The Boston Celtics went down to Texas on Friday night for a date with the Houston Rockets. It was the second game of a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams, and the Celtics absolutely blew the doors off the Rockets, who are one of the best teams out West.
From the very start of the game, the Celtics were on fire from beyond the arc, as they so often are. Houston was able to keep up for a bit, but once their offensive game dried up, they were left in the dust. By the end of the night, the Celtics walked away with a massive SCORE victory over the Rockets.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ win over the Rockets on Friday night.
Stud - Payton Pritchard
For what feels like the millionth time this season, Payton Pritchard was red-hot on Friday against the Rockets. He was giving the Celtics a bit of everything in the scoring department.
Pritchard’s three-point shooting gave the Celtics a massive boost, especially in the first half of the game. He wasn’t missing from deep, no matter how much the Rockets contested him.
But Pritchard wasn’t just a shooter on Friday night. He was creating for himself. Pritchard consistently pushed the ball in transition and drove past Houston defenders for great looks at the rim.
While his shooting may be his best skill set, Pritchard is much more than that as a scorer, and he proved that on Friday.
Dud - Sam Hauser
This was a pretty weird Sam Hauser game. He just didn’t get that many looks from beyond the arc, and the Celtics rolled with different lineups.
Despite getting the start, Hauser wasn’t super impactful in this game. He even had a negative plus/minus after the Celtics pulled ahead in the latter half of the first half.
It was just a pretty do-nothing game for Hauser.
Stud - Luke Kornet
For the second game in a row, Luke Kornet stepped up with one of Boston’s key bigs out. Al Horford was out because it was the second night of a back-to-back, and while Neemias Queta played well, too, Kornet was awesome.
He played a ton of extremely impactful minutes for the Celtics, helping them win on both ends of the floor.
Kornet’s rebounding, in particular, was extremely impressive, as he racked up offensive board after offensive board. Against a physical team like the Rockets, that was huge for Boston.
And just like he did on Friday in Minnesota, Kornet did a great job of making plays for others. He’s a very underrated playmaker for a big man.
Dud - Jayson Tatum’s shot selection
On Thursday night, Jayson Tatum had an absolutely incredible game. An MVP-level performance. When Friday came around, Tatum played another great all-around game.
But for the second straight game, some of the shots he took were questionable.
Even when he popped off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, there were some shots that he took that could have been exchanged for different offensive opportunities. It was more of the same against the Rockets.
Tatum played an impressive game against the Rockets, knocking down some big shots and creating plays for teammates, but some of his weird shot choices were still mixed in. And since the Rockets played so well, that’s enough to earn him a dud. Or at least, his shot selection.
Stud - Derrick White
The Celtics guard room has been on a roll lately. Derrick White was huge for the Celtics on Thursday against the Timberwolves, and he was just as impressive in Houston.
White’s three-point shot was hot all night long, and it was one of the driving factors for the Celtics’ offense. Every time the Rockets could have had a stop, White was there to nail a three in their face.
Like Pritchard, his shot creation was also important. He was able to make plays inside the arc, and sometimes they led to shots for himself, and other times they led to plays for others.
Plus, as always, his defense was great, highlighted by a monster block at the rim in the third quarter.
Dud - Kristaps Porzingis
In his first game back from an ankle sprain he sustained on Christmas Day, Kristaps Porzingis was pretty quiet. He wasn’t necessarily bad, but the Rockets did a good job of quelling his impact.
Houston plays a very physical brand of basketball, and they were able to disrupt him on the interior—the place he’s often able to do his most damage.
Porzingis flashed his three-point shot a bit and managed to notch a block, but he didn’t get many shots up. He wasn’t nearly as big of an offensive factor as he usually is.