NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from the Boston Celtics' win against the New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans had another bad loss
The Pelicans had another bad loss

Final Score: Celtics defeated Pelicans 113-100

The New Orleans Pelicans were on the second night of a back-to-back and were coming off a road win against the Detroit Pistons. They were up against the Boston Celtics, who were on a five-game winning streak.

Even though the Celtics took an early lead, the Pelicans' big, Anthony Davis, carried the team on his shoulders along with Julius Randle and kept them in the game. Marcus Morris scored a season-high 31 points for the Celtics to help extend their win streak to six games. For the Pelicans, Davis was the high scorer with 41 points.

Let us take a look at three of the talking points from this matchup at the TD Garden.


#3 Boston Celtics' bench outscored the New Orleans Pelicans' bench

Jaylen Brown came up big for the Celtics
Jaylen Brown came up big for the Celtics

Even though Jaylen Brown started this season slowly, he has picked up the pace and is creating a big impact coming off the bench. After his 23 points against the Chicago Bulls, he was once again hot and scored 19 points.

He was also impressive from behind the arc and went 4-for-7. He was well supported by Semi Ojeleye who scored 11 points. The entire Celtics' bench combined for 41 points and provided some cushion, with the starters Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis struggling. Robert Williams was also impressive, coming off the bench and scoring 7 points, pulling down 11 boards.

For the Pelicans, the fringe unit did not provide much and scored just 21 points. Ian Clark played for 17 minutes and could not score. On top of that, in their starting lineup, only Davis and Randle made an impact and with the other starters failing, the Pelicans never gave themselves a chance.

#2 Both teams struggled from three-point land

Jayson Tatum went 1-for-5 from distance
Jayson Tatum went 1-for-5 from distance

Even though both teams have shooters who can get hot in no time, they are also known for their inconsistency from long range. Last night, both teams struggled to get it going and shot poorly from the three-point line.

No one on the Pelicans made more than two three-pointers and they combined for just 8-for-26 from distance and shot at just 30.8 percent. For the Celtics, Morris and Brown combined for 9-for-15 but everyone else combined 3-for-24, including Tatum's 1-for-5.

It is to be noted that the Celtics were without Al Horford, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. These three players are definitely skilled three-point shooters and not having them for the game impacted that area. However, the Celtics attempted a lot of three-pointers they should not have and that is definitely something that needs to be controlled.

#1 Anthony Davis could not be stopped

Davis messed around and stuffed the stat sheet
Davis messed around and stuffed the stat sheet

Stat line: 41 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals on 50 percent shooting

Davis could not be stopped as he put the team on his back even though the team fell short. In the first quarter, with 4:03 remaining, Davis' two-handed slam helped tie the game at 19-19.

The Celtics then went on a 9-0 run before Davis made a layup to get the Pelicans back. However, the Celtics took off the lead and at the end of two quarters, they were leading 59-53 with Davis scoring 18 points for the Pelicans.

'The Brow' only had 7 points in the third quarter and the Celtics were leading by as many as 11 points after three quarters. The Pelicans man had 16 in the fourth quarter and was very impressive but the Celtics still clinched the quarter, 30-28.

He finished the game with 41 points on 17-for-34 shooting. He also had 7 rebounds to go along with 2 assists. On the defensive end of the game, Davis was very active and his defensive prowess resulted in 4 steals.

Quick Links

App download animated image Get the free App now