Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Pelicans with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Jayson Tatum erupts for another career night: Tatum became just the third player in Celtics history to score over 40 points in 30 minutes or less, joining Hall of Fame company in Larry Bird and Tommy Heinsohn en route to a career-high 41 points. The third-year forward was a model of efficiency against an overmatched Pelicans defense, going 16-of-22 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range in just three quarters of work. His hot scoring helped the C’s open up a 20-point first-half lead and the hosts never looked back as they rode Tatum’s 19 points in the third quarter to build a 30-plus point lead and allow the starters to rest for the entire fourth quarter.
Celtics snap three-game losing streak: Brad Stevens had been downplaying the panic around the C’s in the aftermath of the three-game losing streak and that mentality proved to be correct on Saturday night. The C’s had their highest-scoring first quarter of the year (41) against an undermanned Pelicans squad and did not look back, posting a season-high with 140 points, which doubled as the most points in the Stevens era. Enes Kanter added 22 points and 19 rebounds off the bench in just 23 minutes while Gordon Hayward posted 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to give the C’s their biggest win of the season. Frank Jackson had a game-high 22 points off the bench for the Pelicans who played without four rotation players including Derrick Favors, JJ Redick and Jrue Holiday.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics closed out the first quarter with a 21-6 run which led to their biggest scoring output of the season in the first quarter (41 points) and an early 20-point lead that they never relinquished.
TWO UP
Gordon Hayward: The swingman snapped out of a shooting funk to go 8-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range against a Pelicans defense that was lacking a rim protector in Derrick Favors. He was a team-high +38 in 28 minutes
Enes Kanter: The big man put together a double-double in the first half alone, piling up 14 points and 10 rebounds before intermission in just 12 minutes of action while going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
TWO DOWN
Pelicans defensive effort: They were without four regulars on the second end of a back-to-back but their transition defense was pitiful in this one, giving the C’s countless easy opportunities in the open court. They have been playing better lately but threw up the white flag early in this one.
Jaylen Brown: The swingman remains in a bit of shooting slump, misfiring on 11 of his 15 shot attempts on the night.
TOP PLAY
JT is COOKIN' ?
Send this man to All-Star! ➡️ https://t.co/3Isigh7T39 pic.twitter.com/hlE9uGzYlI
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 12, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The most encouraging part of Tatum’s performance was the fact he avoided tunnel vision: No one would have faulted the third-year forward in the midst of a 16-of-22 night if he decided to isolate as much as possible against an inept Pelicans defense. He took advantage of those opportunities on a couple of occasions but this was from a one-dimensional performance by the 21-year-old. Tatum led the C’s in steals with threes and made the extra pass on multiple occasions in the second half while a career-high was in sight. That type of mentality is what separates good players from great ones and should be something that Brad Stevens points out in film sessions as the right way to play
A shorter rotation was the right idea: The Celtics went back to Brad Wanamaker after a DNP-CD against the Sixers on Thursday night and stuck mostly to an eight-man rotation before this game turned to a blowout. The decision paid dividends with Smart and Wanamaker focusing on distributing the ball more than scoring on their own while ensuring the C’s had four strong offensive threats on the floor at all times. Grant Williams will obviously still be in the mix periodically against bigs that can stretch the floor but leaning heavily on the best eight on this team right now should lead to better success like this, particularly against inferior teams. Kanter, Smart and Wanamaker all play their roles well and while an upgrade is certainly going to be welcome from an offensive standpoint for the bench ahead of the trade deadline, keeping things tighter in the interim should serve the team well in the win-loss column.