Joe Mazzulla once again sat on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Once again, the reserves delivered.

 

Two days after Boston’s bench held off a comeback attempt by the Sacramento Kings, the group maintained a comfortable lead over Portland before winning 124–107.

 

The bench crew sent Portland packing with a 12-2 run over 2:55 of the fourth quarter, giving Boston a 112-94 advantage with 4:16 remaining, the game’s greatest at the time. This run was all about balance and, appropriately for the C’s, a little luck.

 

During the spurt, four different Celtics scored, with Sam Hauser leading the way with five points. Oshae Brissett and Payton Pritchard also scored layups before Xavier Tillman Sr. hit a three-pointer to cap the run and force Portland to call a timeout.

 

Tillman Sr.’s shot featured a bit of luck. He usually shoots threes from the corners, but he did it from the right wing this time. It wasn’t on target, but it bounced off the backboard and into the rim for three points.

 

Tillman Sr. could only smile as he jogged back down the floor. Portland promptly called a timeout, but the damage had been done, and the Celtics were all grins the rest of the way.

 

The Celtics’ reserves polished off another victory, giving them their fifth straight win and league-leading 62nd of the season.

 

Payton Pritchard, a key player, is performing well during the regular season’s final stretch.

 

He concluded Sunday’s game against Portland with 20 points on just 13 shots. He converted nine of those shots, including four midrange jumpers and two three-pointers. Pritchard’s scoring total behind just Jaylen Brown’s 26 points for the squad.

 

The quick point guard also had eight assists and only two turnovers. This is the second time in three games that he has recorded at least eight assists, and the fifth overall since March 17.

 

Boston outscored Portland by 19 points in his roughly 26 minutes of play. Pritchard completed his box score with three rebounds and one steal.

 

Box Score Nuggets

Six Celtics scored at least ten points, with Jaylen Brown leading the way with 26 and Payton Pritchard adding 20.Pritchard also gave out eight assists.Derrick White tied former Celtic Dalano Banton for the game lead in assists, with nine.Banton also led Portland in scoring with 28 points off the bench.The Trail Blazers got 22 offensive boards but only scored 21 second-chance points.Boston limited Portland to 107 points off 102 shots.

The Celtics shot 56.3 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from distance, while Portland only shot 38.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three points.Both teams attempted thirteen shots. Portland shot a perfect 13-for-13, while Boston went 10 for 13.Kristaps Porzingis recorded a double-double with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. He also led the team with three thefts.Six players in the contest hit three three-pointers (four from Portland and two from Boston).

Quote of the Night

“It means a lot of hard work. It’s been a great journey, and we’re still looking forward to what’s next – hopefully another 10,000 in me.”

– Jaylen Brown on reaching 10,000 career points