The Celtics fought through an ugly second half and held off the Rockets for a 113-105 road win at the Toyota Center on Sunday night. Kristaps Porzingis led the way for the shorthanded visitors with a game-high 32 points while Derrick White chipped in with 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, helping Boston hold off a shorthanded Rockets squad that was playing without two starters. Jaylen Brown also dished an assist in the final minute to score his first triple-double of the season (13 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists)
Boston led by as many as 17 points in the first half behind the steady shooting of White and Porzingis along with some stellar play from the bench unit. However, Boston’s offensive woes cropped up in the third quarter (20 points) as Jayson Tatum (4-of-17 FG) and Jaylen Brown (5-of-13 FG) struggled through rough shooting nights.
Ultimately, Boston righted the ship late behind some shotmaking from Porzingis and lockdown defense, helping Boston kick off their three-game road trip on a winning note.
The trip gets tougher on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks but Al Horford (rest) and Jrue Holiday (elbow) are expected to be back in the lineup for that matchup.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win Sunday night.
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Secondary stars step up: On a night where the Celtics offense didn’t get its usual production from their two All-Stars, the supporting cast stepped up in a big way. Porzingis feasted against a Houston defense missing Jabari Smith Jr., by punishing Houston bigs on the perimeter with six 3-point makes. Once the Rockets adjusted by putting Malle guys on him, he took advantage in the post with a number of key buckets from the midrange against smaller defenders. Meanwhile, White was the Celtics best two-way player on the floor all night, leading the green to a double-digit halftime lead despite limited minutes for Boston’s stars. That cushion was enough for the Celtics to lean on despite an ugly second half.
Second chance points save the day: On the heels of an ugly offensive outing against the Nuggets, the Celtics struggled again with their shot, going just 43 percent from the field on the night. However, the visitors were able to make up for the off night with their work on the offensive glass. Boston piled up 16 offensive rebounds against an undermanned Rockets squad which led to a 23-10 edge in second chance points. With Boston struggling to finish at the rim and on the perimeter for much of the night, Luke Kornet (5 offensive rebounds) and Porzingis (4 offensive rebounds) came up huge in a win that didn’t come easily.
Block party: The Rockets weren’t shy about trying to challenge the Celtics inside all night and Boston sent a message with a whopping 12 blocks in the win. Porzingis led the way with five blocks, a season-high while Kornet and White chipped in with multiple stuffs to keep the Rockets offense in check for the better part of four quarters.
Good minutes management by Joe Mazzulla: Boston’s stars looked flat coming out of the gate in this one and with a tough back-to-back looming against Dallas, Mazzulla wisely leaned into bigge minutes for his second unit in this one with Payton Pritchard (30 minutes) and Kornet (22 minutes) playing well above their season averages. That enabled everyone in the starting five to play below 35 minutes in the comfortable win despite the fact Horford and Holiday were unavailable. Those lower totals should bode well for Boston’s chances on Monday night against old friend Grant Williams.
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