BOSTON – Saturday was yet another night when the opposing team – this time it was the Portland Trail Blazers – that up the Boston Celtics with an avalanche of points that ended in a 127-123 overtime loss.
And yet through the rubble of all those lay-ups and put-back baskets and mid-range jumpers, Stevens saw something he has not seen in a while – hope that better days defensively were coming sooner rather than later.
MORE:
- Highlights: Portland Trail Blazers 127, Boston Celtics 123 (OT)
- With Thomas drawing attention, Stevens turns to Rozier in big moment
- Celtics force overtime, come up short in 127-123 loss to Blazers
“As crazy as it sounds with them scoring (127) … I actually thought we were a lot closer to defending the way we want to defend," said Stevens. "I thought we were really locked into those guards, and I thought we tried to make it as tough as possible. Those guys are really good players, obviously, but I thought, I thought we did a lot of good things in that regard.”
For the most part, Boston and Portland played a relatively even game that wasn’t decided until the final minute of overtime.
“They just made more plays down the stretch,” said Boston’s Al Horford.
Boston Celtics
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Saturday’s game.
STARS
C.J. McCollum
He tends to get second billing to Damian Lillard, but he was a first rate problem for the Celtics. He led the Blazers with 35 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
Damian Lillard
After a foul-troubled first half, Lillard stepped up like the All-Star he is in the second half to finish with 28 points and seven assists which included seven of Portland’s 14 points in overtime.
Isaiah Thomas
It was another dynamic scoring night for Thomas, finishing with a game-high 41 points which included 21 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
STUDS
Terry Rozier
Making the most of his chance to play due to injuries and illnesses, Rozier came up with a number of big shots all night. He finished with 15 points which included a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds in the fourth that forced overtime.
Mason Plumlee
In addition to doing a solid job protecting the rim, Plumlee also tallied a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds while dishing out a game-high eight assists.
Meyers Leonard
Easily the big X-factor of the game, Leonard had 17 points off the bench on 6-for-7 shooting.
DUDS
Celtics Turnovers
This is the one area where the Celtics have been really good all season. Saturday? Not so much. Boston turned the ball over a season-high 21 times which accounted for 34 points for the Blazers.