Post Game - Celtics vs. New Orleans Pelicans - Monday, January 29 (W)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585287

From another perspective:


Pelicans can't hang on against NBA's best home team as they blow late lead in Boston

https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/pelicans-cant-hang-on-against-nbas-best-home-team/article_70212e24-bf08-11ee-a117-d3a1bcd225e7.html

BY CHRISTIAN CLARK | Staff writer Jan 29, 2024 Updated 10 mins ago
2 min to read

The New Orleans Pelicans lost to two of the NBA’s top teams by a combined 48 points over the weekend.

On Friday, the Pelicans capped an extended home stand with a 24-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The next night, they lost by 24 points again — this time to the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.

On Monday, the Pelicans fared better against one of the NBA’s elite teams. They had a 17-point lead in the first half against the Boston Celtics, and early in the fourth quarter, they led by eight. But none of that was enough to hang on against the NBA’s best home team.

The Pelicans lost to the Celtics 118-112. The Celtics have a 21-2 record at TD Garden this season.

The Pelicans, who dropped to 26-21 overall, are 12-11 on the road. They have lost five of their last seven games.

“I loved our effort," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "We executed well for maybe 3½ quarters of the game. We know our blind spots. We know the last five minutes of a game, we have to get quality looks. We had a few turnovers down the stretch. That’s where we have to grow.”

With 8:59 remaining, the Pelicans led 94-86. The Celtics tied the game with 6:22 to go on a Derrick White 3. That was one of four 3-pointers White knocked down as he scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Celtics closed the game on a 32-18 run.

The Pelicans’ All-Star forwards, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, both had strong games. Ingram scored 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting. Williamson tallied 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

“B.I. was great," Green said. "Z(ion) was attacking. For the most part, we liked what we saw. We couldn’t sustain their run. They got going, and it was hard to shut their water off. This is what they do. It’s one of the reasons they are one of the better teams in the NBA.”

The Pelicans shot 50.5% from the field, but the Celtics had a massive advantage behind the 3-point arc. The Celtics converted 17 3s. The Pelicans converted 10.

Eight Boston players made at least one 3-pointer. Comparatively, only five New Orleans players made shots from behind the arc.

Jayson Tatum poured in a team-high 28 points for Boston. His driving dunk with 1:42 left increased the Celtics’ lead to eight points.

Jaylen Brown added a 25-foot 3-pointer on Boston’s ensuing possession. Those were death blows for the Pelicans, who battled against the first-place Celtics but still lost their third straight game.

In the fourth quarter, the Pelicans shot 2 of 10 from the field and committed five turnovers. Ingram and Williamson combined for 14 points in the final quarter. Tatum scored 14 points by himself in the fourth.

“I don’t like the (five) turnovers at all," Green said. "That’s where we have to be more mature as a team. Come down, execute, get a quality shot. Our guys in the locker room know that.”

Celtics-Pelicans takeaways: White leads fourth-quarter surge in C's win

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-pelicans-takeaways-white-leads-032940960.html

Justin Leger
Mon, Jan 29, 2024, 10:29 PM EST·4 min read




Celtics-Pelicans takeaways: White leads fourth-quarter surge in C's win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

Derrick White comes through in the clutch
Jrue Holiday cooks his former team
Al Horford steps up for short-handed frontcourt

The Boston Celtics bounced back from Saturday's blowout loss with a thrilling victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.

For a while, it looked like the C's were on the verge of dropping two straight games at home for the first time this season. They trailed by as many as 17 points in what appeared to be a continuation of their dismal performance vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.

They started to find their groove in the third quarter, erasing the 17-point deficit and taking the lead with 4:45 to go in the frame. The Pelicans didn't back down as they answered every C's run with a punch of their own. In the fourth quarter though, Boston caught fire and closed out an entertaining 118-112 victory. It's now 10-1 this season following a loss.

The Celtics earned the hard-fought win despite being short-handed in their frontcourt without Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain) and Luke Kornet (left hamstring tightness). Five C's players scored in double figures including Jayson Tatum (game-high 28 points), Jaylen Brown (22 points), and Jrue Holiday (20 points).

For the Pelicans, Brandon Ingram (28 points) and Zion Williamson (26 points) did most of the damage.

