The Boston Celtics have won six of seven. Jaylen Brown dropped 29 points on Thursday night in Sacramento as the Celts pulled away from the Kings late in a 120-106 victory. Boston is now 21-12 on the season, maintaining their spot as the third-best team in the Eastern Conference.
Following Thursday’s NBA slate, the Celtics are 3.5 games back of the first-place Detroit Pistons and two games back of the second-place New York Knicks.
Brown added 10 rebounds and four assists to his box score versus the Kings. The MVP candidate is now averaging 29.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in 31 games played this season. He’s shooting 50.3 percent from the field.
Brown actually fouled out of this game late in the fourth quarter on a controversial call that Joe Mazzulla challenged. The game was already in hand at that point. It wasn’t the most efficient game for Brown (11-25 FG), but there was no one on the Kings who could stop JB whenever he felt like driving to the cup.
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On multiple occasions, Brown decided to merely put his head down and use his athleticism on a straight line to the rim; no fancy moves needed. One such example occurred at the end of the first half, when Brown used a basic between-the-legs dribble to advance past the older DeMar DeRozan for a left-handed finish.
Boston’s second-highest scorers on the night were Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, each dropping 16 points. Sam Hauser scored 15 off the bench on an efficient 5-of-7 from 3. Anfernee Simons was similarly effective, tallying 14 off the pine (4-of-7 from distance).
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The Celtics out-rebounded the Kings, 40-32. Sacramento was sharp from the line (14-15 FT) but merely room temperature from downtown (33 percent), mostly due to Russell Westbrook (2-for-9) and Dennis Schröder (3-for-8) combining for 12 long-distance bricks.
Next up for the Celtics is a Saturday night showdown with the Clippers in Los Angeles. The Clips have been playing well of late and Kawhi Leonard looks rejuvenated. It’ll be a nice test for Boston.
Featured image via Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images
