Post Game - Celtics vs. Houston Rockets - Sunday, January 21 (W)

Kristaps Porzingis takes turn as go-to guy as Celtics fend off hard-charging Houston
By Gary Washburn - Boston Globe, Updated January 21, 2024, 9:35 p.m.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/21/sports/celtics-rockets-porzingis/


HOUSTON — Ime Udoka promised last week in Boston that his defense would make things tougher for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who combined for 59 points in the Celtics’ runaway win at TD Garden.

Eight days later at Toyota Center, the Celtics duo struggled mightily, unable to gain any offensive traction most of the night in what became a defensive duel in the second half.

Instead of forcing the ball to their two leading scorers, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla relied on another capable offensive option.

The Rockets continually defended Kristaps Porzingis with a much smaller player, and Porzingis feasted off the matchup. With the Celtics clinging to a 7-point lead with 4:30 to play, Porzingis hit a pair of buckets on post-ups against undersized Jae’Sean Tate.

It was easy picking for the 7-foot-3 center, who scored 32 points in Boston’s 116-107 win. He was 11 of 20 shooting and drained a season-high six 3-pointers.

Porzingis is a luxury the Celtics lacked last season, and he has flourished several times in the opening quarters of games. Yet, his 2.4 field goal attempts in the fourth quarter is the lowest of any period. On Sunday, he was 3 for 5 shooting in the final quarter as the Celtics fought back after a feisty Rockets team missing two starters made the NBA’s best sweat it late.

“Each night it could be a different guy that has a good game,” Porzingis said. “And we have the trust in each other that we’re willing to sacrifice, ‘let’s get this guy the ball, he’s having a good night.’ And tonight it was my night. Got a couple passes from (Brown) late and took advantage of the mismatch.”

It was not a usual offensive night for Brown (13 points on 6 of 14 field goals and two missed free throws), but he notched his third career triple double with 11 rebounds and 10 assists. It’s first time since April 7, 2022, that Brown registered at least 10 assists as Mazzulla implores him to be a willing passer.

“He’s becoming a better playmaker, he’s becoming a better guy at understanding the flow of the game,” Mazzulla said. “There were a couple of plays that were a direct learning experience from the (Denver) game with the reads and them trying to change matchups. I thought Jaylen did a good job of playing with poise, using his speed to generate a crossmatch, finding it and making the right play. He continues to get better and better.”

Tatum was 4-for-17 shooting but hit a key 3-pointer to extend the Celtics lead to 103-94 with just under five minutes left. Udoka said his defense would be more physical and menacing against the duo, and it was.

The problem was the Rockets didn’t account for Derrick White, who added 21 points along with 11 rebounds. And the Celtics bench — Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet and Oshae Brissett — combined for 23 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. Kornet added three blocked shots.

“I mean I think we were better on them obviously than last game,” Udoka said. “But others hurt us, other areas, offensive rebounds and giving up some threes. I think we were solid on (Tatum and Brown) but let everybody else get loose, kind of opposite of last game.”

The Celtics led for the final 44 minutes, 26 seconds but could never quite deliver the finishing blow against a Rockets team on the second night of a back-to-back and missing Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr.

Using 10 3-pointers and a combined 36 points from White and Porzingis, the Celtics raced to a 70-55 halftime lead. But their third-quarter issues crept up again as the Rockets went on an 11-0 run to slice the deficit to 6 late in the third. After White hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10 entering the fourth, Houston stormed back with a 10-3 run and suddenly the Celtics were being threatened.

Porzingis scored 6 points during a 14-6 game-changing run and the Rockets ran out of energy. Dillon Brooks led Houston with 25 points, but he missed a couple of open 3-pointers that would have made the game interesting down the stretch. Jalen Green added 16 for Houston but was scoreless in the final period.

The Celtics were missing Jrue Holiday (wrist) and Al Horford (rest) and were banking their depth was good enough to outlast the Rockets with a challenging game at Dallas on Monday. But Porzingis said the Celtics learned about the importance of playing a full 48 minutes, especially against shorthanded and desperate teams.

“Early on we didn’t have our best energy,” Porzingis said. “It was kind of our talent that was handing us that lead. I think that’s one thing that Joe is always emphasizing, that no matter if we’re the most talented team in the world, we have to play hard and we have to show up on every possession.

“And that’s what he was trying to get out of us, and I think that’s why he did those (substitutions). And that second unit, they came in with great energy, kind of gave us a spark. This is a good game for us to understand we need to bring that energy every moment.”

Kristaps Porzingis makes difference again as Celtics hold on over Rockets
By Steve Hewitt/Boston Herald, January 21, 2024. UPDATED: January 22, 2024 at 12:59 a.m.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/21/kristaps-porzingis-dominant-as-celtics-hold-on-over-rockets-despite-shaky-second-half/


Even though the Celtics easily handled the Rockets last Saturday with a 32-point blowout win last Saturday, Joe Mazzulla didn’t take a lot of stock in that victory.

