BSJ Game Report: Rockets 114, Celtics 112 - Brooks sets team record, shoots down Celtics

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Rockets, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out hot, building a nine-point lead, but Dillon Brooks was perfect from 3 and the Rockets took advantage of some unique C’s lineups to go into the second up four. They pushed the lead to 11, but Boston answered with a closing run to cut it to two at the half. Jayson Tatum woke up to score 15 in the third, giving Boston a four-point lead. They pushed it to 12 but the Rockets answered immediately, setting up a back-and-forth finish that ended with Amen Thompson’s game-winner for Houston.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- A tough battle: The Celtics were without Derrick White and Sam Hauser, and then Al Horford was a late scratch, forcing the Celtics into searching mode to find anything that worked. They got into a little groove in the second half and it looked like they might pull away but the Rockets recovered. The Celtics fought the whole way and just fell short to a good team. 

 - Joe Mazzulla takes blame: The Celtics had some tough defensive lapses to close the game. Mazzulla said “those were my fault. It didn't put us in the best matchups. I saw the play that they were trying to run. I tried to change the matchups. They put our guys in a tough spot. So that's a tough one, because I thought our guys did everything to win the game, and they put us in position to win it, and I didn't help them at the end. So both those plays, 100 percent on me.”

- Dillon Brooks’ career night: It seemed like everyone was expecting Brooks to come back down to earth after a 4-4 start from 3, and he actually did with a 1-5 second quarter. But he picked right back up in the second half, blowing past his career-high seven and finishing 10-15. 

“He set a franchise record,” Tatum said. “We didn’t expect that, for sure.”

TURNING POINT

Houston’s 13-0 run in the fourth quarter grabbed the momentum from the Celtics and turned it into a back-and-forth game, outscoring Boston 25-11 the rest of the way. Because Mazzulla used some early timeouts, the Celtics were stuck with just two at that point so burning one would have put them in a terrible bind. 

This exact scenario is why Mazzulla has had a tendency to avoid early timeouts. As you saw, he needed both of those timeouts and probably could have used both of them at the end to extend the game another possession. He lost one in a challenge, which was a tough blow, but if he’d saved an earlier one, he certainly would have called one to stop this run. 

I know there are bigger issues here, but this situation is exactly why Mazzulla tends to save his timeouts when he can. I bet you there's one he’d like to have back from earlier in the game to manage the end a bit better.

THINGS I LIKED

The fight: I’ve been critical of the Celtics for giving in to things like fatigue and some excuses, but this wasn’t one of those games. They fought until the very end. They didn’t execute all that great down the stretch defensively, and they missed some good looks that would have stopped that big Houston run, but they didn’t stop fighting. That's important for a team that has been quick to chalk up some of these losses. 

Luke Kornet: Yes, he blew it defensively on the Alperin Sengun dunk with about 10 seconds to go, but he was a huge reason why the Celtics had a chance. It’s a shame they lost because he had two more big dunks in this game. I wanted to ask him why he has so many poster dunks on the Rockets. Maybe I’ll just wait until NBA Finals media day. 

Tatum’s second half: He played all 24 minutes, shooting 5-9, getting to the rim and to the free throw line eight times, and putting a lot of pressure on the Rockets defense. 

Kristaps Porzingis’ first half: He carried the Celtics with 15 first half points, but he only scored two in the second half. I have to go back and look at why he was so minimized in the second half. Only one shot after halftime isn’t going to cut it. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Late-game defense: Giving up a wide-open dunk to Sengun and a clean look to Thompson isn’t great. Kornet was way out of position against Sengun and then the late switch against Thompson pulled Brown out of position. I don’t think the Celtics should be killed for this loss, but they also can’t have lapses like those. 

Weird lineups: Here’s my second choice for a turning point in this game, and even now I’m debating making the switch. Mazzulla went with Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman in the first quarter and the Celtics starting strong. Brook’s 3-pointers were the only things keeping Houston around, but after the subs, Houston closed the quarter 16-8 to take a lead. Tillman just wasn’t working. That was a bad decision by Mazzulla. 

Dillon Brooks: Let’s take a look at his 3-pointers

What’s funny to me is he missed the ones where the Celtics messed up the most defensively and he hit the most contested of the bunch. Could they have contested a few of them better? Maybe. But they also held Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and Alperen Sengun to 30 combined points. Brooks and Thompson average 26 combined and they teamed up to drop 69 on Boston. 

I look at all of these again and I think there's no chance in hell he ever hits those 10 3-pointers again under those circumstances. Remember when Marcus Smart went 11-22 from 3 to set a team record? This was that all over again. 

Turnovers: Boston coughed it up 15 times for 21 Rockets points. 

JAYLEN BROWN’S GAME

I don’t know where I fall overall on his game. I think he falls into the first half/second half splits of good to start and worse to finish. But he also made some strong plays and hit two monster free throws in the clutch. But THEN he also missed some shots that he should have made down the stretch. I need to mention the game he had but I have to go back and take a closer look to see how good or bad this really was for him.

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Rockets won this game

Give the Rockets credit. They are the second seed in the West for a reason. They took this game from Boston. I know people are worked up about another home loss and another fourth-quarter lead lost, but I don’t see this the same as Boston’s other losses. 

If they had been motoring along without going through this .500 stretch, I think people might be more willing to join me in this space. I don’t think we should let those results color this effort.

- Xavier Tillman’s time might be up

I like Tillman. I really do. He just has not been effective for Boston. He’s had some moments, and a great one in the NBA Finals, but he’s too timid to shoot in some spots and then he’s missing the shots he does take. 

I just don’t see how he can be effective in Boston. Unfortunately, the Celtics are stuck. Under the old system, I’d say package him, Springer, and a first and look for a $7-$8 million player at the deadline. But the Celtics can’t do that now. I don’t know what the next move is for him, but the Celtics might be better off looking for someone else who can fill his small role off the bench. 

Next up: The Celtics host the Bulls on Wednesday night