The Celtics' (36-11) seven-game homestand continues against the Indiana Pacers (27-20) on Tuesday night. First, here are three takeaways from Monday's action.

Derrick White comes through in the clutch

White's shooting slump continued for most of Monday night's game. After going 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3 on Saturday, he started 1-for-9 from the field and 1-for-7 from deep against New Orleans.

But later, in typical Derrick White fashion, he stepped up when it mattered most.

White took over in the fourth quarter to help Boston complete the comeback win. The 2024 All-Star candidate notched 13 of his 17 points in the final frame, including three clutch 3-pointers.



White finished 6-for-14 on field goals and a respectable 4-for-10 from long range. The All-Defensive guard added four assists, one rebound, a steal, and a block. He and Tatum combined for 27 of Boston's 37 fourth-quarter points.



Jrue Holiday cooks his former team

As C's broadcaster Brian Scalabrine asked during Monday's game, why would a team trade Jrue Holiday?

The Celtics' veteran guard reminded the Pelicans of their mistake in this game. When the rest of the team struggled to make shots, it was Holiday keeping them afloat. He tallied all 20 of his points on only 11 shots (7-11 FG, 3-5 3-PT) in the first three quarters, nearly topping his season-high of 22.

Twelve of his points came in the third quarter to help Boston erase its 17-point deficit. It was the most points he has scored in any quarter this season.



Holiday added three rebounds, two assists, and a steal to his stat line. White and Tatum finished the job, but Holiday was instrumental in putting the Celtics in the position to mount a comeback.

Al Horford steps up for short-handed frontcourt

The Celtics remained without Porzingis, who injured his ankle in Thursday's win over the Miami Heat. They also were missing Kornet, leaving Horford and Neemias Queta as their only available bigs.

Horford wasted little time making his presence felt. Getting the start in Porzingis' place, he drilled a 3 for the Celtics' first points of the game and proceeded to bring down six boards in the opening frame.

The 37-year-old played a key role on both ends of the floor. He totaled 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting (3-6 3-PT) to go with eight rebounds, four assists, and an emphatic block on Zion Williamson.



Horford has consistently stepped up when Porzingis has been unable to take the court. The Celtics will hope he won't have to much longer -- head coach Joe Mazzulla considered Porzingis as "day-to-day" with his injury -- but they can rest assured they're in good hands with Horford leading the frontcourt.

With the Celtics playing the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday, it'll be interesting to see how their frontcourt looks against Indiana. Horford typically plays only one game of a back-to-back, and it's unclear whether Porzingis and Kornet will be ready to return.

Gutsy win! After the demolition by the Clippers, this was a good bounce back. Our shooting was off for most of the game but we hung in there and came together in the end.

Hope that Porzingis is back tomorrow as Horford will not play b2b.

I haven't been able to watch a lot of games recently for reasons of no interest to anybody but me. Tonight, my daughter dragged me off to a painful, but much needed yoga class.Since VPNs were so unreliable in San Miguel , I broke down and bought the NBA package, but it didn't work in California on the TV. I came to find out that I can watch the games on my laptop, so, like it or not , I'm back. Hi, kids. Had the luxury of watching tonight's game while already knowing the result. Not as exciting, but more conducive to studied observation. Kudos to pretty much everybody that played. Liking Queta more every time I see him. Brissett is earning playing time. If only he could shoot. I'll let you guys (and girl) do your usual fine job of analyzing our guy's play. With respect to the Pelicans, I have two questions.Will Zion ever get in good enough shape to play without extended breathers? He's a load when he's in there. Secondly, why does Brandon Ingram get so little love? Is it because he was prematurely deemed a bust?

I couldn't have drawn up a better night for Boston if I had prayed to God thinking He was always a Celtic fan and cares about basketball.  The whole league fell apart around us.  6ers lost, expected with not Maxey or Embiid, Doc got a Bronx Cheer welcome back to the NBA, still as delusional as ever since leaving Boston about the task at hand, Heat extend their losing streak to 7 games with no end in sight.  Where is my Pat Riley camera pan?!

Last and certainly not least, the Clippers "strangely" lost to CLE.  This is important since our game vs. LAC was considered a measuring stick game against the best in the league by Ty Lue.  So Ty, I'm guessing since you lost to a "lesser" team like CLE, I'm having trouble  finding that stick, so...Oh, never mind.  I saw it when you turned around....well, you get the picture.  