Mazzulla described it as “fool’s gold.” He knew the Rockets had arrived in Boston late on a difficult road back-to-back. He knew the Celtics made 24 3-pointers that night. He expected the matchup to go much more like Sunday’s affair in Houston, where the Rockets used their strong defense to bother the Celtics, to make it a more physical, closer game.

Even though the Rockets were playing the second leg of another back-to-back and were also shorthanded – without star guard Fred VanVleet – the Celtics indeed had more trouble on Sunday. Probably more than they should have. They struggled in the third quarter again. Jayson Tatum struggled again. But for Mazzulla, this was another game to demonstrate the growth and the different ways they can win games on nights they’re not playing at their best.

Kristaps Porzingis was dominant on both ends with 32 points, which included six 3-pointers and some big buckets down the stretch, and five blocks. The Celtics torched the Rockets on the offensive glass and had the critical edge in second-chance points. And on a night they were missing Al Horford and Jrue Holiday, Mazzulla loved how his bench stepped up again. It was harder than it should have been, but the Celtics held on for a 116-107 victory.

The Celtics did not particularly shoot the ball well, which included a 4-for-17 effort from Tatum. Ime Udoka seemed intent on not letting Tatum or Jaylen Brown score with the ease they did in last Saturday’s matchup. But the Celtics had a curveball ready in Porzingis, who hunted mismatches and he made the Rockets pay when they put smaller defenders on him. The C’s dominated in second-chance points, 23-10, and though their offense waned in the second half, their defense stepped up when it mattered to close out this win.

“I think that’s the recipe and something that we took from last year is when we’re not shooting well, can we have a different switch-attack?” Mazzulla told reporters in Houston. “Which is what Kristaps is able to bring us in the post and how do we fight for extra possessions, which is our offensive rebounding and our crashing. It’s something that we stress this year.”

Jaylen Brown also recorded his third career triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Celtics, after Friday’s loss to the Nuggets, bounced back in another theme of their resilience. They’re now 9-1 this season following a loss, and haven’t dropped back-to-back games since Nov. 6 and 8.

“We know that if we want to be a championship-caliber team, that we cannot lose multiple games in a row,” Porzingis told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin.

They certainly did not make it easy on themselves. The Celtics controlled the first half behind their extra efforts on the glass and strong play from their bench as they built a 15-point halftime lead. But like they have too many times this season, they came out too flat in the third quarter. The Rockets cut their deficit to nine in the opening minutes, and though the Celtics responded with an 8-0 run to restore their lead to 17, they relaxed again.

The Celtics went on an offensive drought of over four minutes and the Rockets made them pay for it. Aaron Holiday’s 3-pointer capped a 14-2 run that sliced Boston’s lead to five. Missed baskets and lazy turnovers piled up for the Celtics and the Rockets took advantage in transition. Even after the Celtics built their lead back up to 11 early in the fourth quarter, Dillon Brooks led an 8-0 run that cut their lead down to three.

Though the C’s ultimately won, it served as a missed opportunity for their starters to get some extra rest ahead of Monday’s difficult back-to-back game in Dallas against the well-rested Mavericks, who haven’t played since Jan. 17, and their continued third-quarter issues served as a reminder of a major problem that needs fixing before the playoffs.

But if there was a silver lining to those struggles, it was the impressive way the Celtics finished with their double-big lineup that included Luke Kornet. They led 93-90 with 8:22 left when Kornet came up with a big block of Brooks. Mazzulla called timeout, and the C’s regained their footing. Porzingis hit a turnaround jumper, and after another Kornet block, Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer put the C’s back up eight.

The Rockets hung around, but the C’s ultimately buried them with a healthy diet of Porzingis. He made back-to-back shots for a 107-96 lead with 3:33 left. Holiday answered with a 3-pointer, and then Brown missed a pair of free throws. But they didn’t allow the Rockets to get closer. Kornet converted a tip-in before Porzingis’ fifth block with 2:01 remaining essentially wrapped the victory up.

Udoka’s Rockets certainly bothered the Celtics offensively in the second half with their pressure and complicated switching defense. But Porzingis made the ultimate difference.

“The ability to play out of the post is I think something that we have to continue to develop for the long-term success of our team,” Mazzulla said. “And so, I thought he was great. I thought he stepped up tonight and played a great game.”

Here's what I saw:

1.  Ime knows but relearns about Whack-a-mole.  Great example of saying he's going to shut down the J's in advance.  And then does it.  I'm a little surprised JT didn't figure things out early like JB did.  I'll get to that below.  JT has a bit of a hard head.  I'm just going to keep shooting.  But some of those 13 misses of his could have been assists.  That's a lot of waste.  Even converting 4 of those would have made this score more like what it should have been.  Wasted opportunity.  Watch what LeBron does right out of the gate darn near every game.  Becoming a broken record.  

2.  KP recognizes early the Whack-a-mole going on and punishes HOU.  Humm.  A guy most would say is nowhere near a JT or LeBron or AD in talent, yet he recognizes almost immediately the problem and mercilessly goes to work on HOU.  JT needs to recognize we don't need Superman.  None of the Celtic championship teams had a superman.  None.  And if you ever tried to pin that title on any of those team's players, they would shoot you on the spot.  Get with the program JT.  

