BSJ Game Report: Celtics 132, Kings 109 - Tatum & Brown combine for 63 to lead blowout win

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Kings came out hot but the Celtics were able to hang around thanks to Jayson Tatum’s 15 points (a lot of which started with post touches). Jaylen Brown got going in the second quarter as the teams exchanged big runs. Boston got the last one and took a 60-54 halftime lead. The lead grew to 19 in a third quarter that saw them put up 40 points. It settled at 15 to start the fourth, but quickly grew to 20 before the Kings made one last run that Boston quickly shut down.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Best effort in weeks: Okay, sure, it was against the fifth-worst defense and a team playing their fifth game in seven nights, but the Celtics did exactly what they were supposed to do in this situation. They attacked and got themselves to the free throw line or kick-outs to open 3-pointers. Their reward: shooting 41% from deep and 33 assists. 

Protect the ball: The Celtics only had 2 turnovers heading into the fourth quarter for 2 Kings points (They had 4 in the fourth). Meanwhile, the 14 they forced turned into 21 points. Six of those belonged to Sabonis as the Celtics laid in wait for him to try to find cutting teammates and pounced into the passing lanes. 

Winning the margins: Along with points off turnovers (21 to 6), the Celtics won the second chance points battle (17 to 5), free throw battle (16 made to 14). They took 11 more shots and converted 10 of those, and only 1 of those was a 3-pointer

TURNING POINT

The Kings got it down to 107-95 with 8:25 to go, but Boston answered by out-scoring Sacramento 14-2 over the next 4:36. The beauty of it is that the run went layup/layup/layup/drive-and-kick 3/free throws/dunk and-1. 

It wasn’t a bunch of pull-up 3-pointers. It was attack, attack, attack. 

FIVE UP

Jayson Tatum: 36 points on 14-25 shooting … and only SEVEN 3-pointers. 

… I’m going to pause here for just a second to note that I can’t believe I just wrote the phrase “only SEVEN 3-pointers.” It applies, and I’m about to get into why it’s a great number, but jeez what a world we live in where someone taking that many 3-pointers is actually not a lot. 

Anyway … look at his shot chart!

10 of 14 in the restricted area is Giannis Antetokounmpo-like. Tack on the 11 free throws and the only complaint I have tonight is that he went 6-11 from the line. 

This is the kind of game that makes Tatum an MVP candidate. 

Jaylen Brown: 27 points on 10-16 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. When Tatum sat, Brown took over and went to work. The Celtics are tough to beat when their two stars combine from more than 60 points. 

Derrick White: 20 points and a team-high 11 assists for White, who also added 7 rebounds just for fun. Oh, and another 2 blocked shots for him as well. 

This is the best possession of the night: White starts the offense, attacks, kicks it to the corner, relocates as the ball swings to Tatum, who attacks and finds White for a corner 3-pointer. 

That is just pure beauty. This is what basketball is supposed to look like. I'm not kidding when I say I get tingles watching a sequence like that. Just damn near perfect basketball.

Marcus Smart: His second quarter was an abomination. His shots were nowhere close. It was tough to watch. But his second half was so much better. The 7 point, 4 assist second half was exactly what Boston needed, so I’m going to give him the credit for settling down and adjusting. He finished with 7 assists on the night, and he had some very good defensive plays to go along with the passing. 

Grant Williams: He did what the Celtics needed, made some big-time hustle plays, and he didn’t try to do too much on offense. He’s been pretty good over the past couple of games.

NONE DOWN

I’m feeling generous tonight! This was a good all-around win and Smart redeemed himself after a terrible start. If I’m going to nitpick, I’ll say going 16-23 from the line is not good, but 5 of those misses belonged to Tatum who had a weird off night from the line. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Maybe we’re seeing the end of the double-big lineup

I’ve been a proponent of starting Robert Williams and Al Horford together, and that might still be the plan overall, but maybe that's just not going to be the case moving forward. 

I’m not going to completely base that judgment on this game because Williams just came back from injury, so it’s tough to tell what the plan will be. However, if the plan IS to get him back into the starting lineup, then I think he needs to get the reps with them right away. 

I’m wondering if the decision to bring him off the bench plays into a bigger plan to keep White in the starting lineup. We’ve all been asking for more White, and this feels like the most obvious, least-impactful on the overall rotations kind of way to make that happen. 

Maybe starting five-out with Horford is the better way to go with Williams as a change-of-pace guy who can join the closing lineup when they need stops. 

I’m not sure how it will go come playoff time, and those things are generally matchup-based anyway, but maybe Joe Mazzulla will opt for the continuity of this season overriding what worked last season.

Next up: The Celtics return home for a Friday night game against Indiana