The Portland Trail Blazers visited TD Garden Wednesday night with the short-handed Celtics prevailing 128-118 as Payton Pritchard and Derrick White had career shooting nights in a must-watch performance.
Boston has been without Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jrue Holiday (hand) for a few games, and Jayson Tatum was also ruled out prior to the tip. Sam Hauser, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet joined Jaylen Brown and White in the starting five.
Deni Avdija had a nice start to the game, hitting on two quick buckets and having 6 points in 5 minutes as the Trail Blazers jumped out to an early 10-8 lead. Horford and Kornet played a good two-man play straight out of Mazzulla’s timeout as the C’s leveled the score at 10 apiece.
The human heat check and Portland native, Payton Pritchard, went back-to-back on triples as he checked into the game with 6 points in his first 2 minutes as Boston took a 16-12 lead. Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson fueled a mini run for the road team as Boston couldn’t convert on multiple possessions to take back the lead 20-16.
Both teams trade buckets in an entertaining end to the first quarter. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard provided a spark for Boston, as they outscored the Blazers 15 to 6 to end the quarter 31-26. Boston had 6 first-quarter three-pointers, led by Pritchard with 4 out of 5, as the former Oregon Duck had 12 points.
Al Horford and Sam Hauser’s both scored their first three-pointers of the game as the second quarter started which saw Boston take a 41-34 lead. For Portland, Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker also connected from three to take the lead back, 43-41. Jaylen Brown was having a rough night on the offensive end, shooting just 36 percent from the field and a pair of offensive charges.
Derrick was certainly Boston’s best performer in the first half with 24 points, and his three consecutive triples saw the short-handed Celtics keep pace with the scrappy Blazers at 51 all. The crowd would erupt to end the half as Pritchard and White hit back-to-back three-pointers and took the lead. Pritchard and White’s shooting was a highlight of the half as the pair registered 11-19 from downtown.
Brown finally got going, with three straight baskets to end the half with 12 points as Boston led 66-55, with an 11-point lead. Al Horford was also good for the home team as he ended the half with 7 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
Payton Pritchard hit on his first triple of the second half as Mazzulla injected him into the starting five in place of big man Luke Kornet. Brown converted on a pair of strong drives and Al Horford converted from three as the C’s extended the lead to 16 points, 76-60.
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The hot shooting continued for Boston as the third quarter progressed; White and Pritchard were outstanding for the home team. Pritchard recorded a season-high 8 three-pointers with a full quarter and a half to go in the game.
Jordan Walsh hit his first three-point attempt of the game, just his twelfth of the season, before Sam Hauser got going in the mid-range on a foul line jumper. Pritchard then burst into the lane for a layup and his 31st point of the night. He then ripped the nets on a pair of heat check three-pointers as the home crowd was delirious. Payton Pritchard’s career high shooting was the story of the third quarter as Boston’s lead increased to 20 points after three, 102-82.
Derrick White started off the fourth quarter dribbling down the court and launched a his own heat check, converting another triple for his eighth three-pointer and 32nd point. Pritchard and White would end the game going a mind-boggling 19-32 combined from three.
Both players smashed career records in shooting as Pritchard had 43 points and White had 41 points, the first time in Boston Celtics’ franchise history two players have 40 points in a game. In what would be a record breaking evening, this performance also marked the first time ever in NBA history that 2 teammates have ever made 9 three pointers in a single game.
Henderson, Camara and Simons kept the scoring going for Portland as the road team cut Boston’s 20 point lead in half with 3 minutes to go in the game. Credit the scrappy Blazers coming back though, although it would not be enough as they would run out of time.
Boston next host the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night, following the recent news that big man Joel Embiid is being shut down for the remainder of the season with persistent knee issues.
