson number one.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Lesson number two is that you simply cannot let go
of the rope at all during an NBA game when
you're playing, especially when you're playing against an all time great,
if you let go of that rope just a little bit,
like that player who is so great, or the opposing
team that is always going to have a lot of talent,
because this is the NBA is going to take advantage.
(02:59):
You can't let go of the rope. And that happened
a couple times defensively, like the like we said, James Harden,
he was followed by Jordan Watshed. There were some other
moments where the Celtics probably could have contested shots a
little bit better. At the defensive end. The offense was fine,
but defensively they could have tightened some things up. You
just can't let go of the rope at all in
(03:20):
the NBA, and especially when you're playing against an all
time great, because those are the types of players that
can seize that moment, and James Harden did and he
almost sees the entire moment for his team on this night.
But as I said, the Celtics did not allow that
to happen. And mainly this is because of a one
player who shined for Boston throughout this game, and that
(03:41):
is Jalen Brown. I mentioned that James Harden scored eighteen
points during the fourth quarter of this game to get
the Clippers back into it. Jalen Brown scored thirteen points
during the fourth quarter to help the Celtics maintain a lead.
At one moment it got down, he pushed it back
up with some critical plays and and one in transition,
(04:02):
just really played well tonight his final Italian. By the way,
he notched his first double double of the season tonight,
and it was a thirty point double double because he
scored thirty three points to go along with twelve rebounds. Now,
did it take him thirty three shots to score those
thirty three points. Yes, not the most efficient game that
Jalen Brown has had all season.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
He's still shot fourteen for thirty three.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
But he made critical plays in critical moments when the
Boston Celtics needed him, and it didn't really feel like
an inefficient game from him, like it actually felt like
a game where he was taking control and asserting himself
at the moments when the Boston Celtics needed it. He
is a main reason why the Boston Celtics grabbed this win.
(04:45):
Now he's not the only reason why, because a couple
other guys that we got to talk about. Number one Nimiashkida,
just a great game from him tonight, played almost thirty
four minutes. This guy's averaging only about twenty three to
twenty four minutes per game this season, played almost thirty
four during this game. One reason is because Luca Garza
filed out of the game early on during the fourth quarter,
(05:07):
so Kaida had to come back in. But another reason
why is because he was awesome. Like nimish Kida was
fantastic during this game at some moments, showing incredible adept
and agile defense playing against I'll show a play right here,
Bogdan Bogdanovic in a one on one situation, Nimis Kida
did not shy away. There are seven footers in the
(05:28):
league that will sag off in this situation. You see
right here, nimis Keda is applying pressure, he has the
confidence in his agility to apply pressure and then he
forces the miss. This was just one moment defensively, but
he was outstanding at that end throughout this game against
zubachid some missus. Zubach is one of the better centers
(05:48):
in the NBA. Now, he did finish with sixteen points
in twelve rebounds during this game, but I thought Kida
did a really good job against him all night long,
really kind of keeping him under control and now not
allowing him to go off and really make an imprint
on this game. And then later on during the fourth quarter,
Cada was the second leading scorer for the Boston Celtics
(06:11):
behind Jalen Brown. As I said, Jalen Brown had thirteen
during the fourth the Miashkeda had six, and those six
came at a critical moment when the Clippers were trying
to make a run. It was little past the midway
point of the fourth quarter and the Celtics were trying
to regain control, and they did in part because of Dimiashkeida.
As I said, he scored six points and two of
(06:33):
them were just I mean, this was a moment for
him where he gets the ball and misses a shot
in the paint, then misses it put back, and then
gets the rebound again battles through everything to put it
up and put it in for a critical play. At
that moment, Andy was fouled. Now he didn't go to
(06:55):
the free throw line and make that free throw. But
watch this again as nimiash Kida just takes over in
this moment, and you can see in his celebration at
the end of this play, but right now you see
he's grabbing these rebounds. He's not quitting, He's getting it,
giving an extremely high level of effort in a critical
(07:16):
moment of the game, and winds up battling through all
of the physicality down there around the rim to put
a shot home with an and one. Again he misses
the free throw, but that's okay, with an and one
to give the Celtics two points that.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
They needed in this game.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
If he didn't score that bucket, who knows what ends
up happening during this game. As we saw down the stretch,
it got a little bit dicey. But these are the
plays in the moments that nimis Keida hasn't been able
to log during his NBA career because he hasn't been
one of the top big men. Now he is the
top big man on this team, and he gets to
(07:54):
play in these critical moments and learn that he belongs
and prove that he belongs. That play with that and
one put back after a couple of misses is just
the latest evidence that he needs to believe that wholeheartedly.
