Fresh off what was perhaps the most gutting loss of the season against the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics’ bus ride was quiet as they rode up to Sacramento.
Waiting for them were the Kings, who were riding a three-game win streak. And unfortunately for the Celtics, they would be without Jayson Tatum, who sprained his ankle against the Warriors, and Al Horford, who was out for rest.
Down two key pieces, and on the second night of a back-to-back, the excuses were loaded up. The Celtics could have played hero ball, they could have played half-heartedly, and they could have given up when De’Aaron Fox and the Kings exploded for a 41-point first quarter.
Instead, they played Celtics basketball.
“We just kind of made an adjustment, just being there on the catch,” said Derrick White. “They play fast. They got a lot of talented players. We stepped up to the challenge.”
After losing the first quarter by three points, the Celtics outscored the Kings by 28 points the rest of the way. But rather than relying on heroic performances from their stars, they played together.
Five different Celtics players finished the game with 20 or more points – White (28), Jaylen Brown (28), Kristaps Porzingis (24), Jrue Holiday (21), and Payton Pritchard (20).
Boston dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 14, and shot a whopping 22-of-42 (52.4%) from behind the arc.
Their night included 35 assists on 51 made baskets, their second-most in a game this season.
The ball was popping all night, and once they locked down the perimeter after the first quarter, they were able to steadily pull away from the Kings.
“Our team is built on sacrifice and sometimes to see the lesser of one guy for another guy to be better,” Joe Mazzulla explained when asked about Holiday’s performance. “What we’re learning is that everybody has to be a lesser version of ourselves to be a better team.”
Holiday nearly posted a triple-double with eight rebounds and 10 assists, and was one of five Celtics with at least three assists (White, Brown, Pritchard, and Svi Mykhailiuk).
With Tatum out and riding the coattails of an ugly overtime loss, the Celtics had every opportunity to play selfish basketball and try to win the game as individuals. But they won as team. And that’s a huge step back in the right direction.
