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Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Pelicans: Boston's Three-Point Barrage Paves the Way to Ninth-Straight Victory
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The Celtics tied a franchise record for their most made threes in a quarter, knocking down ten of 16 long-range attempts, allowing them to play from ahead.
They finished the night 20/46 (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc, overcoming 17 turnovers translating to 20 points for a Pelicans team that also scored 24 on the fast break.
And while New Orleans utilized turnover-fueled runs to keep this game competitive, after Jaylen Brown broke a 7-7 tie with a three at the 9:05 mark in the first frame, the hosts played from behind the rest of the way.
Still, it required resiliency on the part of the Celtics to withstand those runs and then put away the Pelicans down the stretch.
Now, for a deep dive into Boston's ninth-straight win.
Celtics Tie Franchise Record for Most Made Threes in a Quarter, Taking 13-Point Lead into the Second Frame
At the 9:39 mark, Grant Williams showed the Pelicans his improvement off the dribble, driving from the right wing, using his body as a shield, and getting two points at the cup, tying the game at seven.
Boston started Friday's tilt 4/6 from beyond the arc. At the root of that was excellent ball movement, working it from side to side and getting quality, in-rhythm shots. The Celtics assisted on five of their first six field goals.
Jayson Tatum dribbled between his legs a few times, then froze Herbert Jones with a hesitation into a crossover, exploding into the paint and switching hands, finishing with a lefty layup. That gave the visitors an 18-9 lead with 7:35 to go.
Boston's first ten shots were all threes or came from inside the paint. That formula produced makes on the first seven and an early 18-9 advantage.
But then the Celtics' defense started to slip. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum knocked down a pair of threes, followed by the Pelicans getting three-straight layups but only converting on one of them.
Taking no chances on making it three-straight misses at the rim, Ingram then finished off his baseline drive with a two-handed slam to trim New Orleans' deficit to 26-19.
With the defense softening and Grant Williams' back stiffening, Joe Mazzulla called for a timeout to get his team to sharpen up and bring Luke Kornet in for Williams.
With 1:12 left in the opening frame, Brandon Ingram called for a screen to target Sam Hauser. But Hauser walled off his drive, resulting in Ingram settling for a turnaround fadeaway from the foul line. Hauser did well to contest the shot without fouling, and Ingram couldn't convert.
Shortly after that, Hauser crashed the offensive glass, grabbing a rebound in traffic and kicking it out to Derrick White, who buried an open three from the left wing, extending Boston's lead to 38-25.
With 5.5 seconds left in the quarter, Malcolm Brogdon, playing in his first game after missing the last four, found White on a backdoor cut for an open layup out of a set on a sideline out of bounds. That gave the visitors a 40-25 advantage after the first 12 minutes.
Horford, often the beneficiary of Boston's ball movement, led all scorers with 12 points, going 4/4 from beyond the arc.
Tatum registered ten. Looking to bounce back from an off-night shooting-wise in Atlanta, he went 4/7 with two makes on four long-range attempts and two buckets at the basket.
Ingram generated ten points for the Pelicans. But it's hard to keep pace when the opposition drills 10/16 threes in a frame. That feat tied a Celtics franchise record for their most makes from beyond the arc in a quarter.
Boston's Defense Softens as Pelicans Go On a 15-2 Run in the Second Quarter
The Pelicans ripped off a 15-2 run that started early in the frame and mostly came from scoring at the rim. The Celtics struggled to keep drives from getting into the middle of the paint.
At the 7:13 mark, Grant Williams returned to the game, but he's moving like someone dealing with a stiff back.
After a chaotic sequence, when it looked like two near-turnovers might lead to a Brown three, Hauser grabbed the rebound, only for his put-back attempt to get blocked from behind by Larry Nance Jr., McCollum softly splashed a floater through the net. That cut New Orleans' deficit to 67-57 at halftime.
Brown entered the break with a team-high 15 points. He also led all participants with five assists.
White, who's more consistent about maintaining an aggressive approach this season, not only took five shots, but made all of them.
Though he only scored two points in the second quarter, Horford also registered 14 points on 5/5 shooting in the first 24 minutes.
Tatum produced 12, including this floater on a prime example of great offense beating great defense.
And while his 12 points came on 5/13 shooting, his impact extended to grabbing four rebounds and dishing out as many assists.
At the root of Boston's double-digit advantage was drilling 14/26 (53.8 percent) threes. That accounted for 60.9 percent of their field goals. Excellent ball movement, assisting on 17/23 makes and only committing two turnovers, led to the Celtics consistently creating clean, in-rhythm looks from beyond the arc.
