Celtics 4th-quarter explosion caps off win over Pelicans

The Boston Celtics grinded out their first win of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday by a 122-90 final.

After once again building a double-digit first half lead, the Celtics did just enough in the final 24 minutes to get in the win column. Battling an uphill climb on the offensive end for most of the night, the Celtics’ shooting slump finally seemed to break in the fourth quarter. Anfernee Simons got hot right at the right time, hitting three massive triples in the final frame, ending his night leading all Celtics scorers with 25 points.  Boston was also much improved on the glass, out-rebounding New Orleans 66-46 in a much improved effort compared to its first three games.

Just like Sunday’s game against Detroit, Boston started hot against New Orleans, quickly building a double-digit lead. Josh Minott — who received his first career NBA start — provided an immediate boost on the glass and scoring, tallying four points and three boards in his first stint. Jaylen Brown once again got off to a hot start, adding in nine points in his first shift.  New Orleans did respond to the early deficit, as seven first half Boston turnovers shrunk the lead back to single digits. Veteran center DeAndre Jordan provided an unlikely spark against the Celtics' smaller lineup, with seven points and three boards. The Pelicans also had success getting to the charity stripe, outshooting Boston by 10 attempts.

The main difference in the Celtics' ability to sustain a lead throughout the first half on Monday was their performance as a team on the boards. Boston ended the first 24 minutes out-rebounding the Pelicans 28-16, adding in 10 offensive rebounds. 

Payton Pritchard and Minott were big factors in Boston getting that lead back up to 14 after a 10-0 second quarter run. Pritchard led all scorers in the first half with 14, while Minott looked like a guy desperate to remain in the starting lineup, sacrificing his body with a driving dunk to cap off an 11-point first-half performance.

The third quarter was sluggish to say the least, as the Celtics could only muster 22 points in the frame. Boston also continued to struggle from deep, shooting just 11-for-36 midway through the third.

Thankfully for the Cs, New Orleans couldn’t get much going either, cutting the deficit to just nine. Saddiq Bey did provide some much-needed energy, knocking down three triples to shrink the lead.

Boston’s bench did show some fight in the latter stages of the quarter, as Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman exchanged threes to spark the offense. 

As the fourth quarter began, it was starting to look like Boston would once again let go of the rope, especially after Brown picked up his fifth foul. It didn't help matters that Derrick White’s early-season shooting slump continued on Monday, hitting just 5-for-14 from the field. 

But everything that went wrong for the Celtics suddenly went right — much to the thanks of Simons.

The former Portland Trail Blazer was on fire, scoring 12 fourth-quarter points to spark an avalanche for Boston. The 26-year-old hit three triples in a row after starting just 1-for-6 from the floor.

Simons’ electric fourth-quarter performance unlocked the rest of the offense as the Celtics rolled on a 31-4 run to cruise to their first victory of the year. 

Along with Simons, Minott starred for Boston in his debut in the starting lineup, finishing plus-42 with a career-high 15 points. 

Boston will look to make it two wins on Wednesday when it returns to TD Garden to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.