By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Boston Celtics barely broke a sweat after stomping over the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-94, in the ongoing NBA regular season on November 26, 2024.
It was a tail of two streaks. Boston’s victory ended the Clippers’ five-game winning rampage while giving them their sixth consecutive dub since losing to the Atlanta Hawks on November 13, 2024.
After a slow-paced first quarter, the Celtics stormed through the gates in the second and sent a statement when they dropped their highest-scoring quarter of the season with 51 points.
Three-pointers from everywhere, aggressive drives at will, and a couple of ridiculous shot-making. That was the story of Boston’s momentum-changing 51-29 second-quarter scoring run.
Payton Pritchard once again ignited Boston’s second-quarter showcase after hitting back-to-back three-pointers followed by Jayson Tatum’s clinic under the rim.
The Celtics also received timely contributions from the returning Kristaps Porzingis, who played his first game of the season after nursing an injury.
Porzingis played as if he never left and shook off in-game jitters when he started to make his pull-up perimeter jumpers midway through the second canto.
Everything went loose for the stretch center of the Celtics when Jrue Holiday and Tatum fed him the ball off well-timed pick-and-pop passes.
With almost all clicking for Boston, the Clippers got themselves drowned in a 29-point hole entering the second half, their largest deficit after the first two quarters in two weeks.
Los Angeles adjusted and tried to put Porzingis in foul trouble when they dumped the ball to Ivica Zubac in the third, but Jaylen Brown and Tatum scored crucial buckets just when the quarter was about to end to protect their double-digit lead.
The Celtics then dropped the hammer in the fourth as they held the Clippers to a game-low 16-point quarter. They banked on their mixed zone defense and also played take-one to contain James Harden’s isolation.
Tatum and Pritchard each delivered 20 points for Boston, while Porzingis immediately had an impact in his season debut with 16 markers built from an efficient 6/12 shooting from the field.
Aside from his offense, the Latvian scoring machine also stuffed the stat sheets with six rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and a steal.
Boston will aim to extend their winning streak to seven consecutive games on November 30, 2024, as they square off against the Chicago Bulls in another edition of the NBA Cup Group Play.