Celtics Wrap: Boston Overcomes Sloppy Start To Third Quarter Vs. Kings

The Boston Celtics are winners in back-to-back contests, defeating the Sacramento Kings, 122-104, at TD Garden on Friday night.

With the win, the Celtics improved to 15-4 on the season and 8-1 at home, while the Kings fell to 10-8 with their second consecutive loss.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics have been dominant at defending their home court thus far, as was the case yet again. However, it wouldn’t come easy against the Kings.

After kicking off a strong and efficient first half, in which the Celtics both dominated the outside shooting game and limited their turnovers, Boston struggled mightily. The Celtics followed by making several costly turnovers and allowed the Kings to battle back while simultaneously creating unnecessary foul trouble. With 6:02 left to play in the third quarter, veterans Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart raised their foul total to four.

However, the Celtics finished the third quarter strong, due in large part to the leadership of go-to man Jayson Tatum, and showed why they’re among the best in the NBA at defending their home floor.

Boston’s reserves did their part as well with Sam Hauser leading the bench with nine points while Payton Pritchard and Malcolm Brogdon both added eight — all three finished with a 20-plus positive plus-minus.

The Celtics notched their NBA-leading 11th game in reaching 120-plus points.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Tatum led the way for the Celtics with 30 points, including seven during a crucial 16-0 run to close out the third quarter. The 24-year-old finished shooting 10-for-17 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds along with adding four assists.

— Jaylen Brown followed Tatum’s lead and finished with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field while collecting five rebounds and four assists. The strong performance served as Brown’s fourth consecutive in which the 25-year-old scored at least 25 points while also shooting over 45% from the field.

— Domantas Sabonis did his best to keep Sacramento within reach throughout the night. The 26-year-old notched his 10th double-double of the season as he scored 18 points while totaling 10 rebounds to go along with six assists for the Kings.

WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Al Horford notching over 2.5 assists at +100. The 36-year-old cleared those odds with ease. Horford finished with five assists against the Kings, which tied his season-high. A $100 wager on this prop bet would netted a total of $200.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will remain on their home parquet and return to action on Sunday, facing the Washington Wizards. Tipoff from TD Garden is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.