Celtics’ bench plays pivotal role in closing out Portland
Celtics 124 Trail Blazers 107
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla leaned on his reserves to close out Friday’s win against the Kings and the group coughed up an 18point lead before escaping with a 1-point win. He took a similar approach Sunday night against the Trail Blazers, pulling his starters with Boston leading by 8 at the start of the fourth quarter.
But there were no issues this time, as the backups extended the lead and eventually helped the Celtics roll to a 124-107 win, their fifth in a row. The thorough finish will only give Mazzulla more confidence in his bench moving forward.
“I think when those guys are in the game, there’s no dropoff from the execution and the effort that we’re trying to play with,” he said, “so it’s a credit to them.”
Jaylen Brown had 26 points and reached the 10,000-point mark. A team official tracked down the game ball for him afterward, and Brown took a moment to savor the individual accomplishment amid all of this team success.
“It’s been a great journey, even though the journey is still going,” he said. “Just take the moments out to just appreciate all the hard work, the effort that has gone into even getting to this point. It’s been ups, it’s been downs. Things haven’t gone my way, things have, and here we are. So I’m incredibly grateful and I’m looking forward to the future.”
It’s a lot easier to bask in these feats when they are surrounded by victories. And those have flowed in all season.
The Celtics have won 62 games, and no other team in the Eastern Conference is even on the verge of reaching 50. Although these results are no
longer relevant to the Celtics’ playoff chase, they are beginning to put them in exclusive company. If Boston closes this season with four more wins, it would finish with 66, which would be tied for the 14th most in NBA history.
“I’m looking forward to carrying it over to the playoffs,” Brown said, “but you still don’t want to skip over how much work it takes to win 62 games and counting in a season.”
The Celtics will surely continue to find rest days for their stars down the stretch, which would usually limit a team’s chances of moving up that all-time list. But the backups have shown that they are capable of continuing the push.
On Sunday, they outscored the Blazers in the fourth quarter, 31-22, with Payton Pritchard tallying 10 of his 20 points and six of his eight assists.
Kristaps Porzingis added 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks for the Celtics, who shot 56.3 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from the 3-point line. Jayson Tatum sat out to rest.
Former Celtics guard Dalano Banton, who was traded to Portland in February, had 28 points and nine assists. Before the game, Mazzulla made it clear that he did not believe Boston made a mistake trading away the 24-year-old, but he said his production is an example of what the Celtics saw in him when they signed him in July.
“The team you are on generates different opportunities,” Mazzulla said. “Here, it was kind of spot minutes and filling a small role, and he did great at that. He goes to a different place, and they kind of empower him and they kind of open up the opportunities for him, and that obviously gives you a little more confidence, a little bit more freedom when you know the playing time is more. So that’s good for him.”
During a first-quarter timeout Sunday, former Celtics Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and Banton were shown on TD Garden’s video board, with Williams receiving the loudest and longest ovation of the three.
He emerged as a fan favorite during his five seasons with the Celtics before he and Brogdon were traded to Portland last summer in the deal that brought Jrue Holiday to Boston. So it was a bit puzzling that he did not receive more recognition. But according to a Celtics official, Williams reached out and asked them not to show a tribute video during his return.
Banton entered the night averaging 16 points per game with Portland and nearly equaled that in the first half, when he poured in 15 on 6-of-12 shooting. He made just two 3-pointers during his time in Boston and converted three in the first half Sunday, helping keep the Blazers within 63-56 at halftime.
The Celtics started the third quarter with a 7-0 burst, positioning themselves for a trademark surge. Initially, Portland did not wobble. Jabari Walker and Scoot Henderson scored 8 points apiece in the period and the Blazers briefly pulled within 4 before going to the fourth trailing, 93-85.
But the Celtics’ backups stepped in to start the fourth and were up to this task, extending the lead with a 19-9 burst that was capped by a Xavier Tillman 3-pointer.
“I mean, they’ve done it all year,” Mazzulla said.