No Tatum, no Horford … no problem.
After a disappointing overtime loss at the Golden State Warriors just 21 hours earlier, the Boston Celtics were right back on the court Wednesday in Sacramento against a rested, healthy Sacramento Kings team riding a three-game win streak. Kristaps Porzingis returned to the starting lineup, but the Celtics were without Al Horford (rest), Luke Kornet (adductor strain) and Jayson Tatum (ankle sprain).
The Celtics bounced back from those challenging absences and grabbed a dominant 144-119 win, improving their record to 21-6. They regained the top spot in the league by a half-game over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who lost against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 28 points each, Kristaps Porzingis added 24, Jrue Holiday 21 and Payton Pritchard 20. It was the first time since 1987 that Boston had a quintet of 20-point scorers. The Celts made 22 of 42 threes and the Kings made 21 of 44 in an epic display of long-distance accuracy. Boston tallied 35 assists (10 by Holiday) on 51 baskets.
If you think NBA teams shoot too many three-pointers, you probably didn’t like the first quarter. The Kings immediately went on a tear, with Fox (29 points on his 26th birthday) and Keegan Murray combining for five three-pointers and 19 points in the first five minutes. Boston responded behind two triples from White and three dunks from Brown. White made his third three after an Oshae Brissett offensive rebound to cap a 13-0 run and the Celtics had their first lead at 24-23.
The first 12 minutes ended with Sacramento up 41-38. The Cs were 8 of 12 from the arc (White 4-5 and Pritchard 3-4) while the Kings were 11 of 21 (Fox 5-7).
19 made 3’s by the Celtics and Kings. That ties the NBA record for combined 3’s in a quarter
— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) December 21, 2023
The second quarter was more of the same, as the teams tied the NBA record of 28 combined threes in a half. But Boston took a 74-66 lead into the break because they stayed hot (55.1% shooting overall) and the Kings cooled a bit (46.3%). White had 21 points and Fox 26 to lead their respective teams. The Celtics also held a 30-18 rebound advantage.
Boston opened the third quarter with a 9-1 run to stretch the lead to 14, highlighted by a five-point possession by Porzingis. KP hit a jumper, was fouled on a “reckless closeout” by Domantas Sabonis, and made the free throw, then was fouled again and made two more.
The Celts also turned up their defense, forcing a series of Kings turnovers and misses. Brown, White and Holiday all chipped in timely scoring, producing a 22-6 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. The lead was 96-72 and Kings coach Mike Brown called his team’s next-to-last timeout.
It didn’t help much. The Celtics took the third quarter by 39-24, making 13 of 22 shots. Brown had 15 and Porzingis 14 in the period.
In the fourth, Holiday, Pritchard and Sam Hauser simply kept making shots, and the frustrated Kings called their final timeout with 8:26 remaining.
The Celtics now have two days off before the Los Angeles double-dip: at the LA Clippers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and at the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day at 5:30 p.m. EST.
