The Brooklyn Nets rolled into Boston after a beatdown on their home court just a day earlier. It ended catastrophically, they lost by 50 (yes 50) as the Celtics dominated in all departments. Even more impressively the Celtics managed to do so without both Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, who both missed out through injury. Payton Pritchard led the way with 28 points and was well supported by 20+ points from both Jayson Tatum and Derrick White who both played excellently. In the end Boston’s quality totally outshone the Nets, as they completed the successful 136-86 routing of the Nets.
White and Kristaps Porzingis lit up the floor in the first quarter, they combined for 21 points out of Boston’s 30 points in the opening period. The Celtics quickly racked up a 15-point lead in the early exchanges as their suffocating defensive coverage held the Nets to only 15 points. Boston prevent Brooklyn’s two premier scorers – Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas – from getting hot, they finished a combined 5/21 from the field and shot just 27% from behind the arc.
Boston’s superb defending carried on throughout the rest of the first half. The Celtics restricted Brooklyn to 32 points in the first half and on the flip side, played a near perfect game offensively. The orchestrator of the Celtic’s offense – Jayson Tatum – played fabulously yet again, he scored 20 points, had 7 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists with only one turnover in the entire game.
By the end of the third quarter the game was all but done and Joe Mazzulla opted to pull his regular starters. Without Brown, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard stepped in to bigger roles, and they flourished. Pritchard came off the bench and added 29 points, including six 3-pointers to lead all scorers. Hauser also played brilliantly, he scored 14 points (4/8 from three) and finished with a +40 plus-minus.
The fourth quarter provided an opportunity for the reserves to get an extended run of NBA minutes. Boston’s most recent second round selection – Jordan Walsh – saw 18 minutes of action and although he did not score, he showed off his defensive ability and grabbed 5 rebounds. Boston went on to claim a second 50-point win of the season, as they closed out an emphatic 136-86 win.
Mazzulla picked up his 100th win as Celtics head coach and Porzinigis had this to say about his coaching: “He is very underrated as a coach. And different. I think people really don’t see who he is and how he coaches” … “He deserves a lot of credit”. The Celtics will head into the All-Star break sitting atop of the standings, with an excellent record of 43-12. Boston’s next game will be in Chicago against the Bulls on Thursday night.
By Will C
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