Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser Power Celtics to Win Over Trail Blazers

The Celtics’ west coast trip brought them to the Pacific Northwest Sunday night, where they routed the Portland Trail Blazers 129-116 for their fifth straight win.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 30 points—including 24 in the second half—and Sam Hauser buried eight threes for 24 points to help Boston to a 13-point victory. With the team missing Jaylen Brown Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, Hauser (8/10 3PT), Payton Pritchard (16 points, four rebounds, five assists) and Derrick White (17 points, eight assists) fended off Portland and their own four-game win streak.

Pritchard, an Oregon native and University of Oregon alum, made his first start of the season in front of his hometown crowd but that didn’t last long. Pritchard picked up 3 fouls in less than 5 minutes and had to take a quick seat on the bench.

“It’s definitely very emotional, just growing up and watching these games as a kid,” Pritchard told NBC Sports Boston in his walk-off interview. “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,” he joked. “That’s much more fitting for me right now.”

Pritchard had five of Boston’s first seven points before picking up his 3rd foul. The Celtics and Blazers traded buckets in the game’s first five minutes, Boston leading 12-10 early on. The Celtics then separated themselves with perimeter shooting. They nailed seven threes in the first quarter, including one from rookie Baylor Scheierman that gave the Celtics a 34-24 lead.

Boston’s three-point dominance continued en route to a 40-28 lead with ten minutes left. Portland then stormed back with a 12-0 run, tying the contest with under seven minutes remaining. The game of runs continued as Boston scored nine straight, including Hauser’s fourth three of the half with over four minutes remaining. More buckets by Hauser, White, Kornet, and Al Horford kept the Celtics in front at the break, 64-51.

Boston came alive to begin the second half, led by Tatum’s 18 points in the third quarter. The six-time All-Star buried his first three of the game at the 9:23 mark of the third, converting a four-point play for a 17-point Boston advantage. Just as the Celtics turned on cruise control, the Blazers began another comeback. After Toumani Camara buried a three, Shaedon Sharpe’s two-hand slam cut Boston’s lead to ten with 5:27 left.

Tatum and Pritchard fueled the end of the Celtics’ scintillating third quarter, with Pritchard drilling back-to-back threes for a 100-84 lead. Despite a string of buckets by Portland forward Matisse Thybulle, Boston held firm with a 102-90 lead heading into the final frame. The C’s outscored Portland 27-26 in the fourth for their fifth consecutive win.

Aside from the scoring barrage and red-hot perimeter shooting, other keys toward Boston’s victory were their playmaking and bench production. The C’s entered Sunday 33-5 when recording 25 or more assists, and they ended the contest with 31 dimes. The team’s reserves also answered the call, scoring 28 bench points, led by 13 from Luke Kornet.

“They’ve proven themselves tremendously,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of the team’s bench. “Everybody that played impacted winning, and that’s the most important thing. Sticking to the things that impact winning every night, and continuing the work to keep our edge.”

Now at 52-19 overall and 28-7 on the road, the Celtics will look to add to the W column against the Sacramento Kings tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET.