Blazers Fall To Jayson Tatum and the Celtics In Hard-Fought Thriller

Portland's valiant effort against Boston just wasn't enough to overcome Jayson Tatum's brilliance.

Jack Winter

Blazers Fall To Jayson Tatum and the Celtics In Hard-Fought Thriller
Blazers Fall To Jayson Tatum and the Celtics In Hard-Fought Thriller /

Notes, analysis, observations and clips from the Trail Blazers' hard-fought 116-115 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at Moda Center.

  • Moral victories do matter for teams in the Blazers' dire pre-game straits, and they got one against the Celtics despite falling just shy of a win on the scoreboard. Portland played with notable edge and intensity from start to finish, clearly realizing the importance of proving themselves versus quality competition after a string of blowout losses to winning teams. There were multiple instances in this game when the Blazers could have let go of the rope, and recent history indicated they eventually would. It didn't happen, a fighting mindset best exemplified by this pivotal crunch-time sequence during which C.J. McCollum grabbed three offensive rebounds. Each of those misses could have easily gone down, but McCollum made the extra effort every time. An additional possession for Portland, or even just the emotional momentum his relentless hustle provided, would have been enough by themselves to convey the impact of McCollum's offensive boards. What made that all the easier? Damian Lillard's corner three off a baseline out-of-bounds play moments later, tying the game at 109-109.
  • It bears stressing: The Celtics won this game far more than Portland lost it. One of the myriad ways Boston did so was with a final-seconds gambit that caught the Blazers completely off-guard. With just a few seconds remaining, his team leading by one and having just missed his first free throw, Marcus Smart intentionally erred on his second, knowing Portland was out of timeouts to advance the ball up the floor on another stoppage. As Lillard corralled the rebound for a last-gasp race up the floor, he was immediately trapped by Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum, relegating him to a baseball-style heave from 80 feet. Not close. The little things matter, and Brad Stevens has always made a difference on those margins since he took the reins in Boston eight years ago.
  • Tatum might be in the early stages of a similar tear that propelled him to earning superstar status right before the league shutdown last season. He flat dominated after intermission, scoring 25 of his 32 points on 8-of-12 shooting.in wake of a quiet first half in which he mostly deferred to teammates. The cool ease he exhibited as a decision-maker consistently proved too much for the Blazers to handle, and Tatum's iso game – long overrated by the numbers – lived up to the hype no matter who was checking him. Tatum capped another standout performance with this dagger triple over McCollum, putting his team up 116-112 with under 10 seconds remaining.
  • This was Jusuf Nurkic's best game since returning from injury on March 26, and it's not even close. He got teammates a couple easy layups with backdoor passes from the high post, and more importantly, was the presence the Blazers so badly need him to be defensively. In a nod to his improving fitness and conditioning, Nurkic even finished with power at the rim on a roll to the basket. Portland is a much different team when he affects the game on both ends like he did on Tuesday night.
  • Related: Enes Kanter was a bull's eye for the Celtics on offense, and they hit dead center over and over and over. Nurkic's backup was team-worst -18 against Boston, his painfully slow feet and lacking recognition being regularly exploited defensively. Kanter's defense didn't look quite this bad every time he got out on the floor when Boston targeted him in pick-and-roll, but this is a good encapsulation of his negative influence on the Blazers' defense regardless.
  • Nassir Little, who Terry Stotts stressed had a higher spot in the rotation after Portland's romp over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, played just six minutes and 50 seconds against the Celtics. He entered after Derrick Jones Jr. and Carmelo Anthony in the first half, and didn't get off the pine after his second-quarter stint. Stotts, clearly, is searching for answers. It wasn't Little on Tuesday, but that doesn't mean it won't be going forward.
  • One of the reasons why Little saw such scant playing time? Anthony, who had it going from the opening tip. His hot shooting kept the Blazers competitive early, and he hit a handful of huge shots in the second half, sometimes trading buckets with Tatum. 'Melo, obviously, can't be counted on to make a positive influence every game. Defensive liabilities and all, though, he was a big part of Portland's relative success in a game this team needed something good to happen.

Up next: Friday at San Antonio Spurs, 5:30 p.m. (PST)

Published
Jack Winter
JACK WINTER

Home/Game Day