After entering and beginning their seven-game homestand with back-to-back losses, there was some worry among Celtics fans like myself. But the Boston bunch quickly erased any doubt we had, winning five games in a row including some stellar sixth-man performances. It’s been an exciting week; let’s dive in.
On March 2, the Celtics won the first game of the month against the Denver Nuggets, 110-103. It was an all-around effort, with five players scoring in double figures for the Cs. Jayson Tatum had a tough shooting night, going 4-15 from the field and 1-7 from distance, but his partner-in-crime Jaylen Brown picked up the slack with 22 points, and veteran Al Horford added 19. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard led the team with five and three made three-pointers respectively, which may have been a tiny glimpse into the future for what would go down March 5.
Going into the March 5 matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Celtics found themselves shorthanded. Tatum was dealing with a shoulder injury, Jrue Holiday continued to nurse his mallet finger and Kristaps Porzingis caught an illness. Sam Hauser was put into the starting lineup again, along with Luke Kornet and Horford.
But it was the unlikely duo of Pritchard and White who notched career nights. Pritchard posted a career-high 43 points and 10 three-pointers while White added 41 points on nine three-pointers in a 128-118 victory against the Trail Blazers.
Watching Pritchard and White become the first Celtics duo in team history to each score 40 points in a game was incredible. They also became the first duo in NBA history to each bury at least nine three-pointers in a game.
When I think of a current Celtics duo, I think of Tatum and Brown. But with Tatum out, Boston’s depth proved to be lethal. I know I wasn’t the only one overjoyed March 5, as I can imagine Celtics general manager Brad Stevens certainly was.
Stevens signed Pritchard to a four-year $30 million contract extension back in October 2023, and White to a four-year $126 million extension in July 2024. Pritchard’s contract alone is mind-blowing, as I can see him as a six-figure player with a starting role on at least half of the other NBA teams. It’s also amazing to realize what Stevens gave up to trade for White in 2022. Whether Stevens saw a vision of White and Pritchard scoring 40-plus points together on a Wednesday night in 2025 or not, he knew it would pay off.
“Most of those guys on that bench helped put banner 18 up,” said NBC commentator Mike Tirico after the Trail Blazers game, who practiced his play-by-play ahead of next season’s NBA and NBC partnership. “You lose to Cleveland, blow the big lead, you go ‘Oh my gosh, is this going to be a problem?’ I think this team has everything it takes to put banner number 19 up.”
Although the Celtics most likely will not catch up to the top-of-the-East Cavaliers and claim the No.1 seed in the conference for the playoffs, they showed they can compete with top contenders in the West as well, beating the new-look Los Angeles Lakers 111-101 March 8 in front of the most expensive Boston home-game crowd in history.
Tatum and Brown returned as the city’s top duo March 8, scoring 40 and 31 points respectively and helping to snap the Lakers’ eight-game win streak. The B-team duo in White and Pritchard was quiet, only scoring 13 points combined, but when your superstars are shining, the bench can fall back into their roles.
Tatum played 45 minutes and did not sit in the second half, while Brown played 42. Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla hinted postgame that playing the duo that long was an indication it was an important game, “It’s my way of saying you better win,” he said.
The game was also the rivalry’s debut for the Lakers’ newly-acquired star Luka Doncic, who finished the night with 34 points on 50% shooting. It was an entertaining game, and although Boston started to run away with the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 29-13, the rivalry had a perfect setting and ending for another Celtics win against a red-hot Los Angeles squad.
“I feel like there’s moments that you give those guys [Tatum and Brown] chances to be able to be a part of that,” Mazulla said. “Everybody on this roster is playing for a legacy, and you do it together, and I felt like that was a great moment for them to be able to compete at a high level for as long as they wanted to.”
The Celtics will have another test as they will cap off their seven-game homestand March 12 against the best-in-the-West Oklahoma City Thunder.
From the parquet to the rafters, see you next week.
