Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 128-124 win over the Blazers with BSJ insight and analysis:
Box Score
HEADLINES
Jaylen Brown rescues the Celtics after blowing 24-point lead: The Celtics looked like they had this one wrapped up early in the second half after building a 24-point lead that remained steady in the double-digits. The Blazers are a desperate team playing for the postseason however and have a top-10 player in the game in Damian Lillard. The All-Star started to get hot as the C’s defense slacked, turning a 24-point deficit into a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter behind 22 second-half points. The Celtics managed to counter late however despite the fact that Kemba Walker (minutes limit) was watching from the bench — thanks to the scoring heroics of Jayson Tatum (34 points) and Jaylen Brown (30 points). Brown was the star late with 16 of his 30 points coming in the final frame, including a dagger 3-pointer to put the Celtics up six with 30 seconds remaining. Brown was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in the quarter and made all four shots from 3-point range. The C’s need all of them to secure the win.
It was the first win for the C’s in the Orlando bubble and pulls them a full two games ahead of the Heat in the race for the No. 3 seed — with a matchup looming between the two squads on Tuesday night in Orlando.
Kemba Walker takes another positive step forward: The All-Star saw his minutes upped to 22 minutes after a positive showing on Friday night and he responded with another gem in his limited playing time. The point guard made his first four shots from the field on his way to 5-of-6 shooting through the first three quarters. He finished with 14 points despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter to rest.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics have had their issues with closing out games all year long and that familiar trend happened again with a 28-9 fourth quarter Blazers run, giving them the lead. The Celtics hung in however, with Brown and Tatum scoring consecutive points for the C’s midway through the fourth quarter to cap an 8-1 Boston run and re-establish some rhythm for Boston’s offense.
THREE UP
Jayson Tatum in the second quarter: A fresh haircut and the Blazers defense provided the third-year forward with exactly what he needed to snap out of a 1-of-17 funk in the opener. Tatum erupted for 15 points in the second quarter alone on his way to 21 first-half points. He knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts in the frame on his way to a game-high 34 points.
Kemba Walker: The Celtics didn’t have him for his regular minutes in this one, but the shortened playing time hasn’t impacted his efficiency. He was a perfect 4-of-4 in the first half against the Blazers, giving him 10 points over 13 minutes, enabling the C’s to build a 19-point halftime lead.
Jaylen Brown: Brown put together a perfect fourth quarter — as he scored nearly half of Boston’s points (16) and hit all six of his shots to cap a 30-point night.
TWO DOWN
Containing Damian Lillard: The Celtics held the All-Star to just eight points in the first half, but they really slacked on their defensive communication in the second half and fighting through screens on the perimeter. The end result was Lillard erupting for 30 points and 16 assists on a night that ended up producing 76 second half points for Portland and a near-disastrous loss for the C’s.
The Blazers perimeter defense: It was bad already before their top defensive wing (Trevor Ariza) opted out of the Orlando bubble. That forced the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Mario Hezonja to guard Boston’s dynamic wings with true bigs like Jusuf Nurkić getting stuck on Gordon Hayward on all kinds of switches. The end result was a parade of open looks from downtown for the C’s that produced 60 percent shooting from 3.
TOP PLAY
Lol pic.twitter.com/GJLQmmlCHT
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) August 2, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The Celtics are getting the best version of Marcus Smart in Orlando: With the Celtics starting lineup at full strength, the sixth man is embracing his role as a defensive pest and table setter for his teammates in Orlando. It’s been a terrific formula for this group, as he did a tremendous job slowing down a mix of Lillard and CJ McCollum for much of the first half, while only taking one shot from the field in the first half (a season-low). Despite a lack of offense, Smart’s imprint on the game was instrumental early on, thanks to serious contributions on the defensive end (2 blocks, 3 steals) and some terrific playmaking in the pick-and-roll (4 assists). Even as the C’s offense stalled late, Smart did not try to play hero ball, instead allowing the team’s primary scorers in Hayward, Brown and Tatum to stop the bleeding instead. For such a tight game, Smart’s patience was a promising sign he’s back buying into his low usage role.
This was an important gut check game to avoid a disastrous loss: A win clearly meant more to Portland than the Celtics in this one based on how engaged both sides were in the second half, but the C’s showed some important resilience in this one on the heels of an ugly collapse. The Blazers shot the lights out in the second half, but the C’s still managed to go toe-to-toe with them down the stretch on the backs of Brown, Walker and Hayward (22 points, 8 rebounds). They found the right shots in the game when things got tight, with Tatum dishing out a career-high eight assists and for as good as Lillard was in the second half, they ensured he would not beat them by himself during crunch time (zero points in final three minutes). The competition will be much tougher in the top half of the Eastern Conference, but the second half of Sunday's game was played with a playoff-level intensity based on how desperate the Blazers are for wins right now and the Celtics passed the test (albeit barely). Life should keep easier when Walker is available once again for those minutes.