BSJ Game Report: Celtics 115, Blazers 93 - Tatum drops 30, sits out fourth quarter

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Portland Trailblazers, with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out hot, going 6-10 from 3 in the first quarter. They cooled off in the second quarter, going 3-17, but Portland went 0-9 and 4-17 overall from the floor, so the Celtics still added 8 points to their lead. The second half was not exactly what we’d call good basketball, but Jayson Tatum was hot from 3 and the Blazers were just terrible. They made a brief run in the third and the subs let it get a little uncomfortable in the fourth, but the game was never in doubt. 

Box Score 

HEADLINES 

Good starts: The Celtics' first and third quarters were really good, with Boston shooting 58% from the field and 60% from 3 in the first, and 57%/70% in the third. They won the second quarter big, too, but that was more because the Blazers were absolute garbage. 

Rare rest: Neither Tatum nor Jaylen Brown played in the fourth quarter, a rare opportunity to keep both their minutes low. Tatum played 31 and Brown played 25. It was especially important to limit Brown after he played 92 minutes in the last two games. 

Portland was bad: I cannot stress this enough. The Blazers played some of the worst basketball I’ve seen in a long time in this game. They put up 92 points, shot 36.6% overall (28.2% from 3), and they gave Boston 16 points off turnovers. They. Were. Bad. 

TURNING POINT

The Blazers cut the lead down to 13 late in the third quarter, but the Celtics answered this time, going on an 11-2 run behind 3 triples from Tatum and a pair of Sam Hauser free throws. The Celtics took a 22-point lead into the fourth quarter. 

“It’s important. It's what we needed,” Al Horford said afterward. “It's what we've been talking about. Coach has been on us about finishing the quarters a little bit better, and Jayson took it and executed. Scored some big baskets for us.”

THREE UP 

Jayson Tatum: He started out attacking, pulling out a couple of sweet moves to split defenders and get to the rim. Then he got hot from deep (6-10) and he cruised to a 30-point night. Some of the shots he made were tough ones, but these are the kinds of games where you just feed him and let him hit everything. 

Al Horford: He set the tone early by scoring 10 of his 17 points in the first quarter. He looked like a guy who took the last day off and relaxed at home with his feet up instead of playing in another overtime. He was hitting from 3, he attacked the basket and flew in for dunks, he got way up to challenge shots … he just flat out looked spry. 

Derrick White: 21 points even though he was 1-5 from 3. That's because he was 7-7 on his 2-pointers. He also had 7 assists and 5 rebounds to hammer home the point that he needs to play more. He just plays at the right speed and he reads things quickly. 

TWO DOWN

Jaylen Brown: This was the opposite of the Horford game. Brown looked like a guy who played three overtimes on back-to-back nights not only with his 11 points on 4-10 shooting, but with his passes that flew out of bounds after missing their targets by a mile. I’m glad he only played 25 minutes and has a couple of days off. 

Malcolm Brogdon: He was just off tonight. He was 1-7 from 3 and 1-6 from 2. But not only that, all of those 2-pointers were layups. He just couldn't finish at all. If he had made a few of those, there wouldn’t have been much of a dip to bounce back from for the Celtics. The good news is that he usually follows these up with great games so watch for him to explode Saturday night.

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Nothing is fixed

This game was little more than a slump-buster. 

“I think tonight we just came out, we kind of rolled into things,” Brown said. “Portland did us a lot of favors tonight. If they would've been ready to play, we should've been ready to match the intensity there. I think we kind of played down a little bit. But it's the NBA. We found a way to win, so there's nothing to complain about. So we gotta be ready for the next one."

Hard to sum up this game any better than that. Kinda bums me out because I have to figure out how to take that paragraph and make a thousand words out of it for my next piece. 

Hey, I like a challenge. Someone in this building might as well have to work hard for their money tonight because the Celtics sure didn’t have to. 

- Getting Grant Williams right has to be a priority

He didn’t play for three quarters, basically coming in for extended garbage time minutes. He shot 2-7 from deep in those minutes. So basically, no progress to report on him today.

“I think the biggest thing is for him to continue to work and stay ready and do the things that he needs to do,” Al Horford said. “And he's been great at that. Grant has been very professional, very positive, and when he's getting his opportunities, he's making the most of them. And it’s something that, as a team, we're just rallying together and, at the end of the day, just all we're worried about is continuing to get wins and continuing to play the right way.”

Horford was being nice about Williams making the most of his opportunities. The reality is that he hasn’t, actually, been making the most of them and he’s fallen out of the rotation because of it. 

I don’t know if it’s his contract situation, the arm issue that has been bugging him yet hasn’t shown up on the injury report, or something else, Williams getting right has to be a priority. 

I’m going to say this in no uncertain terms: The Celtics won’t win a championship with Grant Williams out of the rotation. He’s too important to the team. He’s a versatile defender, he can space the floor, attack a closeout, and find open guys.

Williams at his best takes a lot of pressure off Tatum and Brown. He gives Boston another reliable shooter who can also help them get stops guarding a big or a perimeter player. 

But at his worst, he’s unplayable. And when he’s unplayable, that role has to go to someone far less suited for it. The Celtics have to get him right, or face the consequences. This can’t be how they go into the playoffs. 

Next up: The Celtics start a six-game road trip on Saturday night in Atlanta