New Orleans vs Boston
When: Monday, March 29, 2021 at 7:30 PM
Where: TD Garden

TV:
LINE: -140 Boston
PREDICTION:

Oddsmakers currently have the Boston listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the New orleans, while the game’s total is sitting at .229.5

Zion Williamson is routinely accomplishing feats that link him to NBA legends.

He has scored more than 20 points in 23 consecutive games, making him the only player younger than 21 to do that.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle described the second-year forward as “a Shaquille O’Neal-type force of nature with a point guard skill set” after Williamson had 38 points in a win over the Mavericks on Saturday.

“It’s an honor to hear my name in those categories, but I am who I am: Zion,” Williamson said. “I’m trying to be the first and only Zion. That’s all there is to it.”

Williamson and the Pelicans’ next game is against the Celtics on Monday night in Boston.

His point total against Dallas was one less than the career-high he had in a loss to Denver on Friday.

“Honestly, I was just making reads,” Williamson said. “If the driving lane was there, I was going to go, but I also used that to my advantage when it came to passing, because I’ve got great shooters around me who are very confident, so I made the pass and they executed off of it.”

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was one of the players who executed off Williamson’s efforts, scoring 20 points on Saturday. Williamson scored or assisted on the Pelicans’ final 14 points.

“Every read, he’s just making the reads and of course he’s doing Zion things,” Alexander-Walker said. “At this point in time, I’m not surprised. He’s a great player and very unselfish, and he made winning plays.”

Williamson had 28 points and 10 rebounds to support Brandon Ingram’s 33 points in a 120-115 overtime victory over the visiting Celtics on Feb. 21. New Orleans overcame a 24-point deficit for the largest comeback win in franchise history.

Boston had a winning comeback of its own in a 111-94 victory at Oklahoma City on Saturday.

The Thunder led 80-76 after three quarters, but the Celtics went on a 19-0 run early the fourth quarter and finished with a 35-14 edge in the period. Boston made 56 percent of its shots and Oklahoma City made 5-of-17 shots in the final period.

“We feel good,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “We don’t feel great. We don’t feel like — we’re not complacent. We’re not done. We’re not satisfied. This is just a start for us.”

The victory followed another in Milwaukee on Friday as Boston concluded a four-game trip on a winning note after losing five of six.

“This was one where we had to find a way because we can’t keep going back and forth,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We’ve got to establish some momentum here.”

Jayson Tatum scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and Jaylen Brown added 25 points.

“We’ve got a lot of talent out here individually, but that’s not going to beat anybody,” Smart said. “That’s not going to beat teams. Teams are getting better, teams are good, teams are doing their homework.”

Monday’s game, which starts a seven-game homestand, is the first Celtics home game this season in which a limited number of spectators will be allowed.

“We have our fans coming in,” Smart said. “It’s time for us to go out there and play Celtics basketball and make this run.”

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TORONTO vs BOSTON
When: 2/11/2021 7:30 PM
Where: TD Garden, Boston

TV: 7:30 PM
LINE: -4.5 Boston
PREDICTION: BOSTON , TORONTO

Oddsmakers currently have the Boston Celtics listed as -4.5 point favorites versus the Toronto Raptors, