Final: Celtics 124, Pelicans 107 -- C's close out game with 17-7 run to seal win

The Celtics have had trouble putting together a full 48 minutes all year long, but they came pretty close to that milestone in New Orleans on Monday night, leading wire-to-wire and closing out the game with a 17-7 run to pull away for a 124-107 over the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Kyrie Irving had a double-double with 26 points and 10 assists, Al Horford added a season-high 20 points and Marcus Smart provided a spark in his first start of the season at shooting guard in place of an injured Jaylen Brown.

Anthony Davis had a game-high 27 points and 16 points in the setback but he was relatively contained (8-of-19) by Al Horford from an efficiency standpoint. Nikola Mirotic also added 25 points for the hosts. The C's improved to 11-10 with the victory and now have three days of rest before returning to the TD Garden on Friday night.

First Half Notes

• Marcus Smart immediately makes his impact felt in the starting five, making life very tough for the Pelicans in the pick-and-roll. Having some resistance there at the point of attack prevents Davis/Holiday from getting into a rhythm early.


• Some encouraging minutes for Al Horford (team-high 12 points at half). Looks like he's finally finding some rhythm after a very passive past month.


• Kyrie Irving continuing his dishing (5 assists) and very active on the defensive end (4 steals) but his sloppy turnovers helped the Pelicans get back into the game after pushing the lead to 20.


• C's finally show some consistency from 3-point range (9-of-17) that is a product of good ball movement that we are seeing with starters.


• The shooting of Marcus Morris has been a welcome addition to that mix, given how much that unit has struggled with reliable outside shooting.


• Morris let Mirotic get hot to close the half (5-of-7 from 3) but do a pretty phenomenal job against everyone else in the Pelicans lineup. Wesley Johnson was the only other player who knocked down more than 50 percent of his shots early.

• Anthony Davis will return to the lineup after a one-game absence due to a hip strain. The Pelicans will also be without starting point guard Elfrid Payton as he continues to recover from a broken pinky.


• Jaylen Brown will miss the game due to a bruised tailbone suffered during Saturday's loss to the Mavericks. Gordon Hayward is back in the lineup after resting his ankle on the second half of a back-to-back.


• The Pelicans' offense will provide a stiff test for a stumbling C's defense in recent weeks as they rank fifth in the NBA in points per possession and play at the third quickest pace in the NBA.


• Former Celtic E'Twaun Moore is the player to keep an eye on from the perimeter. He's among the top-10 in the NBA in 3-point shooting with 46 percent shooting from 3-point range.