Game ID: 22500493
Boston Celtics @ LA Clippers
Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 10:30 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 28 35 36 16 115BOS 42 29 42 33 146
BOS @ LAC ScoutingBOS @ LAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAC availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Jones Jr. missed 16 since 11/17, out tonight
BACK Miller back 12/15 after 4, 12 min since (55% of 22)
BACK Niederhäuser back 12/15 after 3, 10 min since (92% of 10)
NEW Leonard 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 23 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's restOUT Zubac missed 2 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Jones Jr. missed 17 since 11/17, returns tonight: 18 min (68% of 27)
BACK Miller back 12/15 after 4, 13 min since (57% of 22)
BACK Niederhäuser back 12/15 after 3, 10 min since (102% of 10)
NEW Leonard 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 24 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Zubac missed 3 since 12/23, out tonight
BACK Jones Jr. back 12/28 after 17, 18 min since (68% of 27)
BACK Niederhäuser back 12/23 after 2, 13 min since (129% of 10)
NEW Leonard 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Lopez 22 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 25 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Zubac missed 4 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Bogdanović missed 2 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Jones Jr. back 12/28 after 17, 19 min since (71% of 27)
BACK Niederhäuser back 12/23 after 2, 16 min since (158% of 10)
NEW Leonard 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Lopez 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 25 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Zubac missed 5 since 12/23, returns tonight: 21 min (67% of 31)
OUT Bogdanović missed 3 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Jones Jr. back 12/28 after 17, 21 min since (77% of 27)
BACK Niederhäuser back 12/23 after 2, 18 min since (179% of 10)
NEW Leonard 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Lopez 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 27 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Bogdanović missed 4 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Zubac back 1/03 after 5, 21 min since (67% of 31)
BACK Jones Jr. back 12/28 after 17, 22 min since (81% of 27)
NEW Leonard 32 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Batum 18 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Niederhäuser 10 to 17 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Bogdanović missed 5 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Zubac back 1/03 after 5, 27 min since (87% of 31)
BACK Jones Jr. back 12/28 after 17, 22 min since (81% of 27)
NEW Batum 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Niederhäuser 10 to 18 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Jones Jr. missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Bogdanović missed 6 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Zubac back 1/03 after 5, 28 min since (91% of 31)
LAC availability going into 1/10 · back-to-backOUT Jones Jr. missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Bogdanović missed 7 since 12/28, out tonight
BACK Zubac back 1/03 after 5, 27 min since (88% of 31)
BOS availability going into 12/26 · 3 days' restOUT Boucher missed 12 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 25 min since (162% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 13 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 26 min since (165% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 14 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 22 min since (142% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 15 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 21 min since (137% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 4 since 12/26, returns tonight: 3 min (18% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 16 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 21 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 17 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
BOS availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 18 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
BOS availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 19 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 21 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/10 · back-to-backOUT Minott missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 20 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 22 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 100, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 29 free throws a game; Leonard at 40 and Harden at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Zubac (5 straight), Bogdanović (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and White at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Minott (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and the Clippers minus-3 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 100 a night to Boston's 111. Call it the Clippers 115, Boston 112, Boston keeping it close.
12/26 @ POR 119-103 — LAC notes
LAC won 119-103. LAC shot 51% (35 of 69) to POR's 45%, 20 of 40 from three, and went to the line 31 times to POR's 22 — 29 points from the stripe to their 15. The glass went 32-43 against them. Harden led with 34 (10 of 17, 3 of 9 from three, 11 of 12 at the line); Lopez added 31, Leonard 28. The hinge was Q3, 29-16: LAC came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 7, and the lead reached 16. LAC trailed 56-62 at the half and won the second half 63-41. Batum was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
12/28 vs DET 112-99 — LAC notes
LAC won 112-99. LAC shot 47% (35 of 75) to DET's 41%, 14 of 34 from three. The glass went 35-45 against them. Leonard led with 55 (17 of 26, 5 of 10 from three, 16 of 17 at the line); Harden added 28, Batum 12. The hinge was Q1, 33-20: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 26. Batum was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
12/30 vs SAC 131-90 — LAC notes
LAC won 131-90. LAC shot 51% (46 of 90) to SAC's 41%, 14 of 38 from three, and went to the line 32 times to SAC's 14 — 25 points from the stripe to their 13. LAC turned it over 3 times to SAC's 18. Leonard led with 33 (11 of 19, 5 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Harden added 21, Niederhäuser 16. The hinge was Q2, 39-20: a lead of 14 became 33, and the lead reached 43. Leonard was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
1/01 vs UTA 118-101 — LAC notes
LAC won 118-101. LAC shot 45% (40 of 89) to UTA's 46%, 16 of 51 from three. LAC turned it over 12 times to UTA's 18. The glass went 47-35 for them. Leonard led with 45 (16 of 29, 6 of 16 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Harden added 20, Batum 14. The hinge was Q4, 36-20: a lead of 1 became 17, and the lead reached 21. Niederhäuser was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/03 vs BOS 115-146 — LAC notes
LAC lost 115-146. LAC shot 50% (42 of 84) to BOS's 55%, 15 of 38 from three. The glass went 30-46 against them. Leonard led with 22 (6 of 17, 2 of 8 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Collins added 22, Jones Jr. 19. Q2 was theirs, 35-29, the deficit cut from 14 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 117-80 against them. Harden's -24 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/05 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Leonard at 37 and Harden at 24 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Bogdanović (4 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 124, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ste. Curry at 31 and Butler III at 18 a game. Without Kuminga (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 108 a night to Golden State's 124 and the turnovers, Golden State giving it away 16 times a game to the Clippers' 9. Call it the Clippers 118, Golden State 113.
