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Inside The Celtics

Celtics-Pelicans Player Grades and Stats: Record Shooting Fuels Blowout, Clinches 2nd

The Celtics were as hot as any team in NBA history on Friday night, and their game against New Orleans was never in doubt
John Karalis|
Apr 10, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and center Neemias Queta (88) celebrate during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Apr 10, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and center Neemias Queta (88) celebrate during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

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Boston Celtics

The New Orleans Pelicans sat eight guys, and yet somehow those guys were almost as effective as the guys who took the floor. The Boston Celtics, without Jayson Tatum, pounced on the Pels early and buried them under an avalanche of three-pointers to win easily, 142-114 and clinch the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Box Score

Game Flow

The teams went back-and-forth for a few minutes to start the game, but the Pelicans started missing shots and Boston kept hitting, going on a 15-2 run to open up a 24-11 lead. Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown combined for 22 and Boston was 10-18 from three as they took a 44-25 lead into the second quarter. 

Luka Garza got going in the second quarter to keep New Orleans from cutting too deep into the lead. Garza and Vucevic both had a good quarter and the C’s barrage from three continued as they grew the lead to 36 before settling at 31 at halftime. 

The onslaught continued in the third, with the added embarrassment of Neemias Queta getting in on the three-point fun for his first of the season and third of his career. The led grew to 41, and it was never really a game after that. The only remaining drama was over whether they’d break the NBA record for threes in a game, which was 29. They were able to tie it, but Baylor Scheierman’s final attempt was off. 

Player Grades

Jaylen Brown: B+ (23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 7 turnovers)

The efficiency was there (8-13 fg) which got him to the 23 points pretty easily, but the seven turnovers were a little too sloppy to get the A grade. He was toying with the Pelicans. 

Sam Hauser: A (24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists)

He shot 8-12 from three, which gets him to 39.3% shooting for the season. If he doesn’t play on Sunday, he’ll miss the 40% mark for the first time in his life. If he plays, he needs to go 6-6 to get there. 

He probably won’t get there. 

Payton Pritchard: A (21 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)

His calling card this season was getting into the paint and finishing turnaround jumpers, but now he’s locking in from three and that could be a big deal heading into the playoffs. He was 5-9 from deep in this one and was a team-high +29.

Neemias Queta: A- (7 points 10 rebounds, 2 assists)

He only played 13 minutes, but I’m giving him the A grade because he not only made a three-pointer, because he also became the first Celtic with at least 100 blocks, 600 rebounds and 60 steals in a season since Robert Parish in 1990-91. 

But what you want to see again is the three-pointer. 

Derrick White: B+ (9 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds)

He only played 16 minutes, but he was 3-9 from three, so just seeing a few fall had to feel good. Especially this one. 

Jordan Walsh: B (6 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block)

Solid defensive effort from Walsh. He was 2-4 from three, which makes him so much more dangerous for the Celtics. 

Nikola Vucevic: A (14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists)

He needed this game. I don’t care if it came against a girl’s CYO team, Vucevic building on a strong second half in New York and shooting well in this game is a nice step forward. 

“You underestimate how difficult it was for the transition that he made going from Chicago where he's starting and has developed habits and has a ton of knowns, and just has a lot of comfortability and coming to a completely different situation, where he's coming off the bench and trying to figure it out,” Joe Mazzulla said. “You can't underestimate the time that it takes to be able to do that, especially for a veteran. He's been around a long time, and I think the way he's handled it has been tremendous for us. 

“So you go from that transition to an injury to back. So you just had to simplify it. To me, when he plays with a level of physicality defensively and his rebounding, his screening and shot making, it's going to make us a different team. He's continuing to get better at that.”

Luka Garza: A- (14 points, 6 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks)

This game makes my point about making sure Vucevic is up to speed, even if Garza isn’t always getting minutes. We’re seeing Vucevic start to feel comfortable again, and Garza is always ready. He only knows one thing: working hard at all times he’s on the floor. He’s the epitome of “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”

Hugo Gonzalez: B (10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 steals, 4 fouls)

The best and worst of Gonzalez wrapped up in one performance. The fouls are a bit of a problem right now, and some of them are really unnecessary. But when he makes plays, he makes some fun plays. 

Baylor Scheierman: B (9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists)

He was 2-5 from three, which is 40%. They needed him to be 60% to get the record. Oh well. Otherwise a solid night. 

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John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

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