Three Studs, Three Duds From Uninspiring Celtics Win Over Pelicans

The Boston Celtics have played basically .500 basketball over the last month, but they looked to have a get-right game on their schedule Sunday night against the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.

It didn’t turn out that way for the Celtics, though.

Instead of demolishing the Pelicans, who came in with just eight wins to their name this season, the Celtics slogged their way to a nail-biting 120-119 victory at TD Garden, which won’t exactly inspire confidence that they put their midseason slump behind them.

The Celtics found a way to win in the second half, but still didn’t look like themselves, especially on the offensive end where they shot 29.5% from beyond the arc. They were lucky it was enough to improve them to 28-11 while the Pelicans dropped to 8-32.

Here are three studs and three duds as the Celtics squeaked by the Pelicans:

STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum felt like the only member of the Celtics who could consistently score. He carried the offensive load on the night, putting up a game-high 38 points on 14-for-30 shooting from the field — the 30 shot attempts were a season high — to go along with 11 rebounds. Tatum stepped up when the Celtics needed him in the second half, scoring 21 points. He did shoot just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc and had one assist, but his scoring was more valuable since it was a grind on the offensive end for Boston.

Trey Murphy III
Murphy certainly is on the radar of Celtics fans after the performance he had Sunday. The sharpshooting wing was integral in the Pelicans hanging around as he netted a team-high 30 points on 10-for-17 shooting. The Virginia product also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. But Murphy’s outside shooting was key in the Pelicans outperforming their usual output from 3-point range. New Orleans came in averaging 11.8 3-pointers per game, but knocked down 17 of them against the Celtics — they shot 45.9% from downtown — with Murphy collecting five of them.

Kristaps Porzingis
The 7-foot-2 center is starting to look more and more like himself. He played a factor on both ends of the floor to be a difference-maker in the win. Porzingis notched a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds while also registering three blocks.

DUDS
Derrick White
Remember when White put himself in position early in the season to be consider an All-Star. Well, it feels like that ship has sailed for the veteran guard. Sure, White is still doing the necessary little things on the court — he had three steals against the Pelicans — but his shooting touch has fallen off. After scoring just three points against the Sacramento Kings, White netted just six points against the Pelicans on 1-for-6 shooting, including an 0-for-5 mark from downtown.

Jrue Holiday
Holiday made one big shot down the stretch when he converted an acrobatic layup while being fouled, but outside of that, the veteran guard didn’t provide much. He finished with eight points, six assists and four rebounds, but with White struggling, the Celtics needed more from Holiday. He’s probably saving it for the postseason.

Sam Hauser
This is usually a game where Hauser knocks down a few key triples in the second half, but the 3-point threat was a non-factor. Hauser hit just one shot from deep to finish with three points in nine minutes. Whether it’s his ailing back or opposing defenses figuring out how to defend the Celtics, Hauser just hasn’t had the same impact this season.