Celtics Wrap: Boston Buries Young Rockets Behind Star Duo

Tatum and Brown combined for 77

by

Dec 27, 2022

The Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets, 126-102, on Tuesday at TD Garden.

The C’s improved to 24-10 while the Rockets fell to 10-23.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Riding high on their Christmas Day victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, it took the Celtics a while to get into this one. Then they straight up buried the inexperienced Rockets.

The first three quarters of this one were a story of Boston riding its stars, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did pretty much everything for the Celtics. The star duo combined for 59 points through 36 minutes, playing a more physical game than Green Teamers are used to seeing.

Against the Rockets, that physicality was extremely evident.

The second half was an opportunity for Boston to try new things, where Brown and Tatum set up Robert Williams III to put together his best performance since returning Dec. 16.

In a game where the bench looked sluggish, the Celtics stars put everything together to defeat a far-inferior opponent.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Brown scored 10 of Boston’s first 15 points and finished the night with 39 — a new season high. He also had three steals on the defensive end.

— Tatum scored 38 points of his own, adding eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and a block on the night.

— Williams finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds in 21 minutes in his fifth game back from knee surgery. If he wasn’t before, Williams appears to be ready for more minutes.

WAGER WATCH
Brown blew past his total points/rebounds/assists prop in this one. DraftKings Sportsbook set his PRA total at 37.5, giving him -105 odds of surpassing the number. He hit it with his points alone, meaning a $100 bet would have netted a total payout of $195.24.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will be back at TD Garden on Thursday, welcoming the Los Angeles Clippers to town for the first time in 2022. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Thumbnail photo via Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports Images
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