BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Blazers 107 - C's cruise to easy win behind Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown scored 10 in the first and helped Boston recover from a sloppy start to take four-point lead after one. The Celtics got hot from 3 in the second quarter, but 16 offensive rebounds kept the Blazers within seven at the half. The Celtics briefly got the lead up to 14 before it settled at eight going into the fourth. Payton Pritchard closed things out as the Celtics pulled away in the fourth for their fifth straight win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Cruise control: The Celtics gave up 22 offensive rebounds, leading to Portland getting 15 more shot attempts, but all that did was keep the game relatively close and help pad the blocked shot numbers (Boston blocked eight). The Celtics basically looked like a dad running just fast enough to avoid getting touched in a game of tag with a bunch of children. 

- Pritchard the closer: He accounted for 23 of Boston’s 31 fourth-quarter points via scoring or assist. The bench wanted two of those points to come via dunk:

More on him later.

- Jaylen Brown 10,000 points: Not all in this game, that would be a record. Brown is the 15th Celtic to reach 10,000 points. He should pass Antoine Walker at some point next season for 14th on the scoring list. 

TURNING POINT

There kind of wasn’t one in this game. I suppose the closest we got was the middle of the fourth quarter when Boston went on a 12-2 run to build an 18-point lead. The Blazers had cut it to eight, not that it felt like it mattered. I never thought Boston was losing control of this game regardless of the situation. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jaylen Brown: Did a nice job mixing up his game, attacking and scoring, driving and kicking, and taking 3-pointers. He finished 10-17 from the field (3-5 3pt) for a very easy 26 points in 29:50 of play. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: He blocked five shots, two of them in one of the few exciting sequences in this game. 

“I'm working hard on my legs and my stance. I'm being locked in defensively,” he said after the game. “In the postseason, there's going to be more switching. I need to be at my best, at my peak defensively and offensively. So yeah. Just finding those opportunities to help the team defensively the best I can."

Sam Hauser: Not the flamethrower night that would have made for a great postgame story (thanks for nothin’, Sam), but a nice 2-4 night from 3 nonetheless. He also had three assists and was one of two Celtics in positive double-digits in +/-. 

Dalano Banton: Okay he plays for Portland now but I'm glad to see him making the most of his opportunity. Good for him. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Offensive rebounds: Trust me, I’m not getting worked up about any of this. However, allowing 22 offensive rebounds is such a ridiculous number that I have to mention it. And Joe Mazzulla wasn’t worked up about it either. He couldn't bring himself to say anything more than “ I mean, some of them, just got to box out.”

Translation: 'We were all cool with giving about 65% effort out there against this team.'

- No tribute video for Robert Williams: I feel like he had done enough as a Celtic to earn a video. He is still a fan favorite here. Obviously it’s not a big deal, but I thought it was appropriate. All he got was a graphic and a closeup on the jumbotron. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This stretch of “meaningless” games means a lot to Payton Pritchard

Just because these guys don’t mean anything in the standings, it doesn’t mean that guys aren’t getting a lot out of them. Especially Pritchard. 

He closed out the Blazers with a huge fourth quarter both scoring and passing. He’s getting blitzed and double-teamed and he’s handling the pressure well. 

“I think his pace his ability to keep possession underneath the rim, not only is he looking to score there, but he's had some really good kick-out threes to Sam and to some guys,” Mazzulla said. “That's a skill that for a point guard is to know when to keep your dribble, when to pick up your dribble to pass and so he's done a good job of kind of navigating that balance.”

Pritchard’s ability to keep that dribble alive and find seams to shoot has allowed him to hit some big shots. Against Portland, he did exactly what a team with the lead needed him to do. He hit shots and made good passes for points. 

“There’s been times throughout this season where we’ve finished the half with him, and I think there’s been times when he’s gone on runs on his own, and he’s done things that have kept us in games,” Mazzulla said. “I think this year, it’s been very clear cut, but I think he’s also really grown as a player to be like, ‘I’m not just going to be defined by this. I’m going to affect the game with ball pressure, defensive rebounding, offensive rebounding, pushing the pace in transition.’ So he takes pride in situational basketball, and he takes pride in finding any way to impact the game, and I think that’s big for us.”

Pritchard isn't just an “energy guy” anymore. He’s been impressive as the focal point of the offense, and these kinds of reps will be valuable to him moving forward. 

He asked for a trade last season so he could get minutes and show what he can do on the floor. This is the type of stuff he always knew he could do. 

Next up: Boston travels to Milwaukee for their final road game of the regular season on Tuesday night