It didn’t matter that the Boston Celtics were without three starters Sunday night in its matchup against a Portland Trailblazers team riding a four-game win streak.
Not one bit.
The defending NBA champions once again showed how deep its roster is, as six players scored in double figures on a night when starters Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis sat out. The Celtics connected on 23 three-pointers, led by an 8-for-10 effort from beyond the arc by sharpshooter Sam Hauser, on their way to a 129-116 victory.
“(Hauser and Luke Kornet have) proven themselves tremendously,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters after his team’s fifth-straight victory. “It’s important that we just keep doing whatever it takes to win and continue playing with the right mindset. Regardless of who plays. I thought we were able to execute really well offensively versus different coverages. I thought we were able to withstand some runs that they went on, and they tested everything that we need to get better at. So I thought it was a good game by our guys.”
Hauser, an undrafted forward now in his third season in Boston, embraced his role in the starting lineup and finished with 24 points in a team-high 39 minutes. But leading the way in the scoring column was six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum (nine rebounds, nine assists), who dropped a game-high 30 points — including 18 in the third quarter — in a near-triple-double performance.
Also getting the rare start — actually, it was his first start of the season — was Oregon native Payton Pritchard. The leading NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate scored a career-high 43 points the last time his team faced Portland on March 5 but faced early foul trouble Sunday that limited his night to just 16 minutes. Even so, Pritchard finished with 16 points — including four three-pointers — five assists, and four rebounds.
“It was definitely very emotional,” Pritchard said. “But ultimately, my first start this year didn’t go how I wanted. I got three fouls in like three minutes. So maybe I’ll just stick to coming off the bench. That’s much more fitting for me right now. I’m just glad we got the ‘W’ in my hometown. That feels really good.”
Adding to Boston’s production from the starting lineup was Derrick White (17 points, eight assists) and Al Horford (14 points, six rebounds). Kornet led the Celtics off the bench, finishing with 13 points on a perfect 6-for-6-night shooting to complement his five rebounds and three assists.
Shaedon Sharpe led Portland with 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists, followed by Toumani Camara (19 points, seven rebounds) and Deni Avdija (17 points, 11 rebounds).
The Celtics (52-19) will continue their longest road trip of the season Monday night and try to win a sixth-straight game for only the third time this year. To do that, they’ll have to best a Sacramento Kings (35-35) team that’s lost back-to-back games since posting arguably its biggest win of the season — a four-point victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers — on March 20.
Boston will likely be without at least one starter once again. The only question is, how much will it matter?
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