Jayson Tatum had been waiting for one of these nights. The Celtics – who beat opponents by an average of 15.2 points per game at home last season – were waiting for one of those nights.
Entering Monday night, Boston’s last six home games had been decided by an average of 3.1 points. Their largest win over that span was by four points.
Following their 126-123 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors a little over a week ago, Jayson Tatum was asked if he prefers playing in those close games as opposed to blowouts. Tatum, who hit the game-winner that night, responded: “It’s 50-50. Hopefully, we get some of those [blowouts] coming up.”
On Monday night against the Clippers, he got that, with the Celtics throttling Los Angeles 126-94 – a game in which the Celtics trailed for just 2:15.
On a night when the Celtics welcomed back Kristaps Porzingis, who made his season debut after five months of recovery from surgery, Boston looked like the dominant team we grew accustomed to last season. The Celtics displayed a balanced scoring attack—six players in double figures—and played strong defense, holding the Clippers under 100 points for just the second time this season. They limited L.A. to 43.3% shooting from the field, 26.9% from deep, forced 13 turnovers, and blocked 11 shots. But it was their three-point shooting that truly set them apart.
The Celtics knocked down 22 three-pointers on the night at a 43.1% clip. Eight different players hit a three, with five of them sinking two or more. It marked the seventh time this season that Boston has made 20 or more threes, extending their win streak to 23 consecutive games (including playoffs) when hitting at least 20 three-pointers, dating back to March 2023.
It was Porzingis who got the party started, knocking down Boston’s first three of the night on their second possession of the game after missing on their first. Following his make, the Celtics missed their next eight attempts before the shooting avalanche began.
The Celtics knocked down 15 of their next 24 attempts (62.5%). Their 16 threes in the first half marked the fourth time this season that Boston made 15 more in the first half, a feat no other team has accomplished once. The result was a season-high 78 first-half points.
Twelve of those 16 threes came in the second quarter, breaking a franchise record for made threes in a quarter, and tying the NBA record – done by five teams (Pacers, Warriors, Kings, Trail Blazers, and the Suns). All of those teams accomplished that feat in 2021 or later. Boston knocked down 70.6% of their attempts.
The 16 triples powered a 51-point second quarter for Boston, marking the third-highest scoring quarter in franchise history, behind their 54-point performance in February 1970 and 52-point outing in February 1959.
The three-point disparity was so vast that if you took away all of Boston’s two-point makes and free throws, the Celtics would have only been trailing by one (49-48) at the half. On the night, the Celtics made 15 more threes than the Clippers, outscoring them 66-21 on the perimeter(+45).
That three-point barrage was all Boston needed. Boston built a lead as big as 29 that never dropped below 15 despite the Celtics being outscored 27-16 in the third quarter.
Boston won its sixth straight game and improved to 13-3 when making more threes than their opponents. There could be more NBA history on the horizon for the Celtics later this season, as they’re currently on pace to break the all-time record for total made three-pointers in a single season (1,363) as well as threes per game (16.7).
They came close last season. Boston’s 1,351 made threes were the second-most in NBA history, just a hair behind the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors (1,363). The 2022-23 Celtics placed fourth on that list (1,315).
In the past two seasons, the Celtics have attempted the third (2022-23) and fourth (2023-24) most three-pointers in NBA history. This year, Boston is on track to become the first team in league history to average 50 three-point attempts. The highest in league history is the 2018-19 Houston Rockets, who averaged 45.4.
Related
