BSJ Game Report: Celtics 128, Kings 75 - For once, a thorough domination of an inferior opponent

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Sacramento Kings, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out on a 14-4 run and never looked back. There was a lull early in the second quarter and a little back-and-forth play in the third, but this was Boston’s game from the beginning.

Box Score

HEADLINES

This is more like it: This was as complete a game as you’ll find by any team in the league this season. This is the kind of game people have been asking for all season. Boston, against a bad team, started strong, stayed strong, and extended their lead in the second half. 

The Jays were dominant: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 66 points on 25-42 shooting (12-26 3pt). After three quarters, the score was the Jays 66, Kings 55. They got to sit the whole fourth quarter.

TURNING POINT

We can pick the opening 14-4 run because Sacramento had no shot after that, but let’s go to the other end of the half instead. 

The Kings and Celtics kind of meandered their way through the second quarter, and Boston’s lead dropped to 23 with 2:11 to go in the half. It was at a point where the Celtics had, throughout the season, let go of the rope a bit and let the other team cut more into the lead and head into the locker room with some confidence. Instead, Boston closed the half on a 10-0 run. For good measure, they opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run and this game was over.

“We've made it a real heavy focus to finish well in quarters,” Ime Udoka said, emphasizing that the team’s 18 kick ahead passes were the most in a half this season. “Those two minute stretches and that late timeout we were really emphasizing finish out strong. And then we carried it over well in the third quarter.”

SIX UP 

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown: I’m putting them together because this one-two punch was on fire from the jump. This wasn’t even a ‘my turn/your turn’ because the flow of the game found them in scoring spots. They generally made the right plays, and the ball found them. This is the sixth win in Celtics history when these guys each score 30. They have zero losses.

Robert Williams: You can sense the fear in the Kings when Williams was on the floor. He finished with 2 blocks, 3 steals, and 17 rebounds (7 offensive) to both start and finish fast breaks for Boston. Tack on 4 assists for Williams, who was a game-high +42. 

"I just love when Rob plays," Tatum said after the game. "When you’re driving in traffic and you gotta kick out, you can just throw it to the sky and he’ll catch it. You can pressure the ball a little bit more because you know if you get beat, he’s back there protecting. He’s just a lot more vocal now than in previous years and he’s always active. I mean, he had 17 rebounds tonight."

Marcus Smart: He’s a +72 in his two games back (+36 in each) and he didn’t even score in this game. He had a team-best 7 assists and, when the Celtics were sluggish in the second quarter, Smart was the one who started pushing the ball hard to change the energy of the game. 

“It's great to have him back, obviously, with the full roster,” Udoka said. “His defense obviously is high level but also organizationally, getting us into things that we need, pushing it with pace. The pace we played out tonight was great and he's a huge part of that.”

Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard: Took advantage of their opportunities each go 4-8 from the field 

ONE DOWN

Dennis Schroder: He was part of the second quarter meandering, and at one point he was a -1 with the Celtics up 40. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

This was nice, but the next few games will tell us more about who these guys really are. 

One of the ongoing criticisms of this team is that they can't even beat the bad teams like they're supposed to. It's been one of the telltale signs that this team isn't as good as some of us thought they could be. 

Well, now that they're fully healthy and able to run the lineups and sets they want to run, they've been able to dominate the Wizards and Kings. They played a strong game against Washington and then carried that over to this game to absolutely demolish Sacramento. 

Let me start by stating the obvious: This is a good thing. For once, we've seen a couple of games go like they should. This is better than the alternative, which is searching for signs of progress in a messy game. It's different enough that it's encouraging. 

However, another hallmark of this team is the hard pivot once we think we know what they are. Remember, these two wins came after their latest "worst loss of the season," a collapse vs. Portland. 

If form holds, they will look terrible against the Atlanta Hawks. OR... they will step up against the Hawks just to get everyone to write their "this is the turnaround" pieces only to collapse against New Orleans. 

This is why these next few games are so important. The Celtics need to follow up these two performances with strong showings against Atlanta, New Orleans, and Miami when they return to Boston next week. 

Tatum says the key is "knowing that we have a tendency to backtrack ... knowing that going into practice tomorrow and just being aware of that going into the next game and try not to let that happen."

Boston is 8-4 this month. They could finish it with 10 or 11 wins and some of the progress we've all been waiting for. 

Or, they can just keep doing what they do. 

It's been great to see how they've played these last two games. In some ways, this is one last blast of the defibrillator to see if there truly is a pulse left on this team.