Not having Jayson Tatum was supposed to make things extremely difficult for the Boston Celtics.
But after 30 games into the season, Boston has won 19 and is in third place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are looking for their 20th win when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Boston has won four straight and 12 of its last 16 entering the second game of a five-game road trip.
But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wants and expects more.
“We are not where we should be,” Mazzulla told reporters. “But we’re getting better, and it’s because the kids do a great job of committing to learning at a high level. And it’s a credit to them.”
Tatum ruptured his right Achilles last May during the Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Knicks. He is expected to miss most, if not all, of the season.
His co-star Jaylen Brown has taken a step forward and is averaging a career-high 29.4 points, tied for sixth in the league entering Saturday’s game.
Brown has scored at least 30 points in all eight of his appearances this month, averaging 32.1 points on 43.6% shooting from 3-point range.
Brown scored 31 points Monday in a 103-95 home win over the Indiana Pacers and followed up with 30 during a 140-122 road win at Indiana in the second end of a back-to-back on Friday.
Sam Hauser exploded for a season-high 23 points on 7-of-8 3-pointers in Friday’s win. The seven triples equaled his best mark of the season.
“You make your first two shots and naturally they’re going to try to find me a little more,” Hauser told reporters. “But you have to give them credit; I wouldn’t have been able to get all these open shots if it weren’t for Jaylen, who was getting all the attention, getting into the zone and reading well… More credit goes to my teammates, who found me and got me the ball when I was open.”
Boston has won the last six meetings with Portland, recording three consecutive season series sweeps.
The Trail Blazers have lost three straight to begin a five-game home streak. Portland has allowed at least 110 points in every game.
The Trail Blazers controlled the first half of Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers before ultimately falling 119-103.
The Clippers never led until the game was more than 32 minutes into the game, but they still outscored Portland by 22 points in the second half.
“I felt really good about the start we had,” Portland star Deni Avdija said. “We were focused, focused. It’s a huge progress compared to many other starts. And that third quarter, man, we should have been better. I felt like we didn’t find our rhythm, really, in the third quarter. They drifted, we didn’t defend with discipline.”
Interim coach Tiago Splitter said it was a tale of two halves, but he didn’t really have a solid explanation for why the level of play was so different.
“It was tough to score,” Splitter said of his 41 second-half points. “All the good work we did in the first half, when I was playing fast and moving the ball from side to side, didn’t continue.”
Avdija scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists to lead the Trail Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe added 16 points.
Portland continues to play with a small team. Jrue Holiday (calf) will miss his 20th straight game, Jerami Grant (Achilles tendon) will miss his fifth straight game and Robert Williams III (knee) will be out again on Sunday due to nagging injuries.
–Field level media
