BSJ Game Report: Celtics 113, Pelicans 100 - Morris leads undermanned C's to sixth straight win taken at TD Garden (Celtics)

(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Celtics

BSJ Game Report: Celtics 113, Pelicans 100 - Morris leads undermanned C's to sixth straight win

By Brian Robb

Dec 10, 2018 • 11:20 pm

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Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ beating the Pelicans 113-100 in quickie form with BSJ insight and analysis (turning point, ups/downs, takes we'll regret later)...

Box Score 

HEADLINES

Celtics keep rolling despite injuries: With four key rotation players (Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, Aron Baynes) sidelined, the end of Boston’s five-game winning streak seemed likely against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Boston’s underdog mentality that was prevalent throughout last season emerged yet again, however, as the undermanned Celtics took it to the Pelicans on both ends of the floor despite 41 points from Davis. Marcus Morris led the way with a season-high 31 points while Jayson Tatum added 21 points to carry the scoring load with the team's All-Stars sidelined. Jaylen Brown shook off a rough first half to score 19 points off the bench as Boston cruised to their sixth straight victory.  

Robert Williams shows extended glimpse of his potential to lead bench unit: The rookie was shuffled into a backup role with three bigs and he made the most of his opportunity in a career-high 26 minutes, posting seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds and three blocks, including a couple swats on Davis in post-up situations that had the Garden crowd buzzing. His contributions were reflective of a terrific effort by the bench with Semi Ojeleye (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Brad Wanamaker (4 points, 4 assists) also chipping in to keep the Pelicans’ defense on their heels all night.    

TURNING POINT

Morris opened up the second half with nine points in the first 90 seconds on three straight makes from downtown which quickly pushed the Celtics’ six-point halftime lead into double digits in the midst of a 13-4 run. The Pelicans got no closer than nine points over the final 22 minutes of the game as the C’s offense continuously kept the pressure on the Pelicans.  

TWO UP

Marcus Morris: On a night the Celtics desperately needed offense with three All-Stars out of the lineup, Morris answered the challenge, putting together his best shooting night in a Celtics uniform. He made 10 of his first 13 shots of the night, including five from 3-point range on his way to a season-high 31 points. He’s now shooting a career-high 42.9 percent from 3-point range in the midst of an impressive contract season.

Jayson Tatum: The 20-year-old followed up his best shooting night of the season with another dominant performance as Boston’s top healthy shot creator. The Pelicans had no answer for the second-year forward on the wing as he attacked from the midrange and in the paint to the tune of 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting.   He’s now scored in double figures in 15 straight games overall and has shot over 50 percent from the field in ten of those contests.

TWO DOWN

Jaylen Brown in the first half: After two positive performances off the Celtics bench, he got a little bit too aggressive in this contest with Boston’s offense looking shorthanded out of the gate. He missed 10 of his first 12 shots from the field with several out of control drives and misfires from 3-point range. He also earned the ire of his teammates at the end of the first half after making mistakes on two straight offensive sequences.

Marcus Smart’s shooting: After shooting a red-hot (for him) 37 percent from 3-point range in the month of November, the point guard has come back to earth. He missed all four of his attempts on Monday night and is just 2-of-13 from downtown over the past three games to drop his season average to 30.7 percent.  

TOP PLAY




TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER


Davis is going to want out of New Orleans this summer:
The Pelicans were on the second half of a back-to-back in this one and were missing a couple rotation guards (E’Twaun Moore, Elfrid Payton) but this group has no hope of getting out of the second round in the Western Conference. Outside of Jrue Holiday and Davis, there is no defensive identity here and that inability to get stops will prevent them from being a true threat in the West since there is not enough perimeter shooting here to create problems against teams like the Warriors, Thunder and Nuggets. If winning is the priority for the big man in his next destination, performances like this against a team missing three All-Stars have to be incredibly discouraging for the Pelicans’ chances of retaining him. 


Semi Ojeleye has come a long way on the offensive end:
Like Daniel Theis, Ojeleye has been a victim of the minutes crunch so far this year. Like Theis though, he’s making the most of his chances and posted the second straight game of 10-plus points for the first time in his career on Monday night. He ranked fourth on the team in field goal attempts and while his 3-point shooting was off (1-of-6), he had three extremely strong takes to the basket that simply weren’t a part of his game last season. That type of progression in his offensive skill set is going to be pivotal over the long-term once the team needs him to assume a larger role. For now, it’s an added luxury for Stevens who can coach knowing Ojeleye is less of an offensive liability when he’s on the court.

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