1/07 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 124, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and McBride at 17 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Hart (6 straight), Shamet (20 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Leonard at 36 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Bogdanović (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 108 a night to New York's 124 and the glass, where the Clippers have been minus-1 a night and New York minus-6. Call it the Clippers 116, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
1/09 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 28 free throws a game; Porter Jr. at 29 and Dëmin at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Saraf (11 straight), Martin (2 straight), Wilson (2 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Leonard at 30 and Harden at 20 a game. Without Jones Jr. (2 straight), Bogdanović (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been minus-0 a night and Brooklyn minus-8 and the turnovers, Brooklyn giving it away 15 times a game to the Clippers' 11. Call it the Clippers 113, Brooklyn 112, Brooklyn keeping it close.
1/10 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Cunningham at 28 and Stewart at 13 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Harris (4 straight), Duren (3 straight). 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Leonard at 28 and Harden at 23 a game. Without Jones Jr. (3 straight), Bogdanović (7 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 103 a night to the Clippers' 115. Call it Detroit 118, the Clippers 108, Detroit by 10.
12/26 @ IND 140-122 — BOS notes
BOS won 140-122. BOS shot 57% (47 of 83) to IND's 49%, 20 of 39 from three, and went to the line 34 times to IND's 20 — 26 points from the stripe to their 16. Brown led with 30 (13 of 20, 2 of 3 from three); Pritchard added 29, Hauser 23. The hinge was Q2, 47-22: BOS came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 28. Garza was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/28 @ POR 108-114 — BOS notes
BOS lost 108-114. BOS shot 44% (40 of 91) to POR's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. Brown led with 37 (14 of 23, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); González added 13, Simons 13. Q2 was theirs, 33-24, turning a 1-point deficit into a 8-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 90-75 against them. They led by as many as 10. Simons's -15 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/30 @ UTA 129-119 — BOS notes
BOS won 129-119. BOS shot 51% (48 of 94) to UTA's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. BOS turned it over 7 times to UTA's 13. White led with 27 (8 of 16, 2 of 10 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 23, Simons 20. The hinge was Q3, 40-32: BOS came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 3. BOS trailed 59-64 at the half and won the second half 70-55. Simons was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/01 @ SAC 120-106 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-106. BOS shot 51% (44 of 87) to SAC's 47%, 17 of 41 from three. Brown led with 29 (11 of 25, 1 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); White added 16, Pritchard 16. The hinge was Q4, 32-18: from level to 14 ahead. González was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/03 @ LAC 146-115 — BOS notes
BOS won 146-115. BOS shot 55% (53 of 96) to LAC's 50%, 24 of 51 from three. The glass went 46-30 for them. Brown led with 50 (18 of 26, 6 of 10 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); White added 29, Simons 15. The hinge was Q4, 33-16: a lead of 14 became 31. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/05 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 34 and White at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Vučević at 20 and Buzelis at 16 a game. Without Giddey (3 straight), White (3 straight), Collins (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Chicago's 33 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Chicago plus-1. Call it Boston 123, Chicago 113, Boston by 10.
1/07 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and White at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 123, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Watson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Jokić (4 straight), Johnson (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Denver minus-10 and the defense, Boston allowing 111 a night to Denver's 123. Call it Boston 122, Denver 113.
1/09 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and White at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Minott (2 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 28 from three, 23 free throws a game; Barrett at 23 and Ingram at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Poeltl (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 39 percent from three to Toronto's 28 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-10 a night and Toronto plus-3. Call it Boston 116, Toronto 110.
1/10 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Pritchard at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Minott (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 30 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Champagnie at 20 a game. Without Vassell (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to San Antonio's 30 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio plus-2. Call it Boston 117, San Antonio 114, San Antonio keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAS A. Simons
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JM J. Minott
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
LACBL B. Lopez
CC C. Christie
DJ D. Jones Jr.
IZ I. Zubac
JC J. Collins
JH J. Harden
JM J. Miller
KB K. Brown
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
KS K. Sanders
NB N. Batum
YN Y. Niederhäuser
BOS/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Jaylen Brown ties career high with 50 points in Celtics' 146-115 romp over Clippers
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — Jaylen Brown matched his career high with 50 points and the Boston Celtics completed a successful West Coast swing with a 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Brown had 19 points in the third quarter. Derrick White added 29 points and Anfernee Simons had 15 as the Celtics went 4-1 on the trip and 3-1 against Western Conference teams. Boston is 7-1 since Dec. 19.
Brown was 18 of 26 from the floor, while White went 10 of 20. Boston shot 55.2% overall and 47.1% from 3-point range. Brown and White combined to go 11 of 22 from long range.
Kawhi Leonard and John Collins each scored 22 points as the Clippers saw their season-best, six-game winning streak end. Collins made his first eight shots in the game and went 9 of 10 from the floor.
Derrick Jones scored 19 points for Los Angeles before leaving in the fourth quarter with an apparent right knee injury. James Harden had 18 points and 12 assists, and Ivica Zubac had four points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes after missing the previous five games with a sprained left ankle.
Brown put the game away with nine consecutive Celtics points for a 128-107 lead with 6:15 remaining. He scored inside in traffic with 3:56 remaining to reach 50 points.