Everything you need to know about the Celtics beating the Pelicans 124-107 in BSJ Quickie Form
Box Score
HEADLINES
Marcus Smart gets the start and delivers: The veteran guard started alongside Kyrie Irving for the first time this year with Jaylen Brown (sore tailbone) sidelined. The 25-year-old played a season-high 40 minutes in regulation, making life difficult all night for Jrue Holiday (eight turnovers) which set the tone for a much more complete defensive effort for the C's across the board. The Pelicans shot just 43 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers, while Anthony Davis (8-of-19 FG) was held relatively in check by Al Horford and company. After an ugly few games last week, Smart appeared to fuel a more disciplined effort by the starters that helped them open up a 20-point first half lead and withstand the Pelicans' second-half runs.
An offensive masterpiece: There have not been many nights this season when all members of the starting five are running on all cylinders but it finally happened in New Orleans. While Smart (8 points, 5 assists) stayed out of the way, Irving (26 points, 10 assists) put on a show in the fourth quarter, Al Horford (20 points) had his best offensive outing of the year, Jayson Tatum (20 points) and Marcus Morris (18 points, 10 rebounds) all shot over 50 percent from the field and 3-point range collectively. The ball movement and shot selection were terrific all night long and minus an ugly turnover night from Irving (six), this was an encouraging effort.
TURNING POINT
The Pelicans tried to keep things interesting in the fourth quarter by cutting the C's lead down to seven on multiple occasions but the visitors slammed the door with a 17-5 run, captained by Irving and Tatum down the stretch who both knocked big buckets during the outburst. Boston managed to push the lead back up to 19 in the closing minutes, which let Stevens give Horford and Irving the rest of the night off.
TWO UP
Jayson Tatum: The 20-year-old scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, including a pair of impressive drives to the rim in the game-clinching 17-5 run. He’s now scored in double digits for 11 straight games and is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range during the month of November.
Al Horford: A season-high 20 points was just what the doctor ordered for the All-Star, his best offensive outing of the year. He also knocked down three shots from beyond the arc, raising his 3-point shooting accuracy to a respectable 35 percent in the month of November. The offense combined with solid defense on Davis made the win his best game of the season.
TWO DOWN
Irving's ballhandling: A season-high six turnovers from the point guard came via a number of very sloppy passes over the first three quarters. He cleaned things up late in the game but the C's offense usually can't afford these kinds of constant miscues.
The Pelicans' defense: Outside of Davis and Holiday, there isn't much talent in this department on the Pelicans roster right now. The C's shot 49 percent from the field, 48 percent from 3-point range and ran a lot of the same plays with success all night long against a New Orleans' defensive attack that was constantly on its heels.
TOP PLAY
Jayson Tatum takes it to the rack and throws it down with authority in tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/4aXlyN0tHo
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 27, 2018