The Boston Celtics defeated the Portland Trailblazers 128-118. The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis. In their absence, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White exploded for a combined 84 points and 19 three-pointers. Jerami Grant, Matisse Thybulle, Robert Williams III, and Deandre Ayton were out for the Trailblazers. The Boston Celtics improved to 44-18. Portland dropped to 28-35.
The Boston Celtics Pull Ahead
Without Tatum and other starters, many other Boston Celtics needed to step up. Jaylen Brown and White gave them their first few points, but Portland took the lead with buckets from Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons. Pritchard brought his usual spark off the bench with back-to-back three-pointers. However, Pritchard was the only Celtic who could knock down a three-pointer. The Trailblazers’ lead grew as Scoot Henderson attacked the rim for a few baskets. Their defense was tough and gave Boston nothing easy, but a pair of White threes put the Celtics ahead. At the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 31-26.
Portland was quick to strike back in the second quarter. They got out in transition and attacked the paint. Simons and Shaedon Sharpe were getting to their spots and hitting shots. White and Al Horford answered for the Boston Celtics, but the Trailblazers were on their heels. Sharpe drilled a transition three, and another three-pointer put them out front. White heated up from beyond the arc after Portland had built a lead. He had six three-pointers in the first half. Pritchard had five. Their efforts propelled a 15-2 Celtics run to close the half. At halftime, the Boston Celtics led 66-55.
White had a lights-out first half in the absence of three starters. He led with 24 points, shooting 6-of-9 from three. Pritchard was not far behind with 18 points off the bench. He shot 5-of-9 from three. Brown had 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Their late run gave them a lead after a back-and-forth first half. Sharpe and Henderson led the Blazers with 11 points each. Avdija had 10. Simons had 9. They were playing hard on both ends. Physical teams like the Pistons and Magic had given the Boston Celtics problems in the past. If Boston’s shooting cooled off, there was no reason they couldn’t make things interesting.
Pritchard and White Dominate
The Boston Celtics opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run. Brown was aggressive in getting to the hoop, and threes from Pritchard and Horford kept them ahead. White stayed hot from three as he and Pritchard continued to make it rain. The Trail Blazers kept fighting. Jabari Walker made multiple corner threes to help trim a 19-point deficit down to 14. Walker had not missed a shot, but Pritchard’s spectacular night pushed the Celtics’ lead past 20. By the end of the third quarter, Pritchard had a career-high 10 three-pointers. Through three quarters, the Boston Celtics led 102-82.
White made another three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. This put the Boston Celtics up by 25 points. The Trail Blazers answered going on a 10-2 run to trim the deficit. White drilled his ninth three-pointer, but Simons and Sharpe heated up again. Portland brought the lead down to 13 with five minutes left. Then, a Toumani Camara three suddenly made it a nine-point game with three minutes left.
A Horford flagrant foul gave Portland the ball back and they cut the lead to eight, but a bucket from White helped the Boston Celtics ice the game to prevent any catastrophic collapses. The Trail Blazers scored 36 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough. The Boston Celtics won 128-118.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 44-18 with the win. With no Tatum, Holiday, or Porzingis, White and Pritchard were the stars of the show. Pritchard finished with 43 points, shooting 10-of-16 from three. White had 41 points, shooting 9-of-17 from three. The Trail Blazers fell to 28-35. Simons scored 30 points and Sharpe had 25. Walker shot 6-of-6 from three for 22 points off the bench. The Celtics continue their homestand and face the Philadelphia 76ers next.
