BOSTON — Sam Hauser drove into traffic looking for the game-winning shot. He ran into Keegan Murray, determined to record one more stop for a 19-point fourth quarter comeback win. Murray blocked Hauser, grabbed the ball, but Hauser tipped it away back to Xavier Tillman Sr., who tossed in the decisive layup.
The Stay Ready group didn’t prove ready to retain the lead. They still won the game, 101-100.
Payton Pritchard, Svi Mykhailiuk, Oshae Brissett, Hauser and Tillman played against De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and the Kings regulars. Not how either team pictured a critical game for Sacramento and what looked like a runaway Boston victory entering the final frame playing out.
The Kings unleashed a 21-1 run midway through the quarter as Joe Mazzulla looked on, only calling a timeout at 98-89 and never looking at the starters. The standings made that easier, but he still started the afternoon demanding victories in his pre-game comments.
“This is fun, this is awesome,” Mazzulla said, asked to describe his thoughts as the lead dwindled. “Couldn’t simulate a better environment of stress, pressure, chaos. It’s a perfect environment to execute. That’s why, when those guys are in, you hold them to the same standard you hold everybody else to. I thought they did a great job just making plays. There was no reason to call a timeout there, because when Payton got the ball in-bounds, he created an advantage, they were double-teaming every time and so we were gonna get a better shot in that.”
The Celtics led 33-17 midway through the second quarter with Fox stuck at three points and Kristaps Porzingis surging to 12 points at halftime, buoying Boston’s offense while it started 1-for-10 to open. Sacramento then erupted to hit 13-of-17 to finish the half, including 7-of-8 shooting by Fox as he staggered into the Kings second unit. He buried three layups, four pull-up shots from deep and a pull-up jumper to begin the frame that saw Sacramento pull back down by 16 points to within four on a 33-21 finish.
Hauser started 0-for-8 in a spot start, Jayson Tatum missed all four threes on his way to 3-for-9 and five timely turnovers bogged down the offense alongside some more double-big experimentation. On defense, the switch to zone seemed to charge the Kings’ offense after missing 11-of-13 from deep and scoring 15 points in the first, managing only 24% from the field. They started the third similarly, 1-for-10, scoring two points in over four minutes before Fox, Sabonis and Davion Mitchell woke up and pulled the Kings back within four on a 10-0 run.
Tatum, Porzingis and Boston answered again with some sharp sets late in the third, a diving finish for Tatum around Porzingis’ off-ball screen, a Tatum drive past Sabonis on a switch for two free throws and a Porzingis off-ball screen fake into a diving two from Jrue Holiday for his sixth assist with Derrick White and Jaylen Brown out. Mazzulla said before the game that Brown will manage his hand ailment, but is fine long-term.
“We were experimenting a lot today,” Porzingis said. “It wasn’t perfect from our side, but … we still came out with a win. That’s pretty cool. I think getting into a good rhythm and a good feel for switching. I think we’re probably gonna switch more in the playoffs. Just today we worked on hitting and switching, when Sabonis gets it in the paint, we help and rotate from there … Fox also, hitting him, he got hot. So those kind of things are going to be important for us in the postseason.”
Between experimenting with each double-big combination to start the game, including another night together for Al Horford and Porzingis in the starting lineup, Porzingis sat to start the third in favor of Pritchard. A move Porzingis later said happened because he couldn’t tie his shoes in time to get on the court. That group broke off another strong pass-pass possession, more prevalent lately, the ball touching all five Celtics before Hauser dump a pass to Horford underneath for a layup on the drive.
Porzingis re-entered soon after, breaking away for free throws late in the quarter and sharing an embrace with the crowd behind the basket by patting his chest twice. Holiday found him one play later for three, pushing the Celtics ahead by eight, before Hauser tossed Porzingis a lob on the break to secure a 20-point, 10 rebound game for the big man.
Tatum hit a three and targeted Luke Kornet for a layup between the third and fourth. Paving the way to a bench run with a 14-point lead that included Jordan Walsh, Brissett, Mykhailiuk Pritchard, Kornet and Tillman. They shot 3-for-18, including 12 straight misses before the final one landed in Tillman’s hands.
“Sam got the steal, tipped it out to me. I caught it, saw the paint was open, made a crossover move, they stepped up, then I shot the float,” Tillman said. “It felt good as soon as it left my hand. I knew it was good … it was pretty cool. Especially for us to battle with them coming back and have that mental fortitude not just to give in to it, stay solid … everybody keep their composure. Shoutout to Payton, he was holding us down with that, talking to us and keeping us calm, cool and relaxed.”
