BOSTON — After a four-game road trip, the Boston Celtics returned home for a game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. Boston was 3-1 on their road trip, and the Kings had won five in a row heading into this contest. Both sides wanted to keep up their recent level of play.
For most of the night, this game was close. Neither side could find a true advantage until the fourth quarter, and that’s when the Kings surged ahead. Led by their impressive offensive rebounding and a monster night from Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento bullied their way to a late lead. And in the end, they earned a SCORE win in Boston.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ 114-97 loss to the Kings on Friday night.
Stud - Kristaps Porzingis
Though Kristaps Porzingis recently said he’s only around 85% back to normal, but if that’s the case, then 100% is going to look very scary. Porzingis was great in this game.
Sabonis managed to bully him down low a couple of times, but Porzingis’ floor-spacing provided Boston with the perfect level of offensive versatility to throw off the Kings.
He was draining threes from well beyond the arc, and for the second game in a row, his work on the glass was crucial, too. Sabonis dominated the boards, but Porzingis was doing his best to muck things up.
Having a 7-foot-2 freak who can drain threes as well as Porzingis continues to be a huge advantage for the Celtics.
Dud - Three-point shooting
Boston’s trend of rough three-point shooting continued in this game. Not only were the Kings staying on pace with the Celtics from an efficiency standpoint, but they were getting up just as many threes, too.
For most of the year up to this point, Boston has made it a point to win the game of three-point attempts. But lately, they haven’t been keeping up with that trend.
In this one, Sacramento keeping up with them in attempts, combined with the Celtics’ awful efficiency, made for a very close game.
Stud - Jaylen Brown
When this game kicked off, it was clear as day that Jaylen Brown was in the zone. He was bullying Keon Ellis on nearly every possession, using his size and strength to get great looks down low.
He enjoyed a nice scoring outburst to begin the evening, giving Sacramento buckets all over the floor. And when the second quarter rolled around, he parlayed it into some crafty assists, too.
When Brown is hot, the Celtics are a very dangerous team. There was a point in the first quarter where Brown had some tunnel vision, but for the most part, he looked good for Boston in this one.
Brown went cold for a bit, but he turned it up in the fourth, which Boston needed desperately. He wasn't perfect, but nobody was for the Celtics.
Dud Jayson Tatum’s turnovers
Jayson Tatum’s turnovers were awful.
He turned the ball over more times than any Celtics player this season, and most of them came in the flow of the game. Sacramento got a ton of transition opportunities directly off of Tatum’s mistakes.
There were sloppy passes, illegal screens, and some simply fumbles, too. And to make matters worse, Tatum’s transition defense was pretty rough in this one, too. It was just a very sloppy night for the Celtics superstar.
He rebounded fairly well, but this was a pretty ugly game for Tatum.
Stud - Not rebounding
This was such an ugly game for the Celtics that nobody deserves to be a third stud. There just weren’t enough top-notch performers, which is a rarity for this team.
But Boston’s defensive rebounding in general was pretty rough. Sacramento gained a noticeable advantage on the offensive glass, earning a ton of extra possessions.
Whether it was Sabonis or someone else, the Kings were just bullying the Celtics on the offensive glass.
Dud - Containing Domantas Sabonis
There was non answer for Sabonis on Friday night. He absolutely killed the Celtics down low, especially when it came to grabbing rebounds.
Nikola Jokic is by far the best offensive hub in the NBA. But Sabonis is probably the next best thing. He’s not nearly the same level of passer, shooter, or defender, but he can do a pretty good impression.
And when it came to crashing the glass on Friday, Sabonis was a monster. It felt like no matter what the Celtics did.