Jaylen Brown dominated the court on Saturday night, leading the Boston Celtics to a resounding 132-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The high school superstar put on a show in front of his hometown fans, scoring 41 points on 14-for-30 shooting and adding six rebounds and two assists.
Brown's performance was not a surprise given the recent retirement of his high school jersey number, but it still marked an impressive display of skill and focus from one of the league's top players. The Celtics' reliance on Brown is well-documented, and Saturday's win served as a reminder that when he's on, the team is almost unbeatable.
On the other hand, Sam Hauser caught fire in the first half but cooled off in the fourth quarter. Despite missing several opportunities to break the franchise record for three-pointers made in a single game, which had previously been set by Marcus Smart, Hauser still put up an impressive 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting from deep.
Derrick White was another standout performer for the Celtics, dishing out 12 assists and picking off several passes to set up open shots. His defensive prowess was on full display, as he made three key plays in transition that helped seal the game for Boston.
The Celtics' bench also received a boost from Baylor Scheierman, who filled in for an injured Payton Pritchard and contributed nine points, including three 3-pointers. The team's rotation continued to be a topic of discussion, with some players seeing extended minutes while others were left on the sidelines.
In related news, Jayson Tatum seemed to fully align himself with this writer's stance on Anfernee Simons' value to the team: if you're getting scorers like that quality off the bench, you keep him around. The Celtics will look to build on their recent momentum when they face the Pistons in Detroit on Monday and then host the Pacers before embarking on a back-to-back road trip.
The win over Atlanta keeps the Celtics firmly in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, with 1.5 games separating them from the struggling New York Knicks. The road ahead is daunting but full of opportunities for Boston to make some noise in the playoffs.
Brown's performance was not a surprise given the recent retirement of his high school jersey number, but it still marked an impressive display of skill and focus from one of the league's top players. The Celtics' reliance on Brown is well-documented, and Saturday's win served as a reminder that when he's on, the team is almost unbeatable.
On the other hand, Sam Hauser caught fire in the first half but cooled off in the fourth quarter. Despite missing several opportunities to break the franchise record for three-pointers made in a single game, which had previously been set by Marcus Smart, Hauser still put up an impressive 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting from deep.
Derrick White was another standout performer for the Celtics, dishing out 12 assists and picking off several passes to set up open shots. His defensive prowess was on full display, as he made three key plays in transition that helped seal the game for Boston.
The Celtics' bench also received a boost from Baylor Scheierman, who filled in for an injured Payton Pritchard and contributed nine points, including three 3-pointers. The team's rotation continued to be a topic of discussion, with some players seeing extended minutes while others were left on the sidelines.
In related news, Jayson Tatum seemed to fully align himself with this writer's stance on Anfernee Simons' value to the team: if you're getting scorers like that quality off the bench, you keep him around. The Celtics will look to build on their recent momentum when they face the Pistons in Detroit on Monday and then host the Pacers before embarking on a back-to-back road trip.
The win over Atlanta keeps the Celtics firmly in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, with 1.5 games separating them from the struggling New York Knicks. The road ahead is daunting but full of opportunities for Boston to make some noise in the playoffs.