(08:16):
And I'm not questioning his confidence or anything. His confidence
has got to be sky high, but he hasn't had
to do this much in his young career. Now he's
doing it every night and he's proving it, and he
proved it for the Boston Celtics tonight that he is
one of the more important players on this team, and
behind Jalen Brown, he might be the reason why the
(08:37):
Boston Celtics grabbed this win. Now, yes, he played great
and Jalen Brown scored thirty three points with a double double,
his first double double of the season, but we can't
forget to mention Peyton Pritcher because this man went off.
He was red hot during the first half. I believe
he was seven for ten, eight for eleven. Shortly into
(08:58):
the second half, he was eight for eleven from three
point range, winds up, scoring winds up, scoring thirty points
for his new season high in that category, eight for
thirteen overall from three point range, ten for sixteen overall.
From the field, Peyton Pritchard struggled shooting the ball early
on this season. That is no longer the case. This
(09:18):
man has found his stroke, as has Derek White. By
the way, now the Celtics are back to five hundred
at seven and seven, they're even on the season, and
they've got those two critical guards who are key cogs
in their offense finally getting their rhythm offensively. So you
can see things starting to get better at that end
of the court for the team as a whole, and
(09:41):
they are playing a huge role in that. And Peyton
Pritchard did that tonight by scoring thirty points on only
sixteen shots. So great to see him back looking like
he has for his entire career. The confidence number one
and number two, the efficiency, We've seen it throughout his
career and now it's showing face season.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Let's get into a couple comments from our fans.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Both of these have to do with actually the other team,
but these are very interesting points that we want to
touch on. First and foremost, we've got Connecticut Pete on
James Harden's performance, particularly during the fourth quarter, and then
t mac in Vermont talks about the challenges of playing
against elite players like James Harden in crunch time in
(10:23):
the NBA. So again, Connecticut Pete, you're up first, all right.
Connecticut Pete's comment after this game is Celtics played great,
but Harden was unreal.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He's still an elite player at thirty six years old,
all right.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So let's get into James Harden's performance during the first
three quarters combined, he scored only fourteen points, attempted only
seven shots. The Celtics had really bottled him up. Jordan
Walsh had some great moments defensively, and really the whole
team played well defensively in bottling up James Harden. But
during that fourth quarter, the man simply went off. As
(11:00):
I already said earlier in the episode, eighteen points during
the fourth quarter, only had to attempt eight shots to
get there, gets to the line for five free throws,
drills three of his four to three pointers.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
The guy just caught fire. And sometimes that happens in
the NBA.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
As we talked about, especially with players who are this good.
James Harden is such a seasoned veteran and he's so
skilled that that type of player can go off at
any moment. So you bottle him up for the first
three quarters, you just never know what's going to happen
during the fourth. I actually think you know the first
part of this comment. The Celtics played great. They did again,
(11:37):
as I said in the open, they if LA wound
up winning this game, it wouldn't have been the Celtics
giving it away, it would have been James Harden stealing it,
because that's how great he played during the fourth quarter. Thankfully,
Jalen Brown was there to help save the day with
thirteen of his own. Nimiashkeida was there to help save
the day with six points during the fourth quarter, and
(11:58):
then again those clutch free throws down the stretch from
Peyton Pritchard and Derek White to seal the game. Just
huge moments for them. And did anyone have a doubt
that's what those guys do. They are shooters and they
are cold blooded. They were gonna make those three pointers,
those free throws all the way once they stepped to
the free throw line. But really, James Harden deserves all
(12:18):
the credit in the world. He was unbelievable during the
fourth quarter, those final couple minutes, and in particular the
final minute when he drilled a couple of three pointers
that were like really, like how was he making these shots?
That's what he does. But I do have to say
he had a chance to tie this game at the
final moment. We're gonna show the play right here. This
(12:41):
play was run to perfection by the La Clippers.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You've got Zubach out there.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
You throw a rifle quarterback pass, talk about a Sunday
quarterback pass from the other end of the court into
Zubach and he touch passes out to his teammate James Harden,
who was red hot for the entire fourth quarter, but
he wasn't hot enough to grab the win. He misses
this shot at the end of regulation.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
He walked away.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
I kept my eyes on him after he missed the shot,
and he's walking away like, I can't believe I missed
that After everything I just did to get the team
back to where they were and almost getting to overtime.
He could not believe he missed that shot. I couldn't
believe it either. Felt like it was faith that it was.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Going to go in it.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
We were gonna get five more minutes of basketball free
basketball on a Sunday, but he missed it, and that
allowed the Boston Celtics to sneak out with their three
point wins. So, yeah, the Celtics did play great. Harden
was unbelievable. He is still an elite player at thirty
six years old, doing a great job of at least
keeping that very injured LA Clippers team competitive this season.
