The Clippers’ Paul George, right, is defended by the Boston Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, right, fouls the Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin reacts to a foul being called on him during the first half of their game against the Clippers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Luke Kennard (5) drives past the Boston Celtics’ Derrick White during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George shoots over the Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard drives past the Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Leonard had 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting to go with nine rebounds and six assists in a 113-93 win. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac is fouled by the Boston Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin, center, grabs the net while attempting to block a shot by the Clippers’ Paul George during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Players on the Boston Celtics’ bench celebrate after Derrick White, not shown, made a 3-point shot during the first half of their game against the Clippers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George drives toward the basket as the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, right, fouls the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart draws a charge on the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Paul George shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard handles the ball during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Terance Mann takes a shot during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Paul George, right, is defended by the Boston Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Clippers guard Reggie Jackson shoots during the first half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Marcus Morris Sr. looks to shoot as the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, center, defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George takes a shot over the Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Grant Williams shoots as the Clippers’ Paul George defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard controls the ball as the Boston Celtics’ Blake Griffin defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart, top, reaches for a loose ball over the Clippers’ Paul George during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George is fouled by the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard shoots as the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum controls the ball as the Clippers’ Terance Mann defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown looks to shoot as the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum, center, defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin shows his frustration during the second half of their game against the Clippers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum gets to the basket for a layup as the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard watches during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, left, pressures the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown shoots during the second half of their game against the Clippers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum goes up for a shot as the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, left, passes the ball while under defensive pressure from the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, right, during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Boston Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon, front, loses his balance as he dribbles past the Clippers’ John Wall during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Terance Mann, right, fouls the Boston Celtics’ Grant Williams during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George, left, and Kawhi Leonard, center, fight for position with the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard runs down the court during the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, top, is fouled by the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, right, and Paul George look to get a rebound as the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum watches during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard grabs a rebound during the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Leonard had 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting to go with nine rebounds and six assists in a 113-93 win. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, right, is greeted by Nicolas Batum after making a shot during the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Clippers’ Paul George, left, and Kawhi Leonard watch from the bench during the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LOS ANGELES — The plan sounded simple. To keep the Boston Celtics’ duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown away from the perimeter all the Clippers had to do was close them out, run them off the 3-point line and be ready to block out on the backside.
In other words, defend and defend some more.
“It’s definitely going to be a multiple-effort night defensively,” Coach Tyronn Lue said. “If we don’t have multiple efforts, it could be a tough night for us.”
Lue got that and more.
The Celtics, behind the pinpoint shooting of Tatum and Brown, came into the game averaging 39.7% from behind the arc making any given night difficult for opponents. Even Lue said the two cause opponents to focus their energies on stopping them.
“It’s tough. Jaylen is playing at a high level and Tatum’s playing at the MVP level,” Lue said. “Best duo in the league.”
On Monday, however, they weren’t necessarily the best duo on the floor. That distinction belonged to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The two Clippers stars combined for 51 points and 15 rebounds in a 113-93 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
George finished with 26 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Leonard had a season-high 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting to go with nine rebounds and six assists.
This is what Lue and Clippers fans have been waiting 28 games to see. Both stars healthy. Both of them on the court at the same time. Both moving well. Both scoring and both coming up big against the league’s best team.
The Celtics (21-7) came into the game with the best offensive rating in the league (121.0), the highest in NBA history, and with two players who were combining to average 56.8 points per game. The only other teammates in recent NBA history to rate higher were Shaquille O’Neal with Kobe Bryant (2000-01 and 2002-03) and James Harden with Russell Westbrook in Houston (1999-2000).
Tatum scored 20 points and Brown had 21; combined they made just 3 of 14 3-point attempts. As a team, the Celtics shot 9 for 36 (23.1%) from behind the arc, while the Clippers made 10 of 25 (40%).
“We know Kawhi and we know he is a gamer,” Lue said. “So the No. 1 team in the league is coming into your building and you have two dynamic players that are playing well, he’s up for that challenge.
“So, we knew it was going to be a big game for him. I really felt comfortable with this game coming into tonight and our guys, we rose to the challenge.”
Leonard, who has played in just eight games this season, explained his performance this way: “I made shots. That’s it. Shots went in. Shot 12 times, ball went in more than I missed.”
George had a little more to say about how well his teammate played, saying that Leonard, who is still on a minutes restriction, appears to have reached midseason form.
“It’s the same Kawhi,” Goerge said. “I think he’s just playing more, he’s getting more reps. I think up to this point, he’s played his warm-up games, his preparation games to get him to this point.
“I think more than anything, he’s just more aware of his minutes and being on a minute restriction that with the minutes that he do have, he’s going to use them and make them count.”
The hundreds of green-clad Celtics fans who came to Monday’s game no doubt were hoping to watch their team demolish the Clippers. But the Clippers (16-13) had won the previous two games against Boston, both close contests.
This wasn’t close.
The Clippers led by as many as 24 points (104-80) on a 12-foot jump shot by Leonard with 6:37 left, following a 24-foot 3-pointer less than a minute earlier. The Clippers didn’t let up. Luke Kennard, who had watched his 3-point shots falter as of late, was 2 for 5 from long range and finished with 12 points.
Marcus Morris Sr. scored 13 points and John Wall had six points and four assists. Terance Mann contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
More important, perhaps, is the way the Clippers were able to keep the Celtics off the perimeter.
“I thought we did a good job of just attacking the matchups we wanted to attack,” Lue said.
They became the first team to hold the Celtics under 100 points this season.
“We did a great job pretty much across the whole board,” George said.
The Clippers stretched a nine-point halftime lead to 71-57 on a layup by center Ivica Zubac off an assist from Leonard with 6:27 left in the third quarter.
Zubac had been listed as questionable earlier in the day because of a strained groin muscle he tweaked during Saturday’s game against Washington. But his struggles Monday weren’t so much because of his injury but four early fouls. He finished with four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes.
The Celtics, who lost consecutive games for only the second time this season, had trouble hitting from outside early on, landing just three long-range shots in the first quarter and six for the half. Instead, they took advantage of the Clippers’ small lineup for easier layups. Zubac was called for two quick fouls and sat as Boston erased a 12-point deficit in the second quarter.
Zubac returned briefly late in the second but went back to the bench after picking up his third foul. But the Clippers didn’t lose focus without their big man. They continued to slow Brown and Tatum, who weren’t as much of a factor as the Clippers scrapped together a 56-47 halftime lead.
NOTES
A moment of silence was held for former NBA standout Paul Silas who died Sunday. He coached the Clippers for three seasons (1980-83) and played for the Celtics (1973-76). …. Lue said Norman Powell (groin) is progressing in his rehabilitation, but there is no date for his return. … Former Clipper Blake Griffin started in place of Al Horford (personal reasons). He picked up a technical foul in the second quarter for grabbing the net. … The Clippers next host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in the second of five straight home games.
