BOSTON — The defending champion Boston Celtics picked up the place they left off, tipping off their preseason with a 107-103 win over the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each performed prolonged minutes within the first half, whereas Payton Prichard placed on a present from deep within the second half.
Pritchard led all Celtics scorers with 21 factors to go together with six assists. Tatum scored a dozen factors whereas Brown put in eight, as each Boston stars noticed 19 minutes of motion.
Nikola Jokic was his ordinary self for the Nuggets and completed with 14 factors and eight rebounds.
Neither group’s starters performed after halftime, however Boston’s reserves have been capable of erase a double-digit deficit within the second half and trialed by only one heading into the ultimate body.
It was members of the Maine Celtics that led Boston to a victory in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. Drew Peterson hit back-to-back threes to place the Celtics on high 101-94 with 2:12 to play. JD Davidson had a stretch the place he blocked a shot on protection and located Dmytro Skapintsev with a pleasant lob on the opposite finish. He made 4 free throws over the ultimate 7.2 seconds to ice the Boston victory.
The 2 groups will play once more at Etihad Enviornment on Sunday, although it is unclear if any starters will play in that recreation. Listed below are a couple of takeaways from Boston’s exhibition opener on Friday.
Jayson Tatum’s shot regarded higher
Tatum’s droop from the perimeter in the course of the playoffs and the Olympics was a sizzling subject over the summer season. His deep shot regarded a lot better on Friday.
Whereas Tatum appeared extra inquisitive about organising his teammates than taking his personal pictures, logging 5 assists throughout his time on the ground, he ended up hitting three of his seven makes an attempt from downtown. The shot regarded fairly clean and a bit faster than what noticed from Tatum final summer season.
Jaylen Brown made a poster in Abu Dhabi
Brown was 3-for-9 from the ground and simply 1-for-5 from deep. However he had the loudest bucket of the sport, including poster from Abu Dhabi to his ever-growing assortment.
Payton Pritchard was a strolling bucket
Pritchard was 6-for-12 from downtown, making an attempt only one shot from contained in the arc. Whereas he did not hit any ridiculously deep threes, he did add one from fairly deep. (Although it was pretty pedestrian for Pritchard’s requirements.)
Pritchard additionally pushed the tempo for Boston within the second half and performed a team-high 24 minutes. The fifth-year guard is primed for an enormous season off the Boston bench.
The Celtics took a number of threes
Within the lengthy historical past of the franchise, the Celtics have by no means tried 60 three-pointers in an everyday season or playoff recreation. They took 61 pictures from downtown on Friday. Mazzullaball was at an entire new degree in Abu Dhabi.
Final season, the Celtics averaged an NBA-high 42.5 threes per recreation. We might see that quantity climb in the course of the 2024-25 season.
Luke Kornet began for Al Horford
Al Horford obtained the break day, with Luke Kornet taking his spot within the beginning lineup alongside Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Vacation. He put in a stable 21 minutes of labor, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds to go together with six factors. Kornet is predicted to start out whereas Kristaps Porzingis continues his restoration from offseason surgical procedure.
Xavier Tillman was additionally fairly good in his function off the bench, canning a few threes whereas flattening two rebounds, blocking a shot, and developing with a pair of steals.
Jordan Walsh is a ball of vitality
Walsh was all over the place in his 25 minutes on the ground, and had a loud putback jam within the second half. He completed with 9 factors off 3-for-7 taking pictures, with six of these pictures coming from downtown. (He hit two from deep.) Walsh additionally had 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
