Jaylen Brown etched his identify alongside Larry Chook’s within the Celtics document books Sunday evening in Portland. However his milestone got here in a dropping effort.
Brown scored 37 factors to tie Chook’s franchise document of 9 consecutive 30-point video games, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient in a 114-108 loss to the Path Blazers that snapped Boston’s four-game win streak.
The Celtics acquired restricted offensive manufacturing from Brown’s supporting forged — Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser mixed for simply 21 factors and went 6-for-26 from 3-point vary after scoring 73 in Friday’s victory over Indiana — and dedicated 19 turnovers, together with 4 within the closing 68 seconds.
Additionally they struggled to include 7-foot-2 heart Donovan Clingan (18 factors, 18 rebounds, seven offensive boards) and wing Deni Avdija (24 factors, 10 assists, seven rebounds), who powered a Portland crew that was taking part in with out ex-Celtics Jrue Vacation and Robert Williams III, together with almost a half-dozen different injured contributors.
Anfernee Simons, traded to Boston this summer season in trade for Vacation, went 4-for-11 and was a team-worst minus-15 in his first recreation again in Portland after seven seasons with the Blazers. He completed with 13 factors.
The 19-12 Celtics will proceed their season-long five-game highway journey Tuesday in Utah (9 p.m. ET). The Jazz sit nicely under .500 at 12-19, however they’ve already overwhelmed the C’s as soon as this season, profitable 105-103 on Nov. 3 at TD Backyard.
Brown scored six factors within the opening two minutes and 13 within the first quarter. The Celtics additionally have been in a position to harass Portland right into a slew of early turnovers — seven complete within the first, plus one other lower than a minute into the second. Simons compelled two of these after receiving a tribute video and an ovation from the Moda Middle crowd, then drilling a 3-pointer on his first spark off the bench.
Boston had a tough time matching up with Clingan, nevertheless. The previous UConn star reached double-double territory halfway by the second quarter by feasting on offensive rebounds and putbacks. His manufacturing within the paint, coupled with the Celtics’ personal sloppy ball safety, helped Portland construct a 41-34 lead.
Foul hassle additionally compelled Mazzulla into some early substitutions. He lifted Jordan Walsh for Hugo Gonzalez after the previous was whistled for 3 fouls within the first 4:30 of recreation time.
As efficient as Walsh has been since his mid-November promotion to the beginning lineup, excessive foul counts have been a difficulty for the 21-year-old wing of late. Walsh additionally dedicated two within the first 5 minutes of a loss to the Pistons on Dec. 15 and two within the first three minutes of Friday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
Gonzalez, who boasts the perfect plus/minus of any NBA rookie, wound up taking part in 14 first-half minutes and stuffing the stat sheet with eight factors, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. His takeaways got here in fast succession, and he punctuated the second with a fast-break dunk. On the subsequent Celtics possession, Gonzalez drew a foul on an offensive rebound and made each free throws to tie the sport at 41-41.
Brown reasserted himself as the primary half wound down. He poured in 10 factors within the closing 2:09 earlier than halftime, together with a buzzer-beating stepback 3-pointer that put Boston forward 63-55. Brown had 27 within the first half on 11-of-16 capturing, then matched Chook’s 30-point streak with a free throw on the 5:28 mark of the third. In so doing, he additionally leapfrogged Invoice Sharman to maneuver into twelfth place on the Celtics’ all-time scoring record.
However the Blazers outscored Boston 31-22 within the third quarter, together with an 11-3 run that featured back-to-back threes by Toumani Camara and a vicious putback dunk by Clingan over Luka Garza.
Garza, the Celtics’ second-string heart, halted that run with a 3-pointer, however he picked up his fifth foul shortly thereafter, prompting Mazzulla to ship in his first small-ball lineup of the sport. With two guards and three wings on the ground, Simons proceeded to attain eight straight factors to rapidly erase one other seven-point deficit. Boston entered the fourth quarter down 86-85.
Trailing by three with 7:05 to play, the Celtics gained a problem to wipe out a Hauser capturing foul, then obtained rapid-fire threes from Hauser and Gonzalez to tie the sport at 98-98. Gonzalez was the one Boston bench participant to submit a optimistic plus/minus within the loss, ending with 13-6-5 and a plus-3 in half-hour.
Three minutes later, Brown was assessed a flagrant offensive foul on a tough drive to the basket, however Advija missed each free throws, and Portland got here up empty on the following bonus possession. A Neemias Queta dunk on the different finish lower it to at least one with 3:22 to go. Shaedon Sharpe (26 factors) and Brown then traded threes.
However Brown, with an opportunity to place Boston forward, had his pocket picked by Sharpe with 1:08 remaining, main to 2 Blazers free throws. White responded with a 3, however two late miscommunications between him and Brown, coupled with one closing second-chance bucket by Clingan, secured the win for Portland.
