(Photo courtesy of EuroSport.com) “Jayson Tatum attempts to score against Bulls defender.”
Shaan Baid
Connector Editor
Boston improves to a lead-best record of 56-14 after victories over the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Milwaukee Bucks. They are head-and-shoulders above the Eastern Conference, holding an 11-game lead over the second-place Bucks for the No. 2 seed.
On Sunday, the Celtics obliterated the Washington Wizards 130-104. With guards Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, forward Jaylen Brown and center Kristaps Porzingis out due to injuries, forwards Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser combined for 60 points in the win. Boston came out of the gates hot, outscoring Washington 45-27 in the first quarter. The three-point shooting set the tone for the offense.
At halftime, Boston led 81-53, and Washington never found a way to get back into the game. While Boston cooled off in the third quarter, they still outscored Washington 27- 25. Washington won the fourth quarter 26-22, but the game was out of reach. Tatum scored 30 points on 8/17 field goal shooting and 6/12 three-point shooting. Hauser scored a career-high 30 points, sinking ten threes. Boston shot 48% from three, connecting on 24/50 threes-point attempts.
On Monday, Boston blew out Detroit 119-94. Brown, Porzingis and White returned for this matchup and contributed to the win. Early on, the lowly 12-56 Pistons gave Boston some resistance, only trailing 28-31 after the first quarter. However, Boston slowly took over the game, winning the second quarter 28-18 and the third quarter 33-20. Detroit won the fourth quarter 28-27, but the Celtics’ lead was insurmountable. Brown led the way with 31 points on 11/20 field goal shooting and 3/6 three-point shooting. White had a triple-double, scoring 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 6/12 three-point shooting.
Pritchard scored 23 points on 8/14 shooting and 5/9 three-point shooting. The returning Porzingis, who hadn’t played since March 7, scored 20 points on 7/14 field goal shooting and 5/9 three-point shooting. Boston’s three-point shooting and stellar defense helped deliver them the win.
On Wednesday, Boston got into a dogfight with the shorthanded Bucks, down superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. While an ugly performance, they won 122-119. Boston was without Holiday. After a slim 33-28 first-quarter lead, Boston was able to dominate Milwaukee 36-28 in the second quarter. Jayson Tatum took over the first half, leading all scorers with 23 points. Boston kept things under control in the third quarter, outscoring Milwaukee 32-27.
However, Milwaukee was able to storm back into the game in the fourth quarter, as Boston nearly squandered a 22-point lead. The lead got cut to single digits thanks to Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, small forward Khris Middleton and center Bobby Portis. Fortunately, Boston held on to the lead after timely buckets from Tatum and Porzingis in the closing minutes.
Tatum finished with 31 points and eight rebounds on 9/19 field goal shooting and 4/7 three-point shooting. Brown finished with 21 points and eight rebounds on 2/4 three-point shooting. Derrick White also chipped in with 23 points. On Friday, Boston faced Detroit again, winning 129-102. This time, they were without Tatum, who was resting his ankle. Holiday still wasn’t able to return from an arm injury.
Nevertheless, Boston won short-handed again. Boston trailed 34-32 after the first quarter but quickly took over with a furious response in the second quarter, outscoring Detroit by a whopping 27-19. Boston never looked back as they won the third quarter 35-30 and the fourth quarter 25-19. Brown stepped up in Tatum’s absence as he scored 33 points on 13/19 field goal shooting while knocking down three threes. Pritchard scored 20 points on 8/15 shooting, along with four makes from three. Boston continues to be a dominant force in the league, looking like the most complete team in basketball. Despite being short-handed, Boston’s depth propelled them to victories.
