The Boston Celtics haven’t had very a lot enjoyable within the Jap Convention recently, so this night, they hoped to seek out some higher fortune in opposition to the West. Losers of 4 of their final 5 video games — all in opposition to East playoff contenders — they squared off with the struggling Portland Path Blazers seeking to reverse their fortunes. Mercifully, the Celtics discovered the snug win they’ve dearly wanted, rapidly placing the Blazers behind by double-digits and maintaining them there the remainder of the evening.
Jayson Tatum shrugged off a latest droop with an environment friendly 30 factors (11-of-17 capturing, 6-of-10 from three). Behind him was a balanced offensive assault that noticed 5 different Celtics rating in double-figures. Damian Lillard had a typically wonderful evening, scoring 27 factors, however in contrast to Tatum’s, his supporting solid introduced nothing to the desk, and the Blazers fell far brief.
Al Horford’s latest sizzling streak continued into the early minutes of this sport. Having recorded two of his 4 20+ level outings on the season prior to now week, he kicked off tonight’s sport with 10 within the first quarter, together with two made threes. He helped set the tone for what was a high-scoring affair from the leap, with every staff displaying some potent shot-making. On the Blazers finish, it was — unsurprisingly — Lillard who led the dance, scoring 11 within the first. The Celtics ended the quarter with a seven-point lead, 35-28.
Within the second quarter, the offensive fireworks had been silenced — for one staff no less than. The Blazers went scoreless for practically 5 minutes of sport time early within the quarter, permitting the Celtics to rattle off a 14-3 run to take command of the proceedings. The continued efforts of Lillard (19 first-half factors) stored issues from getting too far out of hand, however the balanced assault of the Celtics had the Blazers off-balance. They entered the halftime break with a 60-45 lead.
The second half started with one more Celtics run. They jumped out on a 7-2 run, poking holes in opposition to a curious zone protection from Chauncey Billups and the Blazers within the course of. The lead pushed as excessive as 20 factors, and regardless of the Blazers discovering some extra scoring punch because the quarter wore on, they made no inroads in the direction of clawing again into the sport. Tatum hit a pair of threes because the clock ticked down, and the Celtics entered the ultimate quarter with a 22-point lead, 94-72.
The Celtics kicked off the fourth quarter with one other fast run — a extra modest 5-0 this time — and that almost put this sport on ice. Joe Mazzulla took benefit of a uncommon alternative to purchase his rotation some relaxation, and the Celtics emptied the bench halfway via the quarter to coast their solution to the end line.
Subsequent up, the Celtics will journey to Atlanta for an Jap Convention showdown with the Hawks, this Saturday at 7:30 PM on NBC Sports activities Boston.
