BSJ Game Report: Trail Blazers 114, Celtics 108 - Late mistakes, missed shots, cost C's

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out hot, but their lazy defense let Donovan Clingan get going, and Portland took a small lead. Jaylen Brown got blistering hot to end the second quarter, flipping Boston’s deficit into an eight-point lead. It touched 10 before a Blazers run gave them a one-point lead heading into the fourth. They went back and forth, but Boston couldn't capitalize on the many chances it had to win the game. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Messy finish: The Celtics turned it over four times in the final 1:08. It was so sloppy that they only TOOK one shot in the final 1:45, a 3-pointer made by Derrick White. Brown was clearly frustrated at the end of this game. 

- Clingan killed them: Clingan had an 18/18 double-double, with seven of those rebounds coming on the offensive glass. The Celtics looked like they were going to roll through the Blazers early on, and then Clingan came in and changed the game. 

- Brown makes history: On the plus side, Brown had another 30-point game (37, to be exact), tying him with Larry Bird for the longest streak of 30-point scoring games in team history. Not only has it been nine straight, it’s 12 out of 13, and the other game was a triple-double.  This was his 18th 30-plus point game this season, double last year’s total and four away from his personal best of 22, accomplished in the ‘22-23 season.

TURNING POINT 

The final 2:41 of the game was full of opportunities the Celtics never could capitalize on. They went 1-3 from the field over that stretch, scoring just three points. The Blazers scored eight, getting to the line five times, and getting three steals. It was a one-point game twice over that stretch, and Boston couldn't take advantage. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jaylen Brown (non-clutch minutes): Honestly, it was mostly his first-half minutes when he scored 27 points and dominated the second quarter. I think he wanted to do it again in the fourth and couldn't, which fed his frustration. He shot 61%, had seven rebounds, and four assists. 

- Neemias Queta: He was quietly pretty good in this game. He had four offensive rebounds, he blocked a couple of shots, and he had one very pretty left block post finish looked, dare I say it, nimble. 

- Hugo Gonzalez: 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a nice bounce-back from a rough game in Indiana. It would have been nice if he’d shot better than 1-5 from 3, but I thought he took good shots and played well on defense. 

This defensive play from Derrick White: This is just incredible instincts. 

He recognized the play, sniffed out the alley oop, went up to get the ball at the apex, and he touched it off the backboard to give his team the chance to get the ball. This is incredibly high IQ stuff.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Derrick White and Jaylen Brown getting all mixed up: These guys have won a championship together, so if anyone is going to know how to execute down the stretch, it would be these two. But something failed them this time around. They botched a screen, tossed a pass into the back court, and had different ideas about where Brown was cutting on a critical out-of-bounds play. Uncharacteristic stuff. 

- Derrick White’s shooting: He was 5-16 overall and 2-10 from 3. He had a few shots that would have changed the game. 

- Payton Pritchard: I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him play this poorly in Portland. This is HIS house. They love him there. A nine-point game from Pritchard in a six-point loss really hurts. 21 combined from him and White is brutal. 

- Letting Clingan dominate: I know Clingan is a big dude and he’s hard to deal with because this is what he does, but they were flat-out losing him over and over again. Half of those boards were preventable, in my opinion. Boston did a good job getting their own second chances (21 second chance points), but it didn’t get them anywhere because Clingan helped the Blazers score 19 second chance points.

- Turnover battle: Much like the rebounding, the Celtics did a great job forcing turnovers, but they were too sloppy to capitalize. They forced 21 turnovers for 20 points, but they committed 19 for 18 points. 

We talk about the margin for error being thin for Boston. They shot poorly (29% from 3), rebounded poorly, and were sloppy with the ball. They can deal with one of those things and win. They can’t have two or three. 

And while I’m here, 20 points off 21 turnovers isn’t enough. That needed to be higher. Not converting turnovers into points has been a little bit of a problem for them this season. 

- Luka Garza: He had five fouls, getting swept up in the illegal screen explosion early in the game. If you missed it, one of the reasons why the turnovers were so high is because of all the illegal screens that were called in this game. 

- Josh Minott, DNP-CD: I find it hard to believe that Minott could have helped somehow. I wonder what’s going on here. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Jaylen Brown’s visible frustration at the end of the game irked me a little. 

Brown turned the ball over after being blitzed late in the fourth quarter, and he turned to White and demonstrably waved at him to signal he simply wanted to iso and that White had stayed in the screen too long.

The sentiment is fine, but I didn’t like the way he waved at White. I got the feeling that Brown was in a thing with Toumani Camara, and he got frustrated that he couldn't finish the job so he could put the exclamation point on the game. 

Let me be clear, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Brown do something like that, so I’m not making it a big deal. It’s a note at the end here and not a full-blown column. 

At the same time, that just needs to be communicated in a way that doesn’t draw attention to what was going on. First, it makes people like me question why he’d handle it that way, and second, it lets the Blazers know what you’re trying to do. 

It’s not a big deal, but it’s a little slip from a guy who has been a really good leader this season. 

Next Up: The Celtics' road trip continues Tuesday night in Utah.