Victor Wembanyama, Spurs too much for Celtics in home loss

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Jan 10, 2026

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BOSTON — The Celtics traded blows with one of the top teams in the NBA on Saturday night. But in the end, they could not contain the unique talents of Victor Wembanyama.

San Antonio’s 7-foot-4 superstar scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Spurs to a 100-95 win at TD Garden.

Boston threw several different defenders at Wembanyama and gave massive workloads to their top stars. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White both set season highs for minutes played (43 and 42, respectively) on the second night of a back-to-back.

White led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-26 shooting (plus nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks), and Brown finished with 27 points on 11-of-28 shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. But the Celtics’ offense struggled after halftime with back-to-back 20-point quarters, and Brown committed five turnovers, including one especially costly giveaway with 47 seconds remaining and Boston trailing by two.

The Celtics came into the game light on wing depth after ruling out Josh Minott (ankle sprain) and Sam Hauser (hamstring tightness). Minott fell out of the rotation before his injury, but Hauser had started the previous four games and was coming off one of his better outings of the season (19 points, 5 for 7 from 3 vs. Toronto).

To fill Hauser’s spot, head coach Joe Mazzulla inserted rookie Hugo Gonzalez into the top unit for the first time since Oct. 26. Why Gonzalez over Jordan Walsh, who started 20 straight games before giving way to Hauser last weekend? The move appeared to be matchup-driven.

Mazzulla seemingly wanted to deploy the longer Walsh against Wembanyama, who’s come off the bench for San Antonio since returning from a recent knee injury. (Ex-Celtics Luke Kornet started against his former team and received a tribute video during the first quarter.) When Wembanyama checked in for the first time, Walsh replaced Gonzalez and drew the primary assignment of guarding the towering Spurs star.

He held up well at first. Wembanyama attempted just one shot in his first seven-minute shift, and that was blocked by Luka Garza.

At the other end, Brown hit two high-arcing first-quarter 3-pointers over Wembanyama’s outstretched arms. Garza also made two 3s in the opening period, including one against Wembanyama.

Gonzalez also had his chances to guard San Antonio’s unicorn big man — though he might wish he hadn’t. After Walsh surrendered an offensive rebound and was called to the bench, Gonzalez picked up Wembanyama. Less than a minute later, Wembanyama put him on a poster with a powerful driving dunk.

He totaled just five points during a low-scoring first half, however. The Celtics led 55-50 at halftime, thanks largely to the production of Brown and White. Each scored 17 in the first half, going 7 for 12 and 7 for 13 from the field, respectively.

But the Celtics couldn’t bottle up Wembanyama forever. He began to assert himself in the third quarter, scoring nine straight Spurs points and blocking shots by Brown and Anfernee Simons. After Wembanyama converted an and-one fast-break lob from Stephon Castle, Mazzulla lifted Walsh and passed off that matchup to Baylor Scheierman.

Scheierman, who was coming off his first DNP-CD since Nov. 11, has used hustle plays like drawn charges and deflections to carve out a tenuous foothold in Boston’s rotation. Late in the third quarter, he intercepted a Keldon Johnson pass and raced for a transition dunk, then poked the ball away from Kornet to force another Spurs turnover.

Brown drilled two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the third, including a stepback over 2025 Rookie of the Year Castle. But De’Aaron Fox closed the quarter with four straight points to cut Boston’s lead to 75-73, and Julian Champagnie opened the fourth with a go-ahead corner three in front of the Celtics’ bench. Wembanyama then blocked a Brown layup and dunked at the other end as part of a 9-0 Spurs run.

The Celtics responded with 3s by White, Scheierman and Simons to pull back ahead. Another Scheierman triple and a White layup — past a visibly fatigued Wembanyama — made it 89-84 and triggered a San Antonio timeout with 5:23 remaining. Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson sat Wembanyama for a spell, then reinserted him with 2:50 to go, this time pairing him with Kornet in a double-big lineup for the first time.

The Spurs outscored the Celtics 12-4 from that point forward, with Wembanyama putting San Antonio ahead and then icing the game with a pair of midrange makes. Boston had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute, but Brown fumbled the ball away, leading to a Champagnie layup that made it 97-93.