Celtics beat Portland, 116-115, for fourth straight win

They have 17 games left, and with the threat of a date in the play-in tournament a nagging reality, the Celtics may be playing their best basketball of the season.

Jayson Tatum’s 3-pointer with 7 seconds left gave the Celtics just enough room in a 116-115 win over Portland. Tatum’s 32-point performance, to go along with 24 from Jaylen Brown and 21 from Kemba Walker, gave the Celtics their fourth straight win, and a move up to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Celtics thus withstood a 28-point performance from Damian Lillard and another 25 from Carmelo Anthony.

Tatum gave the Celtics a 113-112 lead with 40.4 seconds left, and with Marcus Smart guarding Lillard, the Portland star missed an 18-footer.

Tatum isolated on McCollum at the top of the circle, and buried the 3-pointer with 7 seconds left for a 116-112 lead.

Norman Powell hit a quick 3-pointer, cutting the Celtics lead to a point with 5 seconds left. Smart was fouled with 3.5 seconds left, missed the first free throw, missed the second on purpose, and the clock ran out.

Tatum scored 11 of his 17 third-quarter points in the last 4:48, including four in a 10-2 Celtics run that closed out the quarter for a 92-87 lead.

Tatum had 24 points after three quarters, to go along with 20 from Brown and 18 from Walker. And with all three scorers matching one of the most dangerous backcourts in the NBA, the Celtics now had a five-point lead to protect.

Tatum’s 3-pointer with 9:07 left was good for a 99-91 lead, but Anthony, in the midst of scoring seven straight Portland points, answered Tatum’s hoop with an 18-footer and a 3, cutting the Celtics lead to 99-96.

But the Celtics came out of a timeout with five straight points, including a Grant Williams 3-pointer for a 104-96 lead.

Lillard answered from downtown, but Walker came right back with a 3 for a 107-99 edge. Lillard, undeterred, buried another bomb that cut the Celtics lead to 107-102 with 4:25 left.

CJ McCollum came out of a timeout with a 20-footer over Smart, and after a Brown miss, Lillard hit twice from the line, cutting the Celtics edge to a point (107-106) with 2:45 left.

Rob Williams scored off a lob, and McCollum tied the score with a 3 on the end of a four-shot possession.

This time Williams took the lead back with his put-back of a Tatum miss, but McCollum buried a corner 3 for a 112-111 Portland lead. The Celtics took possession with 47 seconds left.

Tatum was fouled attempting to split a double-team, and with 40.4 seconds left took the lead back (113-112) with two free throws.

The Celtics, with Walker’s 14 points, including 3-for-6 3-point shooting, and another 13 from Brown, nearly matched the Blazers shot for shot in the first half, which Portland closed out with a narrow 60-57 lead.

The Celtics, with 18 assists on 20 baskets, were also moving the ball at a high clip.

Though the Blazers ran off the first four points of the third quarter, the Celtics answered with an 8-0 run for a brief 65-64 lead. The lead changed hands twice more before Portland kicked out with a 10-2 run for a 76-70 lead. But the Celtics, with Tatum baskets taking the lead three times in the last 4:24 of the third, closed out the quarter with a 10-2 run. Tatum capped the burst with two free throws for a 92-87 lead.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/32eJBy8