He was Scary Terry tonight, no doubt.
Terry Rozier scored a career-high 33 points on 12 of 16 shooting – including a personal-best eight triples on 12 attempts – to lead the Celtics to their third straight win, 104-93, at Sacramento tonight. Jaylen Brown added 19 points as he returned from injury. The Celts also held the Kings to just 33 points in the second half as they reached the 50-win level for the second straight season.
Al Horford added 14 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Boston shot 55.6% for the game and was 12 of 22 from the arc. Buddy Hield led Sacramento with 21 points.
The Game Flow
Although Jaylen came back tonight, the Cs can’t shake injuries. Marcus Morris – who of course has been on fire lately – sat out with a sprained ankle that he played through in Portland. And while Jaylen’s mom had urged him not to dunk anymore, his first hoop was indeed a throw-down. Jaylen also picked up three fouls in the first seven minutes, which wasn’t all bad since his minutes were being limited tonight anyway.
Rozier hit a pair of threes to help the Celts build an early lead, but Kings rookie DeAaron Fox sparked a 9-0 run to put Sacramento ahead by six. A half-dozen turnovers in the quarter hurt Boston as they trailed, 27-24, after one.
The Kings hurt the Cs in the second period with pick-and-rolls for Willie Cauley-Stein, who scored eight in the half. Sacramento also rode the shooting of Hield (6-8 from the floor, 14 points) and Skal Labissiere (5-8, 12 points). Combine that with 11 from Fox and the Kings had an unexpected 60-52 lead at intermission. The shocking part was allowing so many points to a squad that averages just 99.5 per game, which is next-to-last in the league.
The Celts committed 10 turnovers in that half that led to 15 Kings points, but Boston stayed in range by shooting 62%. They were led by Rozier (14 points, 4-5 from the arc), Jayson Tatum (12 points on 6-7 shooting), and Al Horford (eight points, four boards, five assists).
When WCS accidentally banked in a jumper early in the third, it looked like shaking-my-head time – until Rozier hit two more triples to lead a 9-0 run that put Boston up 65-64. Then he nailed another when the Kings inexplicably failed to guard him. Tito continued the burst with a wraparound assist for an Aron Baynes layup, and a steal and fast-break dime to a cutting Jaylen. It all added up to a 20-4 run and an eight-point Cs advantage.
However, just when the Celts appeared ready to pull ahead, they stalled. The Kings regrouped and drew to within 80-78 at the end of three.
The Celts begin the fourth with Rozier the only starter on the floor; he stayed hot, scoring Boston’s first eight points, including both his eighth trey and an and-one. The Kings wouldn’t go away, as Frank Mason III hit two runners, but the Cs then took control by scoring nine straight, capped by a Horford triple. Boston held Sacramento without a field goal for four minutes while building a 99-88 lead.
When Semi Ojeleye hit a three (his second of the night), the Celts had broken a seven-game losing streak on Sacramento’s home court.
The Hot:
Terry, T-Rozzay, TRo, and Tito were all on fire tonight. Rozier also tallied five rebounds, three assists and five steals (another career high).
Jaylen shot 6-10 and a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line.
At 20-8, the Celtics have tallied 20 wins against Western Conference opponents for the first time since the 2008-09 season
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) March 26, 2018
The Not:
Greg Monroe, 2-10 shooting, four points, two turnovers, zero impact.
Zach Randolph, who always hurts the Celtics, missed the game due to illness.
Bogdan Bogdanovich, 2-10 and four points for the Kings.
What the Hell Just Happened?
Vince Carter played his first NBA game one month before Jayson Tatum was born.
Highlights
It’s all Terry.
Terry's on FIRE 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/RVQnD33ZDq
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 25, 2018
HE WON’T STOP https://t.co/LItN9DAOmp
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 25, 2018
Scary Terry is putting on a show! https://t.co/f8aCVntivr
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 25, 2018
Tweet of the Night
The back of shirt the Kings will wear today pic.twitter.com/7kHzTPvdb6
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) March 25, 2018
The Kings were supporting the cause of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot to death by Sacramento police last week. The Kings’ previous home game, on Thursday night, was played in front of a small crowd after area protests prevented most fans from entering the arena.
The Celtics supported the Kings by also wearing the t-shirts and taking part in a public service announcement.
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