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Boston Celtics (21-12) at Los Angeles Clippers (12-21)
Saturday, January 3, 2026
10:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #34, Road Game #19
TV: NBCSB, FDSN SoCal, NBA-TV
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, KLAC 570, Sirius XM
Intuit Dome 
Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs James Harden
Shooting Guard 
vs
Payton Pritchard vs Kris Dunn
Small Forward 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Kawhi Leonard
Power Forward 
vs
Jordan Walsh vs John Collins
Center 
vs
Neemias Queta vs Ivica Zubac
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Chris Boucher
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Sam Hauser
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Clippers Reserves Nicolas Batum
Kobe Brown
Cam Christie
Derrick Jones, Jr
Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Brook Lopez
Two-Way Players Jordan Miller
Kobe Sanders
TyTy Washington, Jr
Injuries/Out Bradley Beal (hip) out
Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring) out
Ivica Zubac (ankle) available
Chris Paul not with team
Head Coach Tyronn Lue
Game Notes The Celtics visit the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2nd, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 121-118 in Boston on November 16. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. They are 93-46 overall all time against the Clippers and they are 43-28 in games played in Los Angeles.
The Clippers made some changes in the off season. They traded Normal Powell to the Heat in a 3 team trade that brought John Collins to LA from the Jazz. They also traded Mohamed Diawara and Luka Mitrovic to the Knicks for Kobe Sanders and signed him to a 2 way contract. They also signed Brook Lopez, Bradley Beal, and Chris Paul as free agents. They have since sent Chris Paul home and although they haven't waived him or traded him, he is no longer with the team.
The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 3.5 games behind 1st place Detroit, and 2 games behind 2nd place New York. They are 2 games ahead of 4th place Toronto and 2.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia, 6th place Orlando and 7th place Miami. The Celtics are 6-4 against Western Conference opponents. They are 11-7 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games. The Celtics were in 11th place when these two teams played in November.
The Clippers are 11th in the West, 16.5 games behind 1st place OKC, 8.5 games behind 6th place Minnesota, 7 games behind 7th place Phoenix, 3 games behind 9th place Memphis and 1.5 games behind 10th place Portland. They are tied with 12th place Utah and 1 game ahead of 13th place Dallas. The Clippers are 3-7 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 8-8 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 6 games.
This is the last game of a 5 game road trip for the Celtics. They started the trip with a win in Indiana and then lost in Portland and then beat the Jazz and the Kings. All 5 teams on this road trip are below .500. After the trip, they will head home for a 4 game home stand where they host Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio before a 4 game road trip through Indiana, Miami, Atlanta and end the trip at Detroit.
The Clippers are playing in the 4th game of a 5 game home stand. They have already beat Detroit, Sacramento and Utah and will play Golden State to finish the home stand. They will then play New York, Brooklyn and Detroit on the road before heading home to play Charlotte and Washington before another road trip through Toronto Washington, and Chicago.
At this time, Jayson Tatum is the only name on the Celtics injury report. For the Clippers, Bradley Beal is out for the season after being diagnosed with a left hip fracture and having season-ending surgery. Bogdan Bogdanovic is out due to a left hamstring injury. Ivica Zubac is expected to return to action in this game after a 5 game absence with an ankle sprain. Chris Paul is not with the team because, Clipper things.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs James Harden
Harden is averaging 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists while shooting 43.2% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 37 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 40.9% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc. He took 15 free throws in that game. He is very dangerous from both inside and on the perimeter and the Celtics need to stay with him on defense without fouling.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Kawhi Leonard
Leonard is averaging 28.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 50.2% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. He didn't play in the first game against the Celtics. He is coming off a game in which he scored 45 points. This should be a good matchup of 2 of the best two way players in the league.
Honorable MentionNeemias Queta vs Ivica Zubac
Zubac is averaging 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists nd 1.0 blocks. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 1 block while shooting 60% from the field with no 3 pointers. He has missed the last 5 games with a sprained ankle but is expected to return for this game.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is a key to getting a win in this game and in every game. The Clippers have an offensive rating of 115.3 (11th) while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 121.3 (4th). The Celtics are 15th with a defensive rating of 114.2 while the Clippers are 22nd with a defensive rating of 116.6. In Thursday's game, the Celtics allowed the Kings to shoot 55.6% from the field and 50.3% from beyond the arc in the first half, but held them to 37.5% from the field and 20.3% from beyond the arc in the second half. The Celtics need to play tough lock down defense for the entire game and not just for 1 or 2 quarters.
Rebound - Rebounding is also a big key to winning. It is very important now because the Celtics have struggled on the boards in their losses this season. The Celtics are 6-8 in games in which they are out-rebounded by their opponents. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than their opponents. Every Celtic must crash the boards and fight for rebounds.
Energy and Effort for 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to come out with energy and have to play harder than the Clippers from the opening tip until the final buzzer. 100% effort from every Celtic will be needed to get a win in this one. The Clippers have been playing very well and the Celtics can't expect to win with less than 100% effort for all 4 quarters. They have to be the more aggressive team, getting off to a fast start and playing hard right up to the final buzzer with no let up. They will get the Clippers best effort and so the Celtics simply must work harder with no let up.
Bench Contributions - In the first game against the Clippers, the Celtics got just 16 points from their bench while the Clippers reserves gave them 37 points. Against Sacramento, the Celtics reserves chipped in 46 points. The Clippers have a very good starting lineup and so the game may come down to how well reserves from both teams play.
Don't Underestimate - For the 5th straight game, the Celtics are facing a team that is under .500. It would be easy for the Celtics to underestimate the Clippers and expect an easy win against an 12 win team. That would be a mistake because the Celtics barely beat them in Boston without Kawhi Leonard. With Kawhi, they are a tough team to beat. The Celtics have to come out strong from the start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. The Clippers are very capable of beating them if they don't play their best.
X-Factors Last Game On the Road - The Celtics are on the road, playing in the Pacific time zone and have the distractions of travel, hotel stays, missing family, and playing in front of a hostile crowd. They have to overcome all those distractions and stay focused on playing as a team and on giving their best effort. The last game of a long road trip is always the toughest and so the Celtics need to stay extra focused and play their hardest if they want to win this one.
Officiating - I know that I say this every game, but the officiating always can be an x-factor in every game. Every crew calls the game differently whether they call every little ticky tack foul or they let a lot of contact go and let the teams play. Some refs favor the home team and some not so much. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let the officiating take away from their focus.
Topic: Celtics (21-12) at Clippers (12-21) Game #34 1/3/26 (Read 200 times)