(13:45):
They haven't won many games, and hopefully they did and
thankfully they did not win one today. All right, next
comment is coming in from TMAC in Vermont, whose comment
is partially be a complaint, partially maybe just an observation
about how hard it is to play against elite players
(14:06):
during the fourth quarter of close NBA games.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
But here's a comment.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
After games like this, I can't help but wonder how
teams are supposed to handle these kinds of games if
they are playing against an untouchable SGA Harden Brunson. You're
damned if you do defend whistle foul, damned if you
don't defend open shot swish. So let's dive into this
(14:29):
a little bit. This is what makes the greatest players
in our game the greatest players because they are the
most skilled, they are the most athletic.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And they are the smartest.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
These are the guys that know how to put themselves
in position that are going to lead to success.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
That doesn't always mean that it's a made shot.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Sometimes, as we're referencing here from t Mac and Vermont,
sometimes that's getting to the line. Now, James Harden got
to the line for I belie believe it was eighteen
free throws during this game. Hold on, let me give
you the full number. Fifteen free throws during this game.
Fourteen of his thirty seven points came from the free
(15:11):
throw line. He's been doing this for his entire career,
and he did it again tonight. The man just knows how.
He plays with a rhythm that's extremely difficult to defend,
and he's also so skilled, as Jordan Walsh can probably
attest that anytime he creates just a little bit of space,
you want to get out there to cant test that
shot as hard as possible because you believe that he
(15:34):
might make it just with that little gap, that little opening.
That's the type of fear that these types of players
instill against opposing defenders and opposing teams in general. So
that is what allows them to really create the contact
and take advantage of situations to get to the free
(15:54):
throw line when they aren't connecting on open shots. That's
what Harden did tonight. But it's true guys like Sga
Hard and Brunson, Steph Kurt, like, these guys are smart,
intelligent players Kobe back in the day, like that's what
they do. Now the Celtics have a couple guys on
their roster who do the same thing. But there might
(16:17):
be a little bit of a lesson here for them
that they can maybe do a little bit more of
that moving forward. Jalen Brown, he has been applying pressure
all season on opposing defenses. Love to see that again tonight.
He wasn't settling, and he hasn't really settled much this season.
He did not settle tonight. He was driving to the basket.
Did he make some mid range shots, absolutely, take some
(16:38):
mid range shots, yes, But he was putting pressure in
applying pressure against the Clippers all night long. He actually
got to the line for seven free throws of his own.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
But lesson to be.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Learned, maybe a little bit by him and Jason Tatum
for whenever Jason Tatum does get back into the lineup,
if that's this season, next season, whenever, that is to
figure out a way to apply pressure opposing defenses, not
only with your skill, but with your mind and being
able to manipulate moments. That's what makes some of those
other guys just unbelievable performers during the stretch, and the Celtics,
(17:12):
those two guys for the Celtics have been that as well.
We're talking about a guy who's won Finals MVP, Eastern
Conference Finals MVP, and Jalen Brown for the Boston Celtics,
and then we're talking about Jason Tatum, who is all
world one of the top five players in the world
when it comes to this game of basketball. However, those
other guys that we're talking about in this comment, sga
(17:34):
Hardin Brunson, those guys are clutched down the stretch because
they know how to apply pressure and manipulate defenses to
a point where if they're not making an open shot,
they're almost always going to the free throw line. So
a little bit of a lesson to be learned, but
that it is extremely difficult to play against those types
of players because they have that rare combination of basketball
(17:57):
IQ where they can manipulate the game a little bit,
and they also have that extremely high level of skill
that allows them to make plays when the whistles aren't coming. So,
t Mac and Vermont, I understand your frustration. I don't
think that the Boston Celtics did anything necessarily wrong tonight.
They did their best to try to defend James Harden
(18:19):
without folling. Some whistles just didn't go their way. But
Harden was that great no matter what. So I think
this game was gonna come down to the final minutes
no matter what, because Harden was just that good. But
the Celtics still, to their credit, they cracked the code
and they found a way to win regardless of what
the other team was doing out there on the court.
So the Boston Celtics have an even record at seven
(18:42):
and seven. Now they've got a two game winning streak
heading out to a little bit of an interesting series here.
They've got a home and home series coming up with
the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night. The first game of that
series is in Brooklyn, tips off at seven thirty, and
the second game of that two game series is back
here Friday, night at TD Garden, where these two teams
(19:03):
will play for the second time in four days. So
that's it for tonight's episode of sound Off. We appreciate
you for giving us a listen and a watch, and
also for our fans who have sent in comments to
me on AX after the final buzzer, I will see
you again Tuesday night. Until then, enjoy the rest of
your weekend and we'll see it after that next game.
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