This is the beginning of the end for you and LAC.  Please look no further than your own team that includes one of the biggest, notorious fade into Bolivia spotlight quitters ever in the history of the NBA.  As a matter of fact, it's a one-man contest.  There's never been anyone else in that race for the history of the NBA.  He's on deck for you when the going gets tough and sphincters are tightened.  Good luck getting out of the first round. Here's a complimentary broom.  

Another gut it out victory by Boston.  It took a while.  NOP is a good West team and playoff bound.  Everyone steps up for us sans KP and Kornet.  Expect them to be back tonight and Al takes a seat.  

Now on to silence any hopes IND may have with their delusions of grandeur coming from their shiny new trade toy and Halliburton mysteriously getting all better to be inserted back into tonight's lineup just in time to face the Celtics.

Dang!  Didn't even see the Lakers coming to town Thursday!  They just keep coming!  

Go Celtics!

db

P.S.  I know, I know.  I didn't forget...The Lakers lost to HOU!  Is it Christmas again already?!!

Teams make every effort to bring their A game to the gym whenever the Celtics are the opponent.

NOLA is a really fun team to watch.  They are missing a floor general and depth at center.

This was a grind it out win for Boston.  It had the feel of another pending home loss.  The Celtics refused to lose this game as they came storming back to catch the Pels and then add a sufficient cushion to secure a well earned victory.

The Celtics have lost a few games here and there and it seems to me that those losses were mostly impacted by shot making and a few bad patches of execution.

This team really moves the basketball in a most unselfish manner.  

The Celtics have played 47 games to date and iron man Payton Pritchard is the only player to play in every game.  Hauser has played in 46 contest.  The two of them are really the bread and butter of our not so deep bench.  

I'm on somewhat of a tangent.  

The Celtics have played 22 games out of 47 where one of our centers did not play.  KP has already missed 14 games and AH has missed 8.  I am not sure that us fans fully appreciate how those games can impact the style of play on the court and the chemistry.  All the players have to make adjustments to how they interact because the center spot changes.

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel will shine through in April.  No B2B games during the playoffs  and hopefully we see a positive impact in the way that the Celtics have managed Kristaps and Al.

dboss wrote:Teams make every effort to bring their A game to the gym whenever the Celtics are the opponent.

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel will shine through in April.  No B2B games during the playoffs  and hopefully we see a positive impact in the way that the Celtics have managed Kristaps and Al.

I agree on both counts.

As to the latter, we just have to get there relatively healthy.  Giving Z and Al plenty of rest will help, and a loss or two along the way could be an acceptable cost.

jrleftfoot wrote:I haven't been able to watch a lot of games recently for reasons of no interest to anybody but me. Tonight, my daughter dragged me off to a painful, but much needed yoga class.Since VPNs were so unreliable in San Miguel , I broke down and bought the NBA package, but it didn't work in California on the TV. I came to find out that I can watch the games on my laptop, so, like it or not , I'm back. Hi, kids. Had the luxury of watching tonight's game while already knowing the result. Not as exciting, but more conducive to studied observation. Kudos to pretty much everybody that played. Liking Queta more every time I see him. Brissett is earning playing time. If only he could shoot. I'll let you guys (and girl) do your usual fine job of analyzing our guy's play. With respect to the Pelicans, I have two questions.Will Zion ever get in good enough shape to play without extended breathers? He's a load when he's in there. Secondly, why does Brandon Ingram get so little love? Is it because he was prematurely deemed a bust?

On Zion can see why he was the first pick in the whole draft. Even with certain parts of his game regressing or never further developing, he’s still such a load the way he scores thru anyone on the drive. Still has the strength and hang time. I’m amazed he can’t even avg 8-9 rebounds a game, 8 or 9 should be a disappointment with his attributes and he’s doing less than that. Our own Jayson Tatum is a much better rebounder. IMHO Zion coasts on defense, doesn’t play it hard; saving energy for offense or afraid to play/hustle too hard for fear of injury. I hope for the good of the game and his franchise he can start putting together 70 game seasons.

Having said all that was impressive how we overcame a very cold start, hung in there and figured out how to win. Like the way both J’s responded, Al essential the way he manned the paint.