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Key Moment
Credit to the Kings: they hung around with the Celtics Sunday night in Sacramento. Boston, however, packed a knockout punch during the fourth quarter.
The Celtics led by only two points midway through the final period before they decided to put the young Kings away. Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Al Horford combined to score nine straight points over the course of just two minutes and 20 seconds to build the largest lead of the game to that point by either team, at 97-86.
Brown scored the first four points of the run. His first bucket came off of a smooth, pull-up jumper from the mid-range, and the second came off of a fast-break layup that he dropped in after ripping a steal at the other end of the court.
Rozier then canned a pull-up jumper of his own before Horford polished off the spurt with a 3 from the top of the arc to push Boston ahead by 11 points.
Boston’s lead never dropped to below eight points the rest of the way as they cruised to a 104-93 victory. They’re now flying to Phoenix with a three-game winning streak, which is intact due in large part to that knockout punch they landed during the second half of Sunday’s fourth quarter.
Key Player
Terry Rozier was pretty good Sunday night. So good, in fact, that he nearly etched his name into the Celtics history books.
Rozier scored a career-high 33 points against Sacramento thanks to one of the most efficient scoring performances in recent Celtics memory. He scored his 33 points despite attempting only 16 shots and one free throw. That’s a pretty incredible feat.
The 3-point ball was the catalyst of Rozier’s impressive performance. He made eight of his 12 3s during the game, a total that fell just one short of tying Boston’s franchise record of nine, which is shared by Isaiah Thomas and Antoine Walker.
Rozier also contributed five rebounds, a game-high five steals and three assists during nearly 36 minutes of action. He committed only one turnover despite having the ball in his hands throughout the contest
Box Score Nuggets
- Boston's starters shot 72 percent from the field.
- Terry Rozier made more 3-pointers (eight) than Sacramento's entire team (seven).
- The Celtics limited the Kings to just 33 points during the second half, after Sacramento scored 60 during the first half.
- Buddy Hield led the Kings with 21 points off the bench.
- Al Horford led all players with eight assists.
- In his first game back in the lineup after a concussion, Jaylen Brown scored 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
- Both teams led by at least 10 points during the game.
- Rozier led all scorers with a career-high 33 points.
- Rozier grabbed a game-high five steals, falling just two shy of Sacramento's team total.
- Three Celtics starters (Rozier, Brown and Horford) finished with plus/minus ratings of at least plus-18.
Quote of the Night
Al Horford on Boston's win in Portland.