Jayson Tatum recorded 30 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists as the Boston Celtics secured a 129-116 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. The Celtics (52-19) extended their winning streak to five games, maintaining their hold on the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Sam Hauser contributed 24 points while shooting 8-for-10 from three-point range, and Derrick White added 17 points and eight assists. Boston played without key starters Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis but still managed to control the game.
Shaedon Sharpe led Portland (32-40) with 23 points, while Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija chipped in 19 and 17 points, respectively. The Blazers remain 2.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in the race for the final play-in spot.
Tatum sparked Boston’s dominant stretch with a four-point play early in the third quarter, helping the team build an 18-point lead. Portland responded with a run that cut the deficit to seven, but the Celtics quickly regained control and never allowed the Blazers to get closer.
Boston closed the first half on a 21-8 run, turning a tight contest into a 13-point halftime advantage. Eight different Celtics players hit at least one three-pointer as the team finished 23-for-50 from beyond the arc.
Payton Pritchard, who had a career-high 43 points against Portland earlier this month, added 16 points for Boston. Al Horford chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. Luke Kornet provided a perfect shooting performance off the bench, going 6-for-6 with 13 points.
Portland was without center Robert Williams III, who underwent knee surgery earlier this week. The former Celtics big man has been plagued by lower-body injuries throughout his career.
