Pelicans go up 2-0 behind Holiday’s 33
Removed from the turbulence that marked his previous seasons in New Orleans, Jrue Holiday is in a good place — and it shows.
Holiday had a career-playoffhigh 33 points as the Pelicans took a 2-0 lead in their firstround playoff series against host Portland with a 111-102 victory Tuesday night. The series shifts to New Orleans on Thursday.
Holiday struggled at times with injuries after coming to the Pelicans in 2013. Then in early 2016, he took a leave of absence when doctors discovered that his wife, former U.S. national soccer team player Lauren Holiday, had a brain tumor while she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
Holiday played Tuesday night with emotion he did not often show earlier in his career. He agreed that it felt a weight has been lifted.
“My family’s the most important thing to me, and with them being OK, I can come back to the team freely and be able to help them out now,” Holiday said. “It’s been fun.”
Holiday added nine assists for the Pelicans. Rajon Rondo came close to his 11th postseason triple-double with had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Portland trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but Damian Lillard hit a threepointer and added a free throw to tie the game 93-93 with 7:31 left.
New Orleans went back in front behind baskets from Holiday and Rondo before Portland retied it and later took a onepoint lead.
Nikola Mirotic and Holiday each hit three-pointers to put the Pelicans back in front and Portland couldn’t catch up. Fans at the Moda Center booed at the final buzzer.
CJ McCollum, who struggled along with Lillard in the opener, rebounded with 22 points to lead the Blazers. Lillard finished with 17 points for the Blazers, who were hurt in the third quarter when starters Jusuf Nurkic (left leg) and Evan Turner (right toe) left the game. Raptors 130, Wizards 119: DeMar DeRozan’s big game put host Toronto in a place the franchise has not been before: up 2-0 in a playoff series.
DeRozan matched his careerplayoff high with 37 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry had 13 points and a careerplayoff-high 12 assists as Toronto set team playoff records for points in a quarter, half and game.
“I though DeMar was super on the offensive end,” Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said. “We needed every point. He did an excellent job of reading what the defense was doing to him and making them pay.”
Wall scored 29 points for Washington, which hosts Game 3 on Friday night.
Washington guard Bradley Beal missed eight of 11 shots and finished with nine points. He had more fouls (three) in the first half than baskets (two).
“We’re going to have trouble beating this team if he doesn’t play better,” Washington head coach Scott Brooks said. Celtics 120, Bucks 106: Boston knew it would need its younger players to produce with Kyrie Irving sidelined for the postseason. They have, and it has added up to 2-0 lead in its firstround matchup with Milwaukee.
Jaylen Brown had a playoffcareer-high 30 points and the host Celtics pulled away in the second half.
The Cal alum, in his second year, said right now the Celtics are feeling “confident as ever.”
“People have been writing us off all year. And we just keep proving people wrong. So that’s what we’re gonna do,” he said.
The Celtics led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter as their ball movement overwhelmed the Bucks. Milwaukee narrowed it to 10 with 4:13 to play, but the Celtics responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a bankedin three-pointer by Brown.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. But turnovers were an issue for the second straight game for the Bucks, and they shot 41 percent from the free-throw line.
Game 3 is set for Friday in Milwaukee.
“People have been writing us off all year. And we just keep proving people wrong.” Jaylen Brown, Boston swingman