Boston Celtics vs. San Antonio Spurs 12/15/12: Video Highlights and Recap

No Kawhi Leonard, no Steven Jackson and no Manu Ginobili? No problem for the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night. The hosting Spurs convincingly beat the Boston Celtics with a 103-88 victory to improve to 19-6 on the season.

The first quarter didn’t do very much in helping decide this one. Boston got out to a quick 8-2 lead but the Spurs quickly bounced back. A buzzer-beater off the glass from Jason Terry brought the Celts within four points at the end of the period.

Ginobili went down with a left thigh contusion in the final moments of the first quarter and didn’t return for the duration. He had just three points on 1-of-2 shooting in four minutes of action prior to leaving.

Terry led all scorers with 17 points at the half. Gary Neal added a team-high 12 for the Spurs.

The third quarter was much of the same back-and-forth action until Neal and Danny Green hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Spurs a 6-point lead with eight minutes to play in the period. That ignited an 11-0 scoring run by Neal and Green that put the Spurs ahead.

Boston brought the lead back down the six points but the three-point barrage by the Spurs in the fourth quarter kept the game in their favor.

For a complete look at the box score, check out NBA.com.

Player of the Game: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

Parker attacked the paint and got his teammates involved in the fourth quarter to deliver the knockout blow to the Celtics. He made a couple of contested shots around the rim and knocked down a triple to help boost the Spurs’ fourth-quarter run that sealed the win for the home team.

He finished with a team and game-high 22 points. The trusty veteran also added eight assists, four steals and three rebounds.

What’s Next for Boston?

The Celtics will continue their road trip but will get a couple of days off. They’ll play next when they travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at the United Center.

What’s Next for San Antonio?

The Spurs will take the day off on Sunday and then make the trip to Oklahoma City on Monday to take on the Western Conference-leading Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

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