Payton Pritchard scored 23 points and drilled buzzer-beaters to end each of the first two quarters as the Boston Celtics held off the Portland Trail Blazers for a 102-94 victory on Monday night.
Jaylen Brown added 20 points and Derrick White finished with 18, delivering the final dagger with a 3-pointer in the closing minute after Portland had trimmed a once 23-point deficit to five. White followed that shot with a steal on the Blazers’ next possession to seal the win.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 19 points, and rookie center Donovan Clingan grabbed 15 rebounds for the Blazers, who had won four of their previous five games and briefly climbed above .500 for the first time since November.
Boston dominated early, as Pritchard buried a long 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Celtics a 32-11 lead. Portland responded by cutting the deficit to 10 late in the second quarter, but Pritchard answered again, hitting a fadeaway jumper as time expired to send Boston into halftime up 52-37.
The Blazers made one final push in the closing minute, pulling within 99-94 after Grant converted a basket, missed a free throw and then scored again off an offensive rebound by Toumani Camara. White’s timely 3-pointer ended the threat.
Jrue Holiday, a key starter on Boston’s 2024 NBA championship team, scored 14 points and received a warm ovation from the crowd during pregame introductions and again after a first-quarter tribute video. Holiday was traded last summer as the Celtics worked to avoid penalties associated with the league’s second luxury-tax apron.
Despite a snowstorm that dropped as much as two feet of snow on the Boston area over the previous 36 hours, the crowd also cheered New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm, who sat courtside wearing a sweatshirt honoring Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Up next:
The Trail Blazers continue their road trip at Washington on Tuesday night, while the Celtics host Atlanta on Wednesday as part of a five-game homestand.
