Two nights after taking care of business at home against the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics found themselves a tougher opponent on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. Taken down to the wire on a night where free throws were an issue (69% shooting from the line), Jayson Tatum drilled a game-winning jumper on the final possession to escape with a 118-116 win.
Each of the Jays enjoyed strong nights, with Jaylen Brown scoring a team-high 28 points and Tatum finishing with 27 after the game-winner. Kristaps Porzingis struggled to find his shot (5-of-12 from the field), but otherwise stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks. For New Orleans, Trey Murphy III was simply unstoppable, pouring in a game-high 40 points. Jose Alvarado added 20 points off the bench in a game where the Pelicans saw Dejounte Murray depart with what appeared to be a significant injury.
The first quarter was a matter of weathering the Trey Murphy storm. The Pelicans’ young forward was absolutely unconscious to start this game, compensating for the absences of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram by piling up 16 first quarter points. The Celtics were up to the task, their offense humming nicely behind quality ball movement and energetic starts from Tatum, Brown and Porzingis. After a barn-burning start to the game, the Boston trailed 34-31 entering the second quarter.
New Orleans’ injury list lengthened in the first quarter when versatile guard Dejounte Murray went down at the four minute mark of the first quarter. It appeared to be non-contact and significant, as Murrary came up injured upon landing after grabbing an offensive rebound. After a Celtics foul, Murray immediately departed the game and did not return.
The teams remained tightly knit in the early minutes of the second, but as the quarter ran on, Boston’s ball movement started to wear down New Orleans’ defense. The Celtics rattled off a 14-4 run that put them back in the driver’s seat, bolstered by back-to-back threes from Tatum. White also began to heat up, swiping consecutive steals off of Murphy that led to a pair of Boston layups before splashing his first three-pointer of the game. They entered the halftime break with a six-point edge, 59-53.
The Pelicans’ poor injury luck worsened in the second when reserve guard Jose Alvarado went down with an apparent ankle injury of his own. He hit the floor on a defensive possession and appeared to be inadvertently stepped on by White, rolling his ankle badly. After a few moments on the floor, though, Alvarado got back up and was able to remain in the game, and stayed in the lineup after the halftime break as well.
With Murphy continuing to cook, the Pelicans weren’t prepared to fade away. They spent much of the quarter slowly inching their way back within striking distance, and Murphy’s sixth three of the night — a ridiculous fader from the corner — put them back on top with just under five minutes remaining in the third. A 6-0 Celtics run inched Boston back ahead, bolstered by a big quarter from Brown. But Brown gave back some of those points in the closing minutes, after a sequence in which he was whistled for an offensive foul on Alvarado and then issued a technical for arguing with referee Ed Malloy. Tatum earned back two points at the end of the quarter after drawing a foul on a three-point jumper, and the Celtics took a five-point lead into the final frame, 91-86.
The Celtics opened up the fourth quarter strong, with Luke Kornet converting a three-point play and Tatum slamming home an assertive dunk. Continuing a night-long theme, the refs continued to make their presence felt as well. Tatum was whistled for a questionable offensive foul against Brandon Boston, who flinched backward after what appeared to be marginal-at-best contact, and Kornet took a hit on the next Celtics possession that was called a common foul on the floor and surprisingly not given a video review, despite strong contact to the face. Kornet connected on his free throws, but Murphy’s seventh three to bring New Orleans within three points with just under nine minutes to play.
The Pelicans continued to draw closer, sandwiching a Porzingis triple with a pair of two-pointers to make it a two-point game. Having struggled offensively for much of the night, Porzingis finally started to find a groove in the fourth. He found success punishing smaller New Orleans defenders on switches, drilling a mid-range jumper and drawing a foul on post-ups in the paint.
New Orleans continued to fight back, pulling within one possession of the lead several times. A midrange jumper from Boston and a three from CJ McCollum cut the lead back to two, but White fired back with a three of his own in response. The Pelicans had an opportunity to bring it back to three on the ensuing possession when Porzingis was whistled for a foul, but rookie Yves Missi missed both of his freebies. Porzingis converted one of two free throws on the other end — putting the Celtics in the bonus in a whistle-heavy fourth quarter — but Murphy continued to make his presence known, splashing his eighth three to make it a 112-109 game with four minutes remaining in regulation.
Free throws were a sore thumb for the Celtics, as Tatum added another miss after Murphy’s three, splitting a pair. A layup from McCollum cut the lead to two, before Brown split a pair of his own freebies to keep the game within one possession. A few possessions later, New Orleans finally evened the game on yet another bucket from Murphy, though he missed a free throw of his own that would have put the Pelicans ahead.
Another significant miss by the referees made an major impact with just over a minute left to play. Porzingis failed to throw down a dunk attempt at the basket, but it appeared to have been a goaltend by New Orleans’ Javonte Green. The refs ruled a shooting foul, however, and since the play was non-reviewable, Porzingis was not credited with the points and had to proceed to the line for a pair of free throws. He missed both, leaving the game tied at 114 apiece heading into the final minute.
The Celtics picked up a defensive stop, and Brown was able to go to work on the other end, drilling a clutch jumper from the midrange to put Boston ahead by two with 33 seconds to play. McCollum answered with a tough bucket over White, setting the Celtics up with the ball for the final play of regulation. The ball found its way to Tatum, who delivered with the game on the line, nailing a spinning mid-range jumper from the elbow to ice the game for the Celtics.
Next up, the Celtics’ road-heavy stretch continues, as they travel to Philadelphia to face off with the 76ers, this Sunday at 6 PM EST on ESPN.
