■ Wednesday’s win over the Kings might actually have been more impressive than Tuesday’s win over the Warriors. The Warriors, whose interest in regular-season games has seemingly decreased during each year of their historic run, were playing their first game after a four-game Eastern Conference road trip in which they’d lost to the Magic and Heat. They were also without three of their top eight players, including the superstar guard Klay Thompson. And the Celtics were motivated to face a high-caliber opponent while also focused on fixing their issues.

LOS ANGELES — Celtics coach Brad Stevens has said several times during this confounding season that it usually does not take much to snap out of a funk, perhaps even just a win or two. And that could be what has happened this week. Boston grabbed impressive back-to-back road victories over the Warriors and Kings, and the level of unease subsequently dropped dramatically. Here are some thoughts and observations about what has unfolded in California so far.


They won easily, arrived in Sacramento early Wednesday morning and were facing the well-rested and motivated Kings, who are scrapping for the final playoff spot in the West. And Kyrie Irving did not even play. Stevens could tell that his players were gassed after Gordon Hayward hit the game-winner with two seconds left, and was proud of the late-game execution.

“If that thing goes to overtime,” Stevens said, “I don’t know if we have enough juice.”

■ It’s been an interesting season for Irving in many ways, including his choices of words, or his choices to say very little. After Tuesday’s win, he probably made the right decision to say very little after he was asked about Golden State’s apparent struggles.

“I won’t be a headline,” he said, smiling. “I’m good. I’m good. Next question. No offense. I respect them, but I’ve been playing them for a long time. I’m good.”


The Warriors are now on pace for 56 wins, which would be their fewest during this five-year run of dominance. But no one is overly concerned.

■ Irving, who missed the Kings game due to a thigh contusion, sat behind Boston’s bench rather than on it. But this had nothing to do with a lack of support or anything like that. Inactive NBA players are required to wear sports jackets to sit on the bench, and Irving — who might not even have packed a jacket, because he was planning to play — was not wearing one, so it was off to the second row. If media seating was decided based on attire, most of us would be in the rafters.

■ The Celtics, Pacers, and 76ers remain all but locked into the 3-5 seeds in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but there is room for maneuvering among the three teams. Boston entered Thursday night trailing Philadelphia by 1½ games and the Pacers by 2½. The Pacers have the league’s fourth toughest remaining schedule, with their opponents having a .559 winning percentage. The Celtics have the 13th most difficult remaining schedule (.502) while the 76ers will coast to the end with the 25th most difficult (.476). The guess here is still that the 76ers take the No. 3 seed while the Celtics pull ahead of the Pacers and into fourth.

■ With Irving out, Stevens unveiled a couple of big, physical, defensively-versatile lineups for stretches of the Kings game. Gordon Hayward, Semi Ojeleye, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum, all of whom are 6 feet 7 inches or taller, played three minutes together. There were other big lineups that featured the 6-4 Marcus Smart at point guard surrounded by burly wings.


“I just think the more that you can throw those [onto the floor], the better,” Stevens said. “You’re not always going to have those times, but even for a couple minutes a game, it’s intriguing. We’ll see how Kyrie’s injury plays out and how everyone comes out of this game and we’ll see if we have to do that again.”

■ In addition to the wins, the Celtics have had an obvious mood reversal during this road trip so far. It’s no surprise that Irving, whose demeanor has shifted countless times this year, often sets the temperature for the others, intentionally or not. And over the past few days, that’s been a positive.

“It’s just something that he’s kind of the energizer for those guys,” assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “He’s really I think made it a point to get those guys talking and keeping them happy and keeping them loose and focused. He’s definitely our energizer.

“He’s made a point to give that off of other guys and I think they fed off it.”

■ Hayward poured in 30 points in the win over the Warriors before drilling the game winner the next night against the Kings. And Brad Stevens has officially — and understandably — had enough of talking about Hayward regaining his confidence after missing last season with an ankle injury. “I mean, he should have plenty of confidence,” Stevens said. “He’s a heck of a player and we all believe in him. So I’ll probably stop talking about working his way back and just call him Gordon, and try to help move forward here, because he’s obviously played great these two nights, and these are two really good wins.”


■ It was cool to see Jayson Tatum get a chance to play against his close friend and former Duke teammate Harry Giles III for the first time as a pro on Wednesday night. Giles was once the top-ranked player in his recruiting class before knee issues slowed him during his lone season with the Blue Devils and caused him to miss his entire rookie season in Sacramento last year.

He came to Boston last season to support Tatum during the NBA playoffs, and Tatum refers to Giles as his brother. The two exchanged jerseys after Wednesday’s game.

■ Horford had a quietly dominant game against Sacramento, registering 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Marcus Morris, for one, is excited to see what’s next for Horford.

“It’s a no-brainer throwing [the ball] in to the big dog,” he said. “During this time of the season is where he starts being that player, being clutch, and being playoff Al.”

“Coming down the stretch, we’re definitely going to go to that a lot more.”


Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.