BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Pelicans 119 - It wasn't pretty, but C's do just enough to win

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Dejounte Murray shot 5-6 from 3 in the first quarter, scoring 17 points, while the Celtics shot 3-14 from deep and fell behind by six after one. The Celtics spread the scoring around to win the second by seven, but Jaylen Brown was in the middle of it all with four assists. Jayson Tatum’s 11 was enough to give Boston a one-point lead despite Trey Murphy’s 13. That lead held up despite a comedy of errors down the stretch.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Phew! I’m not going to pretend the Celtics went out and won that game. If I didn’t know better, I’d say both teams were trying to lose. After taking a 110-107 lead with 4:51 to go, the Celtics turned it over twice, missed two shots in the paint, and missed all three of their 3-pointers. Luckily the Pelicans were just about as bad. 

- Uncharacteristic mistakes: Whatever the hell is going on, everyone can agree that the Celtics are playing uncharacteristically bad basketball lately. The two turnovers by Derrick White were mind-boggling. The Celtics missed tons of layups. They just aren’t themselves at all. 

- Oh wait, they won: It might not feel like it, but the Celtics did actually win this game. They are 28-11 on January 12. A year ago, they were 29-9.

“I would say the ultimate compliment is we're 28-11, and these are the types of conversations that we're having,” Joe Mazzulla said. “So it's a beautiful place to be. I'm serious. I think it's great. It's a great standard and a great expectation to have, and we have to deliver. We all know that. That’s the process towards it, but when you're — what are we, the third team in the league right now? Which isn't great, but look at the — you sound like a morgue in here, and that's how it should be, because of where we're trying to get to. So it's the ultimate compliment, and we just continue to work through it.”

He’s right. Every question we asked was as if the team had lost. The tone of that interview was somber. It was the right tone, because of how they played, but they did win the game. And that's the most important thing. 

TURNING POINT 

New Orleans took a one-point lead after White’s first turnover, but the Celtics went on a quick 6-0 spurt to get it to 120-115 with :22 left. They didn’t score after that, but it was enough for them to hold on.

THINGS I LIKED

Jayson Tatum: 38 points, 11 rebounds, and a block. He shot poorly from 3 (2-10), but he was 8-11 at the rim and one of those misses he rebounded and dunked late in the fourth. He had three live-ball turnovers, which isn’t good, especially the telegraphed one that led to an end-of-quarter dunk. I think he needs to be more selective with some of his 3-point shots, too. I don’t care about the volume, but a couple of them are just too quick, especially against a team like New Orleans. 

Jaylen Brown’s passing: He dropped a few really pretty dimes on his way to a team-best seven assists. He did have some bad turnovers of his own, but he hit Luke Kornet with some gorgeous passes early in the game. 

Payton Pritchard: He was the rare Celtic could say he wasn’t cold in this game, hitting 3-8 from deep. 

Al Horford: He was the even more rare Cetlic who could say he was hot from 3, going 3-4.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

The fourth quarter: The Celtics are having a hard time putting teams away. They are playing too much unfocused basketball. Other teams are putting up better-than-expected performances and the Celtics are going in the opposite direction. Credit the Celtics for keeping it together and not letting it get out of control like it did against Sacramento, but that was as much the Pelicans playing just as bad as it was Boston keeping their wits about them. 

Derrick White: I don't think he likes the cold. Remember last season when there was a big push for White to be an All-Star and then he faded ahead of the game? He’s doing it again, having a tough December and January and all but guaranteeing he’s not going to San Francisco for All-Star weekend. How often do you see him make two boneheaded plays in the last five minutes of a close game? I don’t even remember the last time he made one.

Turnovers: New Orleans turned it over 10 times for four points. Boston gave it up 12 times for 17 points. The Celtics need to protect the ball better. Here I go again bemoaning the 3-point shooting conversation, but this time I’m doing it to say we’re missing the bigger point of Boston handing the opposition too many easy buckets off turnovers. That's a much bigger problem right now. 

3-point shooting: The Celtics have to hit shots. I don’t know if they need to get a monkey paw from somewhere or make a wish at a Zoltar machine, but they need to find their mojo from the 3-point line in a hurry. They are 24-85 (28.2%) over the last two games and 32.8% in January. Their shooting has gone from 40.7% in October to 36.7% in November, 35.4% in December, and now below 33% this month. This has to change. 

Meanwhile, Trey Murphy and Dejounte Murray combined to shoot 11-19. I'm shocked the Celtics didn’t lose. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The 3-point advantage has disappeared, and Boston needs to get it back. 

I made a big thing about Boston’s 3-point advantage building a massive scoring disparity into every game. Teams just couldn't keep up with Boston’s attack. Now, that disparity has shifted. 

In November, opponents were shooting 12.6 for 35.6 from 3 (35.3%) while the Celtics were 18.5 for 50.4 (36.7%). In January, Boston is shooting 14.3 for 43.7 per game (32.8%). Opponents are shooting 16 for 38.8 (41.2%). 

What used to be a six 3-pointer edge for Boston is now a two 3-pointer deficit. An 18-point advantage is now a six-point hole. The Celtics need to shoot better, take better shots, and maybe take a few more of them if I’m being honest (pauses for angry comments to be written). At the same time, they have to be better at defending the 3-point line. 

Some of this is bad luck. The Celtics have been getting hit with some crazy outlier shooting performances while their guys are struggling. White, for example, is shooting 29.5% this month. He was well over 40% at the end of November. 

You can yell and scream about 3-pointers versus 2-pointers all you want, but you're screaming at the wall. This is how the Celtics play and all the comments you leave here and elsewhere won’t change anything. They are going to take 3-pointers and they're going to take a lot of them.

They had a big-time math advantage earlier this season and it’s gone now. And that means they're struggling to find ways to win. The problem isn’t that they're taking too many 3s, it’s that they're not making them as well as they used to, and they're not taking enough of them to overcome what opponents are shooting. 

Next up: The Celtics visit Toronto on Wednesday night.