BSJ Game Report: Celtics 118, Pelicans 116 - Tatum, Brown come through in the clutch

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The teams started back-and-forth but then Trey Murphy went nuclear for 16 first-quarter points and a three-point lead after one. It hovered around there until Derrick White checked in and helped fuel a 20-11 finish to the half. Murphy kept the hot streak rolling in the third, shortly erasing Boston’s lead. The C’s recovered to go up five heading into the fourth, but as usual, they struggled to hold on. This time, though, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum hit big shots to take the win. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- A clutch win: Should it have been a clutch game? Probably not. The Celtics missed a bunch of free throws, the refs missed a goaltending call, and Murphy missed … nothing. It all added up to a tie game with less than a minute left. Then Brown and Tatum hit their shots and the Celtics escaped with the win. As Joe Mazzulla said after the game, “it's one of those games where if you win, you're happy, and if you lose you're not.”

- Porzingis defensive gem: He finished with four blocks and three steals and was a key reason why the Celtics were able to hold the Pelicans off. I think his return, along with White in the second, was part of why Boston was able to take some control heading into halftime. 

- Another monster opponent game: I don’t know what it is about facing the Celtics that makes guy have career nights, but Murphy was a couple points shy of his career-high in points and a couple of 3s short of his best-ever shooting night. I get that he got some good looks early and got hot, but a lot of guys get good looks early in games and don’t explode for nights like this. I don’t know why it keeps happening, but here we are. 

- Best road record: The C’s are 18-6 on the road. That's the league’s best record away from home.

TURNING POINT 

What else is there to choose besides the defensive stand that got Murphy to finally miss a freakin’ shot. The Celtics forced a 24-second violation with :52 on the clock, then Brown hit a go-ahead shot with :34, giving the Celtics a 2-for-1 opportunity. CJ McCollum hit a tough floater, but Tatum answered with 0.2 on the clock. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Closing it out: Don’t worry, there's plenty of time to discuss how they got there. What’s more important is that once they were there, they clamped down on defense and their two stars hit huge shots. The Celtics haven't closed these games out much this season, so I’ll gladly take this. 

- Derrick White: He finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He shot 5-9 overall and 3-6 from 3. And to be honest, I feel like his impact far out-paced those numbers. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: He also had 16 points and though his 5-12 shooting and 2-7 from 3 make it look like he’s cooled off, just one more 3-pointer falling would make it a 50/40 shooting night. I thought the Celtics did a good job going to him in the middle of the fourth to hold off the Pels, and they probably could have gone to that more often. But the overall stat line was nuts: 16 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, and four blocks. 

Jaylen Brown: 28 points on 11-18 shooting (3-6 3pt), six rebounds, four assists, and just one turnover. He might have doubled that assist number if guys hit some shots in the second quarter. He was making some incredible reads. 

- Dropping dimes: The Celtics had 32 assists on 42 made baskets. The Celtics are 14-0 when they dish 30 or more assists this season. They have won 28 straight games with 30 or more assists.

- Jayson Tatum: 27 points and 10 assists to go along with the game-winner. I’m still not thrilled with his whole shot selection and he had five turnovers. 

- Luke Kornet: He was the recipient of a couple Tatum dimes in the fourth on pick-and-rolls. He had 11 points on a perfect 4-4 night from the field and 3-3 from the line. 

- Sam Hauser: He shot 3-6 from 3. Maybe the C’s shooting is back. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Losing the lead: Some of it was their own doing. They missed free throws, they overhelped on some plays, and they turned the ball over. The last-minute heroics wouldn't have been necessary if they had just played with a little more poise over the last few minutes. 

At the same time, there's some bad luck, like Murphy’s wild banked 3-pointer when it was 112-106 Boston with four minutes to go. A miss there and Tatum converting a layup later would have made it a nine-point game and maybe the moment gets away from New Orleans. 

- Missed free throws: This is a killer. They missed five over the last 4:21. Make those and this is a different game. 

- Bench production: New Orleans got 43 points out of their bench while Boston’s scored 27. Jose Alvarado going for 20 shouldn't be happening.

- Dejounte Murray’s injury: He suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Brutal injury for him and another hit for a cursed team. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Either make a goaltending call reviewable or don’t

How is it that every Celtic on the floor could see the goaltending when Porzingis was fouled with 1:16 to go but the refs couldn't? That was an obvious goaltending call, but it wasn’t reviewable because the refs didn’t call it. For them to be able to review it, they needed to call it a goaltend first. 

Which raises an important point. 

“To me, it just makes sense to call it so that you can get it right, especially under two minutes,” Joe Mazzulla said. “When you know a play’s reviewable, it just makes sense to call it that way, and so that way you can get back. But they didn't.” 

I’m with Joe. If the only way to review a goaltend is to call it, then the refs should call it and then review it to get it right. 

Also, the replay center goes back and looks at shots to see if they were 2 or 3-pointers, or even if a foot was out of bounds. Those plays are changed all the time. The video showed the ball was poked out by New Orleans from under the basket. It was a dead-ball situation. What justification is there for them to not be able to review it? It makes no sense. 

Next up: The Celtics visit the Sixers on Sunday for a 6 p.m. game.