When the Boston Celtics push the pace and move the ball, they can win even when they’re not burning the nets from three-point land. They proved it tonight with a 121-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Boston posted 34 assists on 49 made baskets and dominated fast break points 23-6. While they made 15 of 40 threes, that wasn’t their focus tonight as much as the running game.
The Celtics moved to 2-2 on their current five-game road trip, but more importantly became the first team in the NBA this season to log their fiftieth win. At 50-14, they remain in command of the Eastern Conference, eight games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks. With the loss, the Blazers fall to 18-46 and remain in next-to-last place in the West.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 53 points. Derrick White and Al Horford each blocked three shots.
Oregon native Payton Pritchard started in place of Jrue Holiday, who was out with left knee tendinopathy, and Al Horford was in for Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring tightness). Svi Mykhailiuk was absent for personal reasons. Portland was missing several players, including former Celtics Robert Williams (knee surgery) and Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow tendinitis).
The Celtics started quickly behind Horford, who buried his first three threes and finished the first quarter with nine points, two assists and a block. Boston finished the quarter with a 37-28 lead after making 15 of 27 shots and six of 12 triples, with 12 assists and just one turnover.
The lead swelled as large as 17 in the second quarter. Luke Kornet provided productive minutes, finishing three lobs at the rim. However, the Blazers countered by ripping off 11 straight points, with Anfernee Simons drilling two straight. But the Celtics answered with a 10-2 run fueled by the Jays to close the half with a 66-52 lead.
Both teams made eight triples in the first half, but the Celtics outshot the Blazers overall, 50.9% to 42.9%. Boston had 20 assists on 27 field goals and committed one turnover. Brown led the scoring with 17, while Tatum posted 12 points and six assists. The Celts were running, too: 15-0 advantage in fastbreak points. For Portland, Deandre Ayton and Simons combined for 27 in the half.
The Celtics opened the second half aggressively, with Brown and Tatum combining to make six layups or dunks in the first four minutes, pushing the lead to 79-60. Yet again, the Blazers came back behind balanced scoring and finally getting some fast break baskets. Matisse Thybulle gave Portland a lift defensively notching three blocks, and a 15-5 burst got the Blazers within nine. That ended when Sam Hauser and Brown hit consecutive midrange shots. The lead after three quarters was 88-75.
In the fourth, Dalano Banton — who Brad Stevens shipped to Portland last month for basically nothing except a trade exception — stepped up with a pair of triples. Hauser matched those and Tatum added a banked triple and a sweet pass to Oshae Brissett for a layup.
Hauser stayed hot from distance, making four threes in the quarter (six for the game) as Boston blew the game open down the stretch. He finished with 22 points. Pritchard finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Celtics get right back to work at 9 p.m. EDT tomorrow night, finishing their road trip against Danny Ainge’s Utah Jazz.
