BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Kings 106 - White, Brown help C's pull away from Sacramento

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The C’s were sloppy and the Kings came out hot, but Luka Garza, again, made an impact after checking in and Boston was only down one after the first quarter. Anfernee Simons led a big bench quarter to put Boston up one a halftime. The teams traded runs in the third and went into the fourth tied. Derrick White woke up in the fourth and the C’s pulled away.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Pulling away late: Boston’s biggest lead of the night was the final difference of 14 points. White not only struggled to score, he was having trouble just getting shots off. But he went off in the fourth quarter, joined by Jaylen Brown to account for 22 of Boston’s 32 points. 

- Bench boost: 35 of Boston's 62 halftime points came from the bench. The only had 11 in the second half, but that's when the starters were able to do more, especially in the fourth quarter. Things started slow for the Celtics, but the bench came in and stabilized things, which follows a recent trend. 

- Moving on up: The Celtics picked up their 21st win, moving them within two of the Knicks for the second seed. The 21st win matches the Houston Rockets, which is wild considering Houston is a championship contender. Boston is one of nine teams with a winning percentage above 60%. Saturday night against the Clippers, who just won their sixth in a row, is going to be a fun test. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics went on an 11-4 run to take a 10-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter. It was the first double-digit lead of the game for either team. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Fourth quarter Derrick White: The man hit one shot through three quarters (1-6 fg) and then went 4-7 in the fourth. He did have seven assists through three quarters, so it wasn’t like he was doing nothing. At the same time, the Celtics needed him to score and the fourth quarter showed what this game could have been if White was scoring (and Boston was defending). 

- Jaylen Brown attacking: He couldn't hit a jumper to save his life, but he lived in the paint and at the line. He put up 29 points and 10 rebounds and the consensus is that he didn’t even play all that great. He was awful in the first quarter, but kept attacking to ultimately put up a big scoring night.

- Sam Hauser: He shot 5-7 from deep on his way to a 15-point night. This feels like the upswing month for him after a slow start and nice recovery. He also grabbed five rebounds, which is always important. 

- Bench stepping up: The bench was so important in the first half because it obviously took a while for the stars to get going. All of Simons’ scoring came in the first half. Luka Garza was really good again, changing the game with his early crashing and finishing in pick-and-rolls. Hugo Gonzalez was +20. And the bench ended up with 12 of Boston’s 17 made 3-pointers. 

“Our job is just come in, bring energy and bring fresh legs,” Hauser said. “I think if you do that, usually good things happen. So I don't know if there's much else to it than that, but it's been fun.”

- Water finding its level: The Kings were 8-16 from 3 in the first half, but they shot 4-20 after halftime. They were 0-10 in the fourth quarter. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Another slow start: It ultimately didn’t matter, but it’d be nice if the Celtics can start games out a little better. Teams are lighting Boston up in first quarters. Although, I suppose you could argue it’s better to spend the rest of the game fighting rather than coasting. You could also argue that starting strong and maintaining that would be nice. 

- Jordan Walsh: He started, played five minutes, and then never got back in the game. 

“It’s not something he's doing wrong,” Joe Mazzulla said. “ It's just we can go to so many different things. …

“Coming out of a halftime and making a change, I think can kind of throw a team off to start a game. I thought that's one of the reasons why we went on the run is Neemi’s defense and then just our offense is obviously different when you have Sam out there on the floor. And so it's really just taking any advantage we can with the entire roster that we have, and just trying to win segments of the game, and kind of go on runs and catch the opponent off guard with different matchups and different opportunities.”

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This is an impressive road trip

Only four teams have more road wins than the Celtics. They haven't been their sharpest, but they’ve been winning these games in a variety of ways. 

The competition has been a factor in this. Before the trip began, I said the Celtics have a chance to really pile up some wins, and they have. The Clippers (especially Kawhi Leonard) are playing great right now, so this next game will be a nice test for Boston, but even if they lose, I think this has been a good stretch for them. 

Winning road games is hard, so there isn’t much need to make the analysis a beauty contest. I think they could do things better, and they are working to clean things up, but at the same time, you take the wins when they come. 

Next Up: The Celtics wrap up the road trip on Saturday night against the Clippers.