After fending off a few good runs from the Portland Trail Blazers, the Celtics managed to hold on to their lead for a big victory 145-117 in their second game of a West Coast road trip.
Here are a few takeaways from Saturday night's win in Portland:
Jayson Tatum Steps Up
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With Jaylen Brown out due to an injury, the Celtics needed a strong performance from Jayson Tatum if they wanted to move back into the win column, and he provided.
After putting up 37 in a tough loss to the Utah Jazz, Tatum’s 31 points versus the Blazers were enough to keep Boston ahead throughout the game.
Dennis Schroder finds his form again
After missing a couple of games, Schroder has picked up his production at the right time. The German point guard ended the win over the Blazers with 31 points and 8 assists.
Schroder's output is much needed by the C’s considering they’re missing Brown, but Schroder also demonstrated a command of the floor that other players can’t provide.
Blazers Toothless without Dame
Boston Celtics
Portland felt the effect of missing superstar Damian Lillard, as they failed to pick apart the Celtics defense consistently enough to get themselves in the game.
Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum combined for a respectable 42 points, but the duo didn’t get much help from the other pieces in their offense aside from Dennis Smith Jr., who helped out with 21 points.
Bench squad steps up
While the win never seemed in doubt for Boston, the players who came in later in the game helped to extend the lead and put the victory beyond doubt. Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith combined for 30 points, with Pritchard adding some electricity to the win in the closing minutes.