On Sunday evening, Jayson Tatum gave a great performance, making a game-high 38 points and taking 11 rebounds. His performance helped the Boston Celtics edge the New Orleans Pelicans by a narrow score of 120-119.
C.J. McCollum had a chance to win the game for the Pelicans but unfortunately missed a layup in heavy traffic just before the final buzzer.
In a close ending, McCollum sank two free throws to bring the deficit to one point for New Orleans with 6.6 seconds remaining. The Celtics took a timeout and were surprised, as they committed a five-second violation before they could even inbound the ball. Unfortunately, McCollum’s final shot, after hitting the backboard and the front of the rim, bounced out to put the game into a narrow defeat for his team.
Kristaps Porzingis added greatly to the team’s efforts of the Boston Celtics, scoring 19 points and hauling 11 rebounds. Looking for a rebounding performance after they had lost two of their previous three matches, the team was also fueled by Jaylen Brown’s big 16-point showing, as well as his eight rebounds and seven assists.
Trey Murphy came back strong for the Pelicans after missing three games with an ankle injury, dropping 30 points. Next to him was Dejounte Murray with 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The team was effective from beyond the arc, hitting 17 of their 37 attempts on 3-pointers.
The Celtics had a bad night with the three-point shot, making just 13 of 44 attempts from beyond the arc. But they were good on defense, blocking seven shots. That was Boston’s seventh straight victory over New Orleans, which had won three of its last five games coming into the contest.
Zion Williamson returned to the court after serving a one-game suspension and played a huge part in the New Orleans team. He recorded 16 points and demonstrated his defensive abilities by racking up five steals while also pulling down seven rebounds throughout the game.
The Pelicans came out strong, leading 35-29 after the first quarter. However, the Celtics reversed the tide and held a narrow 62-61 lead at halftime. Murray was brilliant in the first quarter, hitting 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and scoring 17 points. At one point in the first half, New Orleans had its biggest lead of the game, at 26-15 with just over four minutes remaining.
A big dunk by Luke Kornet capped a remarkable 11-2 run to put the Boston Celtics up 51-47 with just over five minutes to play in the first half. The New Orleans team responded, though, and notched eight consecutive points to retake a four-point lead. The momentum may have swung there, but still, the Celtics kept their one-point advantage as they entered the third quarter.
The game remained competitive in the third quarter, with Boston narrowly outscoring New Orleans 28-27. As a result, Boston held a slight lead of 90-88 as they headed into the fourth quarter.
NBA Box Score: Boston Celtics vs. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans Box Score 12 January 2025
| New Orleans Pelicans | ||||||||||||
| PLAYER | MIN | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | +/- |
| Trey Murphy III F | 38:40 | 58.8 | 50 | 100 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 30 | -4 |
| Zion Williamson F | 28:07 | 33.3 | 0 | 85.7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| Yves Missi C | 25:50 | 50 | 0 | 75 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| CJ McCollum G | 37:55 | 33.3 | 16.7 | 66.7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 11 |
| Dejounte Murray G | 35:16 | 42.1 | 66.7 | 80 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 7 |
| Javonte Green | 19:30 | 66.7 | 50 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| Jordan Hawkins | 12:50 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -10 |
| Daniel Theis | 22:10 | 66.7 | 0 | 100 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -8 |
| Jose Alvarado | 11:54 | 60 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -8 |
| Brandon Boston | 7:48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -8 |
| Karlo Matković | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| Antonio Reeves | NWT – Not With Team | |||||||||||
| Jeremiah Robinson-Earl | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| TOTALS | 46.5 | 45.9 | 84.6 | 42 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 119 | -1 | |
NBA Box Score: Boston Celtics vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Boston Celtics Box Score 12 January 2025
| Boston Celtics | ||||||||||||
| PLAYER | MIN | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | +/- |
| Jaylen BrownF | 38:36 | 42.9 | 0 | 100 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| Jayson TatumF | 36:14 | 46.7 | 20 | 80 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 38 | -9 |
| Kristaps PorziņģisC | 33:53 | 36.8 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 19 | -8 |
| Derrick WhiteG | 30:18 | 16.7 | 0 | 100 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -1 |
| Jrue HolidayG | 31:48 | 37.5 | 25 | 50 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | -1 |
| Payton Pritchard | 23:50 | 40 | 37.5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| Al Horford | 22:43 | 66.7 | 75 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | -3 |
| Luke Kornet | 13:45 | 66.7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Sam Hauser | 8:53 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Neemias Queta | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| Jaden Springer | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| Xavier Tillman | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| Jordan Walsh | DNP – Coach’s Decision | |||||||||||
| TOTALS | 43.6 | 29.5 | 82.6 | 55 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 120 | 1 | |
