Boston won its 9th consecutive victory in New Orleans

The Celtics are on the road, and New Orleans, still without Zion Williamson, has been unable to stop their momentum. Joe Mazzulla’s men knew how to make the match “easy” by getting a big first quarter, then securing it until the end, relying on a big address behind the arc and a perfectly resolved threat in the collective.

Boston scored ten 3-pointers in the first quarter! The work of Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, who scored the last 8 points of his team and brought home the point after a 10-2 run (25-40).

Despite the loss of Trey Murphy with a concussion, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas tried to restart the car and the locals briefly got back to -5 (47-42), but Boston continued to recover this time on the road. Grant Williams and Derrick White will start again (45-57).

In the match between McCollum-Ingram pair (57-67), he could not disturb his opponent after the break. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White twice and Sam Hauser hit again from long range to extend the lead (68-87). 10-0 led by Larry Nance, Devonte’ Graham and Naji Marshall kept the tension 12 minutes to the end (78-89), but never to the point of doubting Boston.

Sam Hauser and Grant Williams, found by Jayson Tatum, missed the Celtics’ 19th and 20th 3-pointers in the victory. The Brown-Tatum duo eventually secured a 117-109 comeback victory for Eastern Conference-leading Louisiana.

WHAT YOU SHOULD FORGET

– A start with a bang. The Celtics were simply unstoppable in the first quarter, scoring 40 points, including 30 from the outside. So they tied the franchise record with 10 3-pointers made in the first half, including a nice 4-of-4 for Al Horford. Enough to orbit Boston that New Orleans never recovered from this canon beginning.

– The power of the collective. With 20-plus shot attempts, a well-distributed mark, “almost perfect” for Al Horford on 7/8 shooting, and an X-factor in Derrick White, no player is in great shape tonight. Those were the keys to the Celtics’ success in this match, with a sharp collective that used strength alongside all of its players to make the difference.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Al Horford. Another classy outing for the veteran who contributed perfectly in getting his team on the right track. Always valuable with his activity on both sides of the court and his knowledge of the game.

✅ Derrick White. After his last two outings, the back was also hot, going 6/8 from 3-point range to add 26 points. He also knew how to be present at the key moments of the match and also stood out for his general activity, notably 2 interceptions and 2 counter-attacks.

✅ ⛔️Jose Alvarado. Despite his overall activity, his lack of skill (4-of-12 shooting) and especially 0-of-6 from 3-point range highlighted one of the areas of play in the Celtics’ favor that stood out this practice.

NEXT

New Orleans (9-7): The Pelicans host the defending champion this Monday night (2:00 p.m.).

Boston (13-3): The Celtics will also wrap up their three-game road trip to Chicago this Monday (2:00 p.m.)