Does the Spurs’ latest win in Boston signals a shift in the NBA’s balance of power?

The Spurs are living an idyllic season compared with everything that came before. Barring a shock, they are on track for their first playoff appearance since 2019 – a landmark achievement after seven years away that followed a run of 22 straight postseason berths, tying a record in US sports. Now they have rediscovered their identity, with Victor Wembanyama as both standard-bearer and savior – the definitive bet that stands as the final legacy of Gregg Popovich, now watching from the wings and able to feel proud of a job completed. The Texans look comfortable, they are enjoying themselves, and these years have served to build a new project capable of competing for everything. And in an NBA that has produced seven different champions in seven seasons, that matters.

Even so, despite the thrashing with which they dispatched the Lakers in their last outing in San Antonio, they faced a difficult visit to the Garden – that cradle of basketball which has hosted so many historic moments. The Celtics had begun the season facing what looked like a transitional year, driven by departures to create more salary flexibility and by Jayson Tatum’s injury. All of that seemed ominous, but Jaylen Brown’s role and Joe Mazzulla’s smart rotation work have revived belief in Boston that anything is possible – including reclaiming the 2023 title, the franchise’s 18th (one more than the Lakers’ 17). If the NBA felt open, the Eastern Conference felt even more so.

The game arrived with poor recent history for the Spurs, who had lost their previous five meetings with the Celtics. But that was the past. Things were different now: the Texans, in strong form despite losing the NBA Cup final, believed in themselves more than ever and know what they must do to be in the best possible position by April. They came in hopeful with a 3–2 record over their last five games. The Celtics, though, arrived in even better shape: five wins in their last six, a remarkable climb and the chance to keep building. Their collective play was a joy, maximizing the three-point era – and Hugo González, who took the leap across the Atlantic and is steadily establishing himself both in the world’s best league and within a Celtics rotation he has fully broken into, blessings included.

And so it played out: a spectacular victory for the Spurs, who conquered the Garden with a unique, extraordinary performance, winning 100–95. Julian Champagnie posted 12 points, 13 rebounds and three assists; De’Aaron Fox had 21, nine and six; and Keldon Johnson added 18 and 10. Wembanyama, meanwhile, again came off the bench as a physical precaution and played just over 26 minutes, enough to score 21 points, grab six boards and block three shots. On a night when neither team ever led by more than 10, the 27–20 run the hosts suffered in the fourth quarter proved decisive. Jaylen Brown’s 27 points and Derrick White’s 29 came to nothing. González started but did not score, finishing with four rebounds and three assists. None of it mattered. The Spurs conquered the Garden. Let the NBA tremble.

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Boston Celtics

Stats

7 Jaylen Brown
28 Hugo González
88 Neemias Queta
11 Payton Pritchard
9 Derrick White
99 Chris Boucher
52 Luka Garza
13 Ron Harper Jr.
55 Baylor Scheierman
44 Max Shulga
4 Anfernee Simons
26 Xavier Tillman
27 Jordan Walsh
77 Amari Williams

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
7 Jaylen Brown	43	27	8	0	8	7	5	0	0	0/0	6/17	5/11	0	4	0
28 Hugo González	12	0	4	0	4	3	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	3	0
88 Neemias Queta	23	9	13	4	9	2	1	0	2	1/2	4/6	0/0	0	1	0
11 Payton Pritchard	28	4	5	0	5	4	0	1	0	0/0	2/6	0/3	0	0	0
9 Derrick White	42	29	9	3	6	3	1	2	2	2/2	6/9	5/17	0	4	0
99 Chris Boucher	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
52 Luka Garza	25	11	6	1	5	0	1	0	1	0/0	1/2	3/4	0	2	0
13 Ron Harper Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
55 Baylor Scheierman	26	10	2	0	2	0	1	2	0	0/0	2/2	2/3	0	3	0
44 Max Shulga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
4 Anfernee Simons	25	5	2	0	2	3	1	0	0	0/0	1/4	1/4	0	1	0
26 Xavier Tillman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
27 Jordan Walsh	12	0	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/3	0/0	0	0	0
77 Amari Williams	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

San Antonio Spurs

Stats

40 Harrison Barnes
30 Julian Champagnie
7 Luke Kornet
5 Stephon Castle
4 De'Aaron Fox
18 Bismack Biyombo
11 Carter Bryant
2 Dylan Harper
3 Keldon Johnson
0 Jordan McLaughlin
8 Kelly Olynyk
10 Jeremy Sochan
43 Lindy Waters III
1 Victor Wembanyama

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
40 Harrison Barnes	26	6	1	1	0	3	0	1	0	1/2	1/3	1/5	0	0	0
30 Julian Champagnie	34	12	13	3	10	3	0	0	1	0/0	3/4	2/8	0	3	0
7 Luke Kornet	24	5	7	2	5	1	0	0	0	1/2	2/2	0/0	0	1	0
5 Stephon Castle	26	9	2	1	1	5	2	2	0	2/5	2/9	1/7	0	0	0
4 De'Aaron Fox	36	21	9	1	8	6	2	1	0	2/2	8/10	1/6	0	1	0
18 Bismack Biyombo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
11 Carter Bryant	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
2 Dylan Harper	22	5	4	1	3	1	2	0	0	0/0	1/4	1/3	0	4	0
3 Keldon Johnson	28	18	10	3	7	1	2	1	0	4/5	4/6	2/7	0	2	0
0 Jordan McLaughlin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
8 Kelly Olynyk	6	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/1	0	1	0
10 Jeremy Sochan	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	1	0
43 Lindy Waters III	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	0	0
1 Victor Wembanyama	26	21	6	0	6	1	0	0	3	4/4	7/13	1/4	0	0	0