Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser came up big for the shorthanded Celtics on Sunday night, helping the visitors cruise to their fifth straight win 129-116 over the Portland Trail Blazers. Boston played without three starters in the victory (Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday) but that didn’t stop a superb offensive performance from the remaining regulars.
Tatum flirted with a triple-double in the win, posting 30 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, with most of his scoring damage coming after intermission including 18 points in the third quarter. Hauser added 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from 3-point range as the visitors scored 30-plus points for the first three quarters, helping them build a double-digit lead that was never seriously threatened in the second half.
All five Celtics starters finished in double figures as Boston shot 54 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range in the victory. Luke Kornet also had 13 pints off the bench on 6-of-6 shooting from the field.
Shaedon Sharpe had 23 points for the hosts in the setback as the Blazers lost to Boston for the second time this month.
The Celtics won’t have much time to celebrate Sunday’s win with a back-to-back looming in Sacramento on Monday night.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win Sunday night:
Sam Hauser catches fire from beyond the arc: The sharpshooting forward took advantage of his spot start with one the best shooting performances of his career. Hauser knocked down his first five 3-point baskets of the night and hit 7-of-8 in the first three quarters alone before finishing 8-of-10 on the night to set the tone for a high-powered Boston offense despite missing three starters. Hauser has been red-hot from 3-point range since the All-Star break and has now shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc in four of his last five games. Getting rest for Boston’s regulars down the stretch is a lot easier to pull off with Hauser providing this type of production.
Jayson Tatum comes alive in the third quarter: The All-Star had a quiet first off but erupted for the Celtics offensively when need in the third quarter as Portland’s offense got rolling. Tatum made seven of his 11 shots in the frame while playing the entire quarter to score 18 of Boston’s 38 points in the period. He also added three assists in the frame while playing alongside the second unit for a large chunk of the period, showcasing yet again his ability to pull out great offense no matter who is around him on the court. The Celtics shot 60 percent in the frame and 53 percent from 3-point range in the frame.
Baylor Scheierman gets a big chance: With the Celtics down three starters and Payton Pritchard dealing with foul trouble early in the first quarter, Scheierman got the call as sixth man and held his own in one of the biggest minute nights of his rookie season. The rookie knocked down a pair of 3s and also was active in drive and kicking, finding numerous open shooters including Hauser amid Boston’s strong offensive night. Even after his breakout performance against the Nets last week, he’s showing more consistency in his outings and that will go a long way for this team to win games while shorthanded in the final few weeks of the regular season.
Portland loves Payton Pritchard: The hometown kid was getting bigger cheers than most of the Blazers roster for the majority of the night as plenty of green shirts were spread around the soda Center. Pritchard got his first start of the year with Jrue Holiday sidelined and shook off foul trouble for another terrific shooting night from long distance, going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also added five assists in 32 minutes while playing turnover-free basketball. The sole spot start should do nothing to take away from his sixth man of the year campaign but it was a cool gesture by Joe Mazzulla to give him the starting nod in front of his hometown fans.
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