Celtics lose energy in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — They paid respect with the 24-second shot clock, something Kobe Bryant never had much use for.

New Orleans won the opening tap and Lonzo Ball slowly dribbled the ball, then held it, then started applauding as 24 seconds expired. The Celtics followed suit, with Kemba Walker holding the ball as Jaylen Brown mimed taking a shot.

In this way the Celtics began a night devoid of the defensive pressure and offensive flow — not to mention their will to rebound — that was so apparent in Friday night’s win in Orlando. Instead, the Celtics fell into a 20-point hole by halftime and never quite made up the difference in their 123-108 loss to New Orleans.

The Pelicans had a new look from their Jan. 11 loss in the Garden, with Zion Williamson, J.J. Redick and J’rue Holiday all back in the lineup. The trio accounted for 63 points with Williamson going for 21 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. With Jayson Tatum (groin) and Enes Kanter (bruised hip) missing their second straight games, the Celtics came out wanting in scoring and rebounding.

Kemba Walker, coming in off a 37-point performance in Orlando, went for 35 last night, to go along with 23 from Gordon Hayward and 20 from Brown in his return from a sprained ankle.

The Celtics, courtesy of a late 7-0 run that briefly cut the Pelicans lead to eight points on two Walker free throws, had done all they could to limit New Orleans to a 91-81 lead by the end of the quarter.

But open, back-to-back dunks by Hayward and Brown took a bite out of that margin, with the latter’s slam cutting the New Orleans lead to 95-87 with 10:28 left.

The Pelicans called timeout, and Williamson, under pressure from Theis, traveled. The Celtics center was fouled down the other end but missed twice.

Empty possessions, and some wild misses, ensued, until, with 8:56 left, Smart drove off the break and got fouled, but was unable to convert the free throw. Redick made them pay with an open 3-pointer, followed by a Williamson drive from the top of the circle for a 102-89 New Orleans lead with 8:21 left.

The Celtics came out of a timeout with misses from Smart and Brown, finally answered by an Ingram 3-pointer for a 105-89 lead with 7:34 left.

Daniel Theis’ 3-point play marked the first Celtics scoring in over two minutes, and Walker followed with a drive that cut the Pelicans lead to 105-96. Josh Hart killed that momentum with a 3-pointer – New Orleans’ 15th. Walker, fouled by Ball attempting a 3-pointer – the touch foul call had the crowd incensed – hit all three free throws, cutting the Pelicans lead to nine, until Derrick Favors dunked twice in 45 seconds.

Smart missed, and Holiday hit a deep three for a 115-101 lead with 4:05 left. Walker squeezed off a trey under Williamson’s reach with 3:43 left, and came back 19 seconds later with two free throws.

But misses by Theis and Walker were offset by a pair of big baskets by the rookie, with Williamson converting off the break and dunking with just under two minutes left.

The Celtics, hurting especially on the glass, though their 17.6 percent 3-point shooting didn’t help, were pasted by an 18-5 Pelicans run over the last 5:41 of the second quarter.

As a result, the Celtics fell into their first 20-point hole of the night, at 62-42. They weren’t about to climb out soon, either.

They finally put two good shots together when Walker and Hayward hit back-to-back threes, the latter cutting the New Orleans lead to 81-66. The Celtics would cut the New Orleans lead to four points twice before the end of the third, before Walker cut the Pelicans lead to 12 (87-75) with his third trey of the night.

Walker hit from downtown again with 2:38 left in the quarter, and when Semi Ojeleye followed with an open layup that cut the Pelicans lead to 10 points, the Celtics struck back with a 7-0 run.

Holiday’s 3-pointer with 39 seconds left restored a double figure lead to the Pelicans.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/37ud9ZT