Everything you need to know about the Celtics beating the Kings 111-109 with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Celtics avoid late collapse with Hayward game-winner: Gordon Hayward drilled a game-winning runner with two seconds remaining, atoning for a costly foul just seconds earlier to help the Celtics escape the Golden 1 Center with a 111-109 victory. The Celtics were on the verge of a costly collapse after blowing a six-point lead with three minutes remaining thanks to several defensive mistakes, including Hayward fouling Buddy Hield while shooting a 3. The Celtics maintained their composure down the stretch though, with an impressive coast-to-coast take by Hayward, capping off another well balanced night for the Celtics offense. Jayson Tatum (24 points) led six different players in double figures for Boston, while Al Horford (21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) flirted with a triple-double in one of his best all-around performances of the season. Harrison Barnes had a team-high 24 points for the hosts, who now dropped four games out of the postseason in the West due to the defeat.
Hayward buries the game winner with two seconds left in tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/wKSmCcrchN
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2019
Celtics win another without Kyrie:
The All-Star point guard was a late scratch in this one due to a sore quad, opening the door for some big minutes for Terry Rozier and the rest of the Celtics starters. That group responded with some stellar offense, particularly in the second half when they posted 62 points in the second half of the back-to-back without their top scorer. Boston improved to 10-2 on the season without Irving and perhaps more impressively are now 4-2 against above .500 teams when he sits out.
Two straight tough road wins:
For the first time all season, the Celtics won back-to-back road games against teams that are above the .500 mark. Boston’s second straight win pulled them back up to .500 on the road on the year (16-16) and just 2.5 games behind the Pacers for the No. 3 seed with just 16 games to play. Given the fact the C’s have two games remaining this regular season with Indiana, they are positioning themselves to have to control their own destiny when it comes to home court advantage in the first round by putting a successful trip on the toughest road swing of the season.
TURNING POINT
After fouling Hield while shooting a 3-point shot with eight seconds remaining, Hayward found a path towards redemption on the ensuing possession. Boston had no timeouts remaining after Hield made all three free throws to tie up the game, so the team attacked quickly after the makes, as Hayward took the ball coast-to-coast for the game-winner jumper with two seconds remaining.
THREE UP
Al Horford:
There is no question the veteran big man was a steadying presence on the floor for Boston all night long. He knocked down eight of his 10 shots and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, providing a nice hub for Boston’s offense when he was in the game with the second unit on his way to 21 points and seven assists. Defensively, he caused problems for the Kings guards in the paint all night long as well, chipping in with a block and a few strong contests on their forays in the paint.
Jayson Tatum:
The second-year forward carries Boston’s offense in the first half, scoring 15 of his points before the break, but he saved his best work for last, scoring six points in the final 97 seconds including a tough fadeaway jumper that gave the Celtics the lead with 37 seconds remaining. He finished with a game-high 24 points and continues to provide the kind of shotmaking that this team needed on a night Irving was absent.
Terry Rozier:
The fourth-year guard just likes playing in Sacramento apparently. One year after dropping 34 points on the Kings in Sacramento with Kyrie Irving sidelined, he followed a similar script on Wednesday night with his best game in at least a month. Rozier knocked down multiple 3s for the first time in a month and was incredibly active on the glass as well (five rebounds). On a night Boston needed offense with Irving sidelined, Rozier rose to the occasion with an increased workload.
TWO DOWN
Aron Baynes/Daniel Theis:
The Kings aren’t a good matchup for the Kings with their sharpshooting on the perimeter and athleticism up front and that was clear during the limited minutes for the big man. The Celtics were outscored by 13 points in his eight first-half minutes, which led to Stevens going with Daniel Theis over him at center in the second half. That didn’t work much better as Theis piled up four personal fouls in five minutes.
First quarter defense:
The Kings did whatever they wanted against the Celtics in the final six minutes of the first quarter, wreaking havoc inside the lane with Willie Cauley-Stein and on the perimeter with Hield to shoot 63 percent from the field and score 32 points over the first 12 minutes. Whether it was tired legs or a lack of focus for Boston, the slow start created a hole for Boston climb out of after building an early eight-point lead in the opening minutes.
TOP PLAY
WHAT A PLAY! pic.twitter.com/yk299ty3bF
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 7, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Marcus Morris needed a big second half like this:
It’s been a slow but steady decline for Marcus Morris in the last month as the veteran’s forward has dissipated since mid-January in the aftermath of an All-Star level start to the season. Brad Stevens appears committed to his starting lineup at this stage of the season but the problem with Morris prior to tonight was as much on the defensive end as it was with his shooting. He’s hit enough shots early in the year to offset his subpar perimeter defense but against high-powered offense, he’s getting exposed more on switches and delayed closeouts. He’s been on the receiving end of some benchings at the end of games recently but Stevens stuck with him in crunch time in this one after a solid second half. He delivered with a couple of clutch 3s down the stretch, on his way to a 19-point performance, his highest scoring game in a month.
Playing Semi Ojeleye unlocks some intriguing defensive lineups for the Celtics:
Stevens declined to play a traditional point guard off the bench with Terry Rozier starting, instead opting for the versatility of Ojeleye on the wing against a pretty diverse lineup. The end result was one of Boston’s best defensive stretches in weeks as a very versatile lineup of Smart/Brown/Tatum/Ojeleye/Horford helped bring Boston back into the game in the second quarter with an 11-0 run over a five-minute stretch. Ojeleye isn’t going to give this team much on offense but the fact that he can be accounted to execute his assignments really makes the Celtics function a lot better on that end of the floor when he is surrounded by the right personnel.
