BOSTON -- When the season began, depth was seen as one of the Boston Celtics’ strength. Injuries have a way of putting that to the test.
Well, Monday night was yet another moment when Boston’s depth passed with flying colors as they pulled away in the second half for a 113-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Boston (16-10) has now won six in a row, a winning streak that began on Nov. 26 with a 124-107 win at New Orleans.
The Celtics came into Monday’s game with several key players out, including leading scorer Kyrie Irving (shoulder) along with Al Horford (knee soreness), Aron Baynes (ankle) and Gordon Hayward (illness).
In their absence, the Celtics’ role players were more than capable of stepping up and contributing in a big way.
Boston spent most of the first half playing with a lead that peaked at 11 points before the half ended with the Celtics on top 59-53.
The third quarter began with another barrage of 3-pointers by the Celtics, pushing their lead to as many as 15 points.
Boston Celtics
Even though they botched a few possessions near the end of the third quarter, Boston still went into the fourth quarter with an 83-72 lead.
Boston continued to surge ahead for the win, getting it done with a number of seldom-used reserves making the most of their opportunity to play but even more important, help Boston emerge with yet another victory.
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s 13-point win over New Orleans.
STARS
Anthony Davis: The best player on the floor did not disappoint, leading all scorers with a monster game of 41 points on 17-for-34 shooting with seven rebounds and four steals.
Marcus Morris Sr.: No one seemed to maximize mismatches in the game’s early going, more than Morris Sr. He turned in yet another strong scoring performance for Boston, finishing with a season-high 31 points.
STUDS
Jayson Tatum: One of the more efficient Celtics shooting the ball, Tatum had a strong game as Boston’s primary scorer in finishing with 21 points and six rebounds.
Jaylen Brown: After a rough start shooting the ball (he was 2-for-10 at one point), Brown got it going in the second half to finish with 19 points.
Julius Randle: For most of the game, Julius Randle did a decent job as providing that second scorer for the Pelicans. He would finish with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Robert Williams III: He didn’t play a ton of minutes, but there was no mistaking Robert Williams’ presence had an impact on the game. The rookie big man used his length well on defense which included blocking a shot by perennial all-star Anthony Davis. For the game, Williams III had seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Semi Ojeleye: For those who did not follow Semi Ojeleye this past summer, what you saw on Monday was similar to what we saw from him this past summer. So summer league Semi was really good against the Pelicans, scoring on drives to the basket which included a Kyrie Irving-like finish at the rim. For the game, Ojeleye had 11 points and six rebounds.
DUDS
Jrue Holiday: His defense was solid as always, but the Pelicans really needed him to deliver more offensively. He had seven points on 3-for-10 shooting from the field.
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