Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points against Sam Houser and the Celtics on Tuesday.
Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points against Sam Houser and the Celtics on Tuesday.Eric Gay/Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO – Perhaps it was a bit too soon to place the pressure on Jayson Tatum to carry the Celtics in his third game back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. The club needed somebody to respond after Jaylen Brown was unceremoniously ejected in the second quarter with two quick technical fouls.
The Celtics spent the remaining 2 ½ quarters chasing the Spurs, but were unable to catch the hottest team in the NBA. But they have to leave Frost Bank Arena encouraged despite the 125-116 loss on Tuesday.
Tatum continues to improve and make strides. Derrick White has been an All-Star caliber player since Tatum’s return, and the Celtics refused to relent despite missing their All-Star for more than half the game.
There are no moral victories for Boston and especially coach Joe Mazzulla, but this defeat is excusable and lets the Celtics know they can compete with the elite teams when they are truly elite.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is a slightly below average 3-point shooter, perhaps the lone weakness in his game, and he tied tie his career high with eight triples as San Antonio hit 20, one short of a season high.
The Celtics’ defensive strategy was to allow a Spurs team that was 17th in the NBA in 3-point makes and 18th in percentage to launch away and they got burned by that plan. But they can also say they pushed the Spurs with their most productive player unavailable after being ejected by official Suyash Mehta after arguing a no-call when he appeared to be nudged out of bounds by Stephon Castle.
Brown was called for falling out of bounds and then went right after crew chief Tyler Ford, and he continued to argue after he received the first technical foul and was then tossed by Mehta, who was a standing about 15 feet away. The Celtics have had issues with officiating all season, especially Brown and Mazzulla, and they believe they aren’t getting enough respect from officials in these high-profile games.
They may have a point, but Brown has to keep his composure better there and Mehta, who officiated 198 games before this season, was too eager to jump into the exchange that was between Ford and Brown. Ford should have been allowed to make that ultimate decision.
That ejection became the central issue and talking point an in otherwise entertaining game. But the Celtics can learn greatly from this performance and should view it as a positive because they were shorthanded. The Spurs were uncharacteristically hot from the 3-point line, and nights like that are going to happen.
The Celtics didn’t have all their weapons. In addition to Brown, Payton Pritchard missed the game with a neck strain. Tatum, still on a minutes restriction, scored 24 points in 27 minutes but missed 10 3-pointers, sometimes settling for the long-range shot.
Tatum is still in the process of acclimating to the game’s physicality. On a sequence in the first half, Tatum attempted a layup with Wembanyama on his right and the 7-foot-4 center pushed Tatum on his attempt to contest the shot and sent him sliding several feet.
He had an issue with the shove.
“Me and the ref definitely had a talk about it,” he said. “I’m like, ‘how the [expletive] you didn’t see that?’ It was cool, just had a quick talk and went back to the huddle.”
It’s uncertain how long Tatum’s minutes will be limited, but he admitted he can play more his current 27-minute target, especially when the moment screamed for more Tatum because of Brown’s ejection. Tatum followed with perhaps the best news since his return.
“I’m not thinking about my Achilles,” he said. “I’m trying to compete; I’m trying to be out there but it’s part of the plan, so I’ve got to stick with it. I understand the bigger picture and the moment.”
The bigger picture is that the Celtics need to be prepared for the bigger moment. San Antonio has now won 16 of 17 games. Wembanyama, finally completely healthy, is an MVP candidate and the Spurs have stacked up years of lottery picks along with shifty point guard De’Aaron Fox as they try to return to the glory days of the early 2000s and mid-2010s.
This week is a great test for the Celtics, three consecutive games against teams with championship aspirations. They dominated the Cavaliers on Sunday in Cleveland before holding onto an 11-point win and they led by as many as 7 in the first half Tuesday. They were up by a bucket when Brown was tossed with 3:58 left in the half and trailed by 1 midway through the fourth quarter before a four-minute scoring skid ruined any chance of a mammoth road win.
The Celtics walked away angry and disrespected after this loss, but should also feel more encouraged about their chances to compete. Despite hitting 52 percent of their shots and 42 from the 3-point line, the Spurs couldn’t blow the Celtics out.
They had to rely on an extraordinary shooting night from Wembanyama, and some timely shot making from his teammates to prevail. Tuesday was definitely a step forward for the Celtics, but that doesn’t mean they have to like the result or the officiating.
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Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.