3.  More Bench PT - Invaluable - Kornet, Pritch, Brissett all had solid outings and as the bench put up very solid numbers with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.   Doogie who normally comes off the bench started but was coming up on another Poor Man's 3D.  He's back on board.  Better.  Not completely back on the boat but better.
 
4. Joe Knows - Fools Gold.  Blow out wins tell you nothing.  Tight games against the top brass and losses tell you way more than you can ever imagine.
 
5.  Hire Jimmy Johnson and put him in the halftime locker room.  WTH!!!  The tirade he did on national TV Halftime Show of the Dallas game was unbelievable and priceless.  I never played football and I wanted to suit up for the second half.  Get someone like that for our halftime licker room.  

6.  JB - Poor Man's 3D.  Despite Ime's efforts to shut down the 2 J's, he showed us side by side where JT and JB are mentally right now when the heat's turned up on both of them.  JT just keeps shooting irrespective of the numbers or misses. And the bitchin' and moanin' increases exponentially as well.  That's how you get 4-17 and 3 assists.  JB's shooting numbers were better (not spectacular but better) at 6-14, and while JT was a few ticks off a 3D, JB assisted 7 more times.  That's 14 points.  Even if JT took off 4 of those 13 misses and looked for the open man...I won't even address the TO's.  A little high for my liking but it was a wash with the TO's and close to a wash with POTO.

KP out tonight?  Al back?  JH should be back.  Not much of a line with BOS (-3.5).  Can't have both J's off shooting.  Should be ok.  It's DAL.  Get the Mack Trucks warmed up.  The lanes will be wide open and the defense will be non-existent.  

db

Didn’t see game yet, was watching football with friends. Was the defense on the J’s that good or were they both just more off?

I haven't watched it yet, either. I was having family time instead.

Thanks to Steve for starting this thread.

Even when you play against an average team  (20-21) before last night's game, those games are not a given.

The Celtics put 70 on the board in the first half.  The Rockets tightened up their defense in the second half and they were hacking away relentlessly. JT got baited into taking a few too many bad shots while JB put work in  other areas that resulted in him recording a triple double.  

The Celtics made a concerted effort to take advantage of the KP matchups against everybody on the Rockets.  He carried the team offensively while nailing 32 points on 11-21 shooting and going 6-11 from downtown. Derrick White played well while scoring 21 points and collecting 11 rebounds.

Some of the more surprising stats included 10 steals and 12 block shots for the Celtics.  JT scored 18 points but he did not shoot well at all (4-17)

What makes the Celtics a good team is because the jays can have below average games scoring the basketball and guys like KP and DW can carry a larger role in offensive production.

Now that we are finished with Ime and the Rockets it is own to Dallas

I have not seen an updated injury report but I am guessing that AH will suit up for the game.  Jrue has been nursing an elbow strain but I think he will be ready to go.  KP played hard last night but I cannot see him missing a game against his old team.

Jordon Walsh is on this road trip and I am wondering if he may get a few minutes.  Brissett played 18 minutes last night and scored 6 with 3 assists and 2 rebounds.  

Kornet played well last night with 8 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive) and 3 block shots.

CJ has to find a way to get minutes out of his deep bench guys.  It appears to me that both the Jays look a bit worn down.

I want to mention something about PP.  He has a bad habit of driving into the paint and then stopping, not able to get a shot off and then searching for an outlet.  He needs to keep his dribble and head back out if he cannot find a shot.  A little more Steve Nash please.

gyso wrote:I haven't watched it yet, either.  I was having family time instead.

Thanks to Steve for starting this thread.

Me neither.

I was busy having The Bills rip my heart out of my chest. While it was still beating. Again.

NYCelt wrote:

gyso wrote:I haven't watched it yet, either.  I was having family time instead.

Thanks to Steve for starting this thread.

Me neither.

I was busy having The Bills rip my heart out of my chest. While it was still beating. Again.

Bills fans deserve a break, and a Super Bowl win!

NYCelt wrote:

gyso wrote:I haven't watched it yet, either.  I was having family time instead.

Thanks to Steve for starting this thread.

Me neither.

I was busy having The Bills rip my heart out of my chest. While it was still beating. Again.

Sorry NY Celt, at least you have Josh Allen, the most gifted physical quarterback I have ever seen. Guy is 6’5” and 240, as big as any tight end and runs over defenders, as tall as all the lineman. Can’t believe their best receiver dropped that perfect bomb….sorry buddy. Will be your year soon, I can’t see a quarterback that talented not winning a SB.

Thanks for the post-playoff exit fan support gents.

Here in Western NY, we feel there might be a silver lining to being Bills fans in January. We're guessing that any time now, the Governor's office will be distributing free anti-depressant meds. Since we also have the Sabres (I'm an old Bruins fan), all the more reason to pass out mood lifting meds