The formula for moving on from Saturday night’s blowout loss to the Clippers wasn’t complicated.
“Just have a short-term memory,” Jayson Tatum said. “There’s nothing we can do to change it essentially. Take it on the chin.”
The Celtics know they are a better team than they showed on Saturday night, and they proved that in their 118-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night, though it didn’t come easy. In fact, it took a 17-point comeback to avoid dropping two consecutive games for the first time since early November.
In contrast to their struggle on Saturday, the Celtics once again found themselves in an early hole due to a slow start, trailing by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, as they were outscored 36-25 in the opening frame.
Their -11 point differential in the first quarter was their second-worst this season, trailing just the beatdown they suffered in Milwaukee earlier this month (-18). It also marked just the third time the C’s were outscored by double-digits in the opening frame this season.
Only this time, Boston didn’t allow the New Orleans lead to snowball. After a back-and-forth second quarter, the Celtics cut the lead to just 10 at the half.
“Being down 10 in the NBA is really not foreign to the like the 99 percentile of the NBA. That happens all the time,” Joe Mazzulla said postgame. “At half time, I said that. I was like, ‘What are we doing? It’s a ten-point game. It’s three possessions.’”
While it may not be foreign to most of the league, it was uncharted territory for the Celtics.
Including Monday night, the Celtics have only trailed nine times at the half this season. Only four of those nine instances have been by double-digits.
The deficit provided a different challenge for the Celtics, one Mazzulla hopes to see more of.
“I just hope it happens 10, 12 more times so we can get rid of the entitlement that we’re always supposed to be winning,” the bench boss said. “I hope we have to blow leads. I hope all that happens. I really do. I think it’s just like, at times, we’re just supposed to be winning all the time, and it’s just not the case.”
The Celtics responded out of the half, cutting the New Orleans lead to six before delivering the haymaker in the fourth quarter, advancing to 6-3 when trailing at the half.
Tatum flirted with a triple-double, pouring in a game-high 28 points, snagging 10 rebounds, and dishing out eight assists. The five-time All-Star also had seven turnovers.
Jaylen Brown also toyed with a triple-double, scoring 22 points, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds, and dropping seven dimes with zero turnovers. It marked Brown’s third consecutive double-double against the Pelicans dating back to last season and his fourth of this season. For Tatum, it was the 17th double-double of the season.
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics advance to an NBA-best 10-1 in games following a loss.
Jrue Holiday sets the tone for the second half
Third quarters have been an issue for the Celtics this season, an issue Boston couldn’t afford to succumb to again on Monday night.
Boston came out swinging in the third quarter, opening the frame on a 10-2 run less than 2:30 into the quarter, cutting the visitors’ lead to two.
With just under five minutes in the third quarter, Brown hit the deck to recover a loose ball that had rolled out to the logo. Laying on his back, Brown passed the ball to Holiday, who reset possession and found Sam Hauser on the wing for a triple that gave Boston its first lead since the first quarter.
The assist was Holiday’s second of the frame and punctuated a 24-13 Boston run to reclaim the lead. Against his former team, Holiday poured in a game-high 12 points in the frame on 4-of-6 (66.7%) shooting and dished out two assists -- scoring or assisting on six of Boston’s 10 makes (60%). The 6-foot-4 guard also snagged two offensive rebounds, which resulted in three points.
Holiday set the tone for the Celtics in the third quarter, leading to the second-half charge.
The former UCLA Bruin finished the night with 20 points on 7-of-11 (63.6%) shooting, marking the sixth time he has recorded at least 20 points in a game this season. Four of those games have come this month.
New Orleans wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, responding to Boston’s 24-13 run with a 14-5 run of their own to reclaim a six-point lead entering the fourth.
Derrick White and Jayson Tatum deliver the knockout blow
Nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter, with the Celtics trailing by three, Brown found an open Derrick White at the top of the key. White snatched the bounce pass from Brown and uncorked a 27-footer.
With the three-pointer finding the bottom of the net, White turned to the heavens, arms raised, sighing in relief.
Not only did the triple tie the game, but it also snapped a miserable shooting stretch for the 29-year-old. Entering the fourth quarter, White had missed 16 of his last 17 shots, including shooting 1-of-8 over the first three quarters against New Orleans.
That three was all White needed to get going, as he exploded for 13 fourth-quarter points on 5-of-6 (83.3%) shooting from the field and 3-of-4 (75%) from distance – coming up big in the clutch as he so often has this season.
“Everybody was just telling me, ‘Stay confident, keep shooting.’ They were just trusting me,” White said postgame. “So it’s good to reward that trust from my teammates, and then after that, I was just trying to keep making shots, just try to stay in the moment and help us win any way I could.”
White finished a +12 in the fourth quarter and is now an NBA-best +64 in clutch situations this season. The 6-foot-4 guard is shooting 14-of-24 (58.3%) from the field in clutch situations, good for seventh-best among players with at least 20 attempts. In clutch situations, he is shooting better than Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Damian Lillard.
White’s 10-of-19 (52.6%) three-point percentage in the clutch is good for fourth-best in the league among players with at least 10 attempts. He is top four in points (2nd), rebounds (T-4), and assists (3rd) among Celtics players in the clutch.
White sparked the knockout blow in a game of runs, a 33-11 Celtics’ run over almost nine minutes of play in the fourth quarter. Tatum also caught fire in the fourth, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-7 (57.1%) and dished out three assists.
Boston outscored New Orleans 37-25 as they shot 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the field and 6-of-8 (75%) from deep. Monday night marked the fifth time the Celtics outscored their opponent by double-digits in the final frame this season.
Neemias Queta and Oshae Brissett get an audition
As the NBA trade deadline looms just over a week away, Boston’s bench players have a few more games to prove their worth to Brad Stevens and make a case for keeping the team as is.
Whether Boston opts to make a move or not, any changes are expected to be relatively minor, given their current constraints. Earlier this month, Stevens expressed an interest in adding a “big wing,” hinting that a potential solution might already be within the team.
With Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Luke Kornet (hamstring) sidelined, an opportunity was provided for Queta and Brissett to showcase themselves to potentially fill that role (or something similar) ahead of the deadline.
Brissett brought his characteristic energy, grabbing five rebounds in nearly 11 minutes of play. However, he faced challenges on the defensive end, accumulating three quick fouls, and his lone shot attempt was a missed open three-pointer from the top of the key, dropping his three-point shooting percentage to 29.4% for the season.
While Brissett has positively impacted games this season, his struggles from beyond the arc pose a challenge for a team like the Celtics that emphasizes three-point shooting and floor spacing. Although the 25-year-old has shown flashes, particularly with his energetic play, he needs to find consistency in his shot before earning trust in a playoff rotation.
As for Queta, the 7-foot big man contributed with four points, two rebounds, an assist, and a block. With two of Boston’s three rotation centers out on Monday night, Queta’s 10:26 minutes of playing time seemed relatively low. Mazzulla heavily relied on Al Horford, who played 36 minutes, likely due to an anticipated absence on Tuesday’s second night of the back-to-back.
Queta has proven himself to be a viable big-man option. With no rush to convert his two-way contract, as he can play 50 games on it, Stevens will likely wait until after the trade deadline to assess potential moves in the buyout market. If no additions occur, the Celtics will likely convert Queta’s deal, considering that two-way players are ineligible to play in the postseason.
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