Celtics-Spurs recap: Tatum scores 29, C's extend win streak to eight

Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday has played through a pinky injury on his right hand for the last month or so. What has that experience been like? He explains in the video player above.

Luke Kornet was the player of the game for the Celtics, and his postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin didn't disappoint.

Kornet scored 15 points with a career-high 16 rebounds (seven offensive) in 31 minutes off the bench. The Celtics outscored the Spurs by 21 points when Kornet was on the floor.

Check out the exclusive interview in the video player above.

The Celtics clinched a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with their win over the Spurs.

Check out the video above for instant reaction from Tom Giles, Chris Forsberg and Eddie House on NBC Sports Boston's Celtics Postgame Live.

Not only do the Celtics have the best road record in the league at 31-7, they are beating teams at a historic rate.

Score: 121-109, 1:10 left in fourth quarter

Jayson Tatum is now up to 29 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Score: 117-107 Celtics, 3:11 left in fourth quarter

The Celtics have hit 17 3-pointers in this game, giving them 1,323 for the season, which is the third-most in NBA history:

Score: 108-101 Celtics, 5:30 left in fourth quarter

Chris Paul just hit two 3-pointers on the last three Spurs possessions, and he has eight points in the quarter. The Spurs trail by just seven points, which is the closest they've been since the middle of the second quarter.

The Celtics outscored the Spurs 31-29 in the third quarter and will enter the fourth with a 13-point advantage as they try to secure their eighth straight win.

Jayson Tatum has a chance for a triple-double with a team-leading 23 points, along with eight assists and eight rebounds.

Jrue Holiday has scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting (4-for-5 from 3-point range). It's just his fifth game with 20-plus points this season. Luke Kornet has played awesome off the bench with 11 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds.

Score: 72-61 Celtics, 6:55 left in third quarter

It took 3:20 into the third quarter for the Celtics to score their first points of the second half, but they still lead by 11 thanks to Luke Kornet, who has made three baskets during this span. Two of them were alley-oop dunks.

Kornet has 11 points and a team-leading nine rebounds (five offensive) so far. He's been one of Boston's best players.

The Spurs made a nice run in the middle of the second quarter and trimmed the deficit to just four at 49-45 with 4:23 left in the half. But the Celtics responded well and took an eight-point lead into the intermission.

Jrue Holiday leads the C's with 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum (12 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (11 points, four rebounds, two blocks) also played very well for Boston in the first half.

The Celtics are shooting 42.3 percent (11-for-26) on 3-pointers. The Spurs are shooting just 26.1 percent (6-for-23) from beyond the arc.

Stephon Castle leads the Spurs with 13 points. Keldon Johnson has 12 points off the bench.

Score: 49-445 Celtics, 4:23 left in second quarter

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is tied for the team lead with 11 points. He also has tallied four rebounds, two blocks and one assist. That one assist was a nice feed to Luke Kornet for a two-handed slam.

The Celtics shot 10-for-17 on 3-pointers in the first quarter of Thursday's win against the Suns. They hit 8-of-17 shots from beyond the arc over the first 12 minutes versus the Spurs. Six of the eight C's players who played in the first quarter made at least one 3-point shot.

Jrue Holiday is 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and leads the Celtics with 11 points. Jayson Tatum has eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Spurs started out 1-for-8 from the field but improved throughout the quarter. Devin Vassell leads San Antonio with eight points.

Here are some important stats from the first quarter:

Score: 33-24 Celtics, 2:22 left in first quarter

The Celtics are 7-for-13 on 3-pointers so far. Jrue Holiday has made three of his four attempts from beyond the arc and leads Boston with 11 points.

Score: 15-8 Celtics, 7:02 left in first quarter

All five starters have scored for the Celtics in the first five minutes, led by Derrick White's five points. The Spurs have started 1-for-8 from the field. Boston's defense has been fantastic so far. Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis both have a block.

Score: 0-0, 11:59 left in first quarter

The Celtics won the tip and the game has begun.

Celtics

• Jrue Holiday
• Derrick White
• Jaylen Brown
• Jayson Tatum
• Kristaps Porzingis

Spurs

• Chris Paul
• Stephon Castle
• Devin Vassell
• Harrison Barnes
• Jeremy Sochan

The Memphis Grizzlies surprisingly fired head coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday despite being tied for fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

C's forward Xavier Tillman, who played for the Grizzlies from 2020-21 through last season's trade deadline, reacted to the Jenkings firing before Saturday's game in San Antonio.

The Celtics have a chance to move up to No. 3 on the all-time leaderboard for the most 3-pointers made by a team in one season.

• 2022-23 Warriors: 1,363 3-point shots made
• 2023-24 Celtics: 1,351
• 2018-19 Rockets: 1,323
• 2022-23 Celtics: 1,315
• 2024-25 Celtics: 1,306

The Celtics will be without Al Horford and Payton Pritchard in San Antonio. This will be just the second game Pritchard has missed this season.

The Celtics have the best road record in the NBA this season at 30-7, and they can improve that with a win tonight versus the Spurs.

In fact, the C's own the third-best road win percentage in league history.