Key Moment
The Boston Celtics blew the LA Clippers out of the water Saturday afternoon with their second straight offensive eruption. After dropping 144 points on the Sacramento Kings three nights prior, Boston came into Crypto.com Arena with even more in the tank, rolling past LA, 145-108.
The Celtics got going during a 3:32 stretch in the second quarter, in which they outscored the Clippers, 20-6, and upped their lead from 41-34 to 61-40.
Boston’s bench unit got the team going during that run, scoring the first eight points. Oshae Brissett got it started with a 3-pointer, Sam Hauser then knocked down a triple of his own, and Neemias Queta dropped in a couple from the free-throw line.
From there, it was all Tatum. He scored the Celtics’ next 10 points, including three consecutive baskets from long distance.
Boston took its 21-point lead and ran with it, going up by as many as 39 points before finishing with a 37-point victory for its second straight California blowout.
Key Player
Entering this week, Jrue Holiday had yet to log his first 20-point game as a Celtic. Now he has two 20-point efforts in his last two games.
After logging a season-high 21 points along with eight rebounds and 10 assists in Sacramento, Holiday kept his rhythm flowing into LA where he recorded 20 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.
The Los Angeles native was the most efficient member of the starting five, as he made 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range. He also committed just one turnover despite his prominent playmaking role as the team’s leader in assists.
They call this time of year the Holiday season for a reason, and Jrue is showing why.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 30 points.
- Boston had four players score 18+ points (Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White), while LA only had one (Paul George).
- The Celtics shot 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from long range).
- Jrue Holiday logged his second-straight effort of at least 20 points.
- Derrick White led the game in blocks with three.
- Neemias Queta logged career highs in points (14), rebounds (12), and assists (three).
- Half of Queta's rebounds were grabbed on the offensive end.
- Oshae Brissett scored 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench.
- Boston outscored LA 23-8 in second-chance points.
- Jaylen Brown logged a game-best plus/minus of plus-29 in 29 minutes.
Quote of the Night
“It's hard to guard us one-on-one. We create a lot of problems."
– Jayson Tatum on Boston's red-hot offense