As for the Pelicans, Ingram led all scorers with 16 points, while McCollum chipped in 12.
But the reason Boston didn't have a more sizable lead entering the third quarter was giving up 34 points in the paint.
Celtics See 17-Point Lead Shrink as Turnovers Fuel Pelicans' Offense in Third Frame
It took nearly two minutes for either side to score, but Brown broke the ice with a three then took a feed from Tatum and turned it into a layup to put the Celtics ahead 72-57.
Boston grew its lead to 17, but the Pelicans cut it to 12, capitalizing on back-to-back turnovers by Brown, who first tried to do too much off the dribble, losing his handle, then leapt into the air without a plan, resulting in a steal by Ingram.
Those two turnovers led to five points for the Pelicans as part of a 10-0 run that cut the deficit to 87-78.
Kornet stopped the bleeding with two free throws as the Celtics entered the final frame with an 89-78 advantage.
Challenged by Their Head Coach, Celtics Respond by Closing Out Friday's Win
Even though the first half of this sequence didn't lead to a score or a stop, there were a pair of fourth quarter plays highlighting the energy Jose Alvarado plays with, which has an impact regardless of whether it shows on the scoreboard.
First, he grabbed a rebound, pushed the pace, fell to the floor as he missed a layup, but still got the board. While New Orleans left that trip empty-handed, Alvardo then corralled another Celtics miss, took off down the floor, again getting to the rim, putting points on the board this time.
Alvarado's layup expanded a Pelicans' run that began in the third quarter to 15-4, narrowing the deficit to 91-83 with 9:39 remaining.
Boston then started targeting Jonas Valanciunas, including on a play where White blew by him at the top of the key, getting to the cup for two points at the rim. That gave the visitors a 95-83 advantage.
But shortly after that, more turnovers by the Celtics fueled a 7-0 run from the hosts. Adhering to his approach of having his team play through such sequences, Mazzulla opted not to take a timeout.
His squad responded with Tatum muscling his way into the paint, then kicking the ball to Williams for a three from his corner office. That gave Tatum nine assists and Boston 20 threes.
Next came a defensive stop and a thunderous transition jam by Horford, pushing the lead back to double-digits, 103-92, with 5:32 left.
Less than two minutes later, in a play worthy of a Tommy Point, Brown battled on the boards, grabbing his miss twice, then finishing the job on his third try. With the hosts refusing to go quietly, that extended Boston's advantage to 107-97.
As valiantly as the Pelicans fought, when Brown beat McCollum off the dribble for two more of his game-high 27 points, he delivered the dagger, giving the Celtics a 113-104 lead with 44.6 seconds to go.
From there, Boston salted the game away at the free-throw line, closing out a 117-109 win for its ninth-straight victory.
While Brown committed seven of the Celtics' 17 turnovers, he also scored a game-high 27 points, grabbed ten rebounds, distributed seven assists, and swiped two steals.
Tatum finished with 19 points on 18 shots, including going 2/10 from beyond the arc, but he took six free throws, made five, dished out a game-high ten assists, and corralled seven rebounds, reflecting his growth as an all-around player.
Boston got a big night from Derrick White in Friday's win. A Finals run and a training camp with the Celtics have allowed White to get more comfortable and do a better job maintaining an aggressive approach.
That translated to 26 points on 9/12 shooting tonight, including knocking down six of the eight threes he hoisted. Starting in place of Marcus Smart, who was out for the second-straight game due to right ankle inflammation, White committed only one turnover. He also had two steals and two blocks, helping him earn the matchup's highest plus-minus rating at plus-20.
The Pelicans producing 52 points in the paint reflected Boston's need to take better care of the ball and provide more resistance on drives. But when the Celtics didn't feed into that with turnovers, their ball movement was often excellent, quickly moving it from side-to-side to find open shooters, leading to 28 assists on 41 field goals (68.3 percent) and shooting 48.2 percent from the field, including 20/46 (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
When the better team's knocking down shots at that rate, it's hard to keep them out of the win column.
Up Next
The Celtics have the weekend off, then play the Bulls in the Windy City. The game tips off at 8:00 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
Red-Hot Celtics Second Unit has Perfect Mindset That's Clearly Showing
The Top 5 Plays in Wednesday's Celtics-Hawks Game
Brandy Cole-Barnes Reveals When she Knew Son Jayson Tatum Would be a Star
