Celtics Wrap: Isaiah Thomas, C's Come Storming Back To Beat Trail Blazers

Maybe the West Coast isn’t so bad after all for the Boston Celtics.

The C’s opened their current four-game road trip with a brutal loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, and Thursday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers appeared to be more of the same after the first quarter. But Boston came back from a 17-point deficit to top Portland 120-111 at Moda Center.

Shocker: Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics, who were without two of their starters — Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley — with 34 points. Marcus Smart (18 points, five steals, five assists, six rebounds), Kelly Olynyk (13 points, seven rebounds), Al Horford (12 points, five rebounds), Gerald Green (11 points), Terry Rozier (11 points, five assists) and Jaylen Brown (14 points, seven rebounds) all were in double-figures.

Al-Farouq Aminu scored a season-high 26 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers, while Damian Lillard (28 points, seven assists, six rebounds) and C.J. McCollum (20 points) also had solid nights offensively.

With the win, Boston improved to 34-19, while Portland fell to 23-31.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson, Al Horford

SLUGGISH START
The Celtics found themselves down 32-22 at the end of the first quarter. The C’s made 9 of 25 shots in the frame, while the Blazers shot 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the court and attempted 12 free throws, compared to Boston’s three.

The teams were tied at 5-5 early on, but Portland went on a mini 7-1 spurt, and Boston never came within four points for the rest of the quarter. Lillard and McCollum both led the way for Portland with eight points in the frame.

BACK IN IT
The first nine minutes of the second quarter was more of the same for the C’s, as they trailed by as many as 17 points at 53-36 with 2:42 remaining in the half. But Boston closed the quarter on a 13-2 run and trailed 55-49 at the half. Thomas was a big reason for the comeback, as he scored 14 of his 16 first-half points in the second.

That run continued at the start of the third quarter, as the Celtics started the frame on a 10-2 spurt and took a 59-57 lead on a Horford bucket. The rest of the third quarter was highly entertaining, and the C’s finished the frame up 77-76 on a Brown 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds.

Aminu opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, but the C’s responded with a 7-0 run and built a five-point lead. Boston led the rest of the way, although it remained close until the C’s produced some breathing room in the final minutes.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Gerald. Green.