The absence of Deni Avdija did not take long to be felt on the Portland side. The Blazers conceded an 8-0 to start the game and took four minutes to score their first point, on a free throw. The Celtics steal balls and also take advantage of the enormous clumsiness of their opponents to dominate this first quarter. With in particular a good return from Amari Williams (32-11).
Tiago Splitter’s troops finally gained momentum in the second quarter, with a stronger defense. They go 9-0 and the Celtics are very sterile with ball in hand. With a 5-0 in the last seconds of the first period, the 2024 champions regain some fresh air (52-37).
The nail was hammered home at the start of the third quarter with Jaylen Brown more present. As in the first half, the Blazers missed the first step but made the effort to come back afterwards (75-65). With a few award-winning baskets, Joe Mazzulla’s players did what was essential at the end to keep their lead and win (102-94), but without really convincing.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
The game of cat and mouse. With such a large gap in the first quarter and facing a team struggling to score points, the Celtics could have had a quieter evening. But the Blazers managed to come back several times, without however managing to completely upset the Celtics, but always remaining at an interesting distance. All evening, Boston widened the gap, then lost it before doing it again. A cat, a mouse and a little game that lasted (too) long, with sometimes less spectacle because of the waste.
Portland’s tough offensive evening. 11 points in the first quarter, only 37 at the break and 31 minutes needed to painfully reach the 50-point mark: the Blazers experienced the worst difficulties finding the path to the basket, without their best player, Deni Avdija. They lost 18 balls and shot 10/40 (25%) at 3-points, which made the idea of winning in Celtic lands complicated.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
