Coming off a 119-113 loss to the Pistons on Sunday, the Celtics (1-3) finished off a road back-to-back with their first win of the season in a 122-90 final against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Celtics ran out a starting five of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, Josh Minott and Neemias Queta. Earlier in the day, Brown was listed as questionable due to left hamstring strain reconditioning. Head coach Joe Mazzulla considered him a gametime decision prior to his pregame shootaround.
The Pels
(0-3) were without their primary option in Zion Williamson as well as center Kevon Looney, who has yet to make an appearance for them this season. The Pels were led in scoring by Jordan Poole (22 points), while the Celtics were led by Anfernee Simons (25 points, 9/17 FG). Pritchard led the team with eight assists to go with 18 points (7/15 FG) while Queta controlled the glass with 11 rebounds and a game-high four blocks.
An alley-oop connection from White to Minott off the opening tip kickstarted another fast start for the Celtics, who hit on five of their first six shots to take an 11-3 lead before a Pelicans timeout.
The Celtics shot 50% from the field in the first quarter, with six players registering a field goal, though a 10-1 Pels run helped close the gap. With a two-for-one opportunity, White drilled a deep 3-pointer to help Boston take a 34-26 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Celtics missed their first seven shots and didn’t see one go down until the 8:34 mark, when Brown found Minott on a baseline cut to make it 36-32. Minott scored their next basket as well, drilling a corner three after a Queta offensive board. Despite the slow start, the Celtics soon broke out on a 15-6 run after Minott’s first make, thanks to a combination of offensive rebounding and defensive takeaways.
The Celtics finished the half with 10 offensive boards, 13 second chance points and 12 points off turnovers, taking a 65-54 lead into halftime. Boston had four scorers in double figures, led by Pritchard’s 14 and 11 each from Brown, Minott and Simons.
Starting with a moon ball mid-range jumper from Brown, the Celtics built their lead up to 13 early in the third, but the Pelicans chipped away, cutting it down to four with just under six minutes left. The Celtics responded well to the Pelicans run, however, outscoring their host 12-7 in the final half of the quarter to take an 87-78 lead into the fourth. The Celtics missed their first seven 3-point attempts in the third, until Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman bucked that trend.
In the fourth quarter, Brown had an early exit with his fifth foul two minutes in. The Pelicans got the deficit down to five after a Jordan Poole three, but a 3-point response from Hauser canceled it out, and was followed by a forceful White block on DeAndre Jordan that led to a Simons triple for a 97-86 lead with eight minutes remaining.
It ended up being part of a 17-2 run, featuring two more 3-pointers from Simons and another from Hauser to push the lead to 20 with under five minutes to play. From there, the Celtics cleared the bench on the way to a 32-point win.
Boston will be back at home on Wednesday, October 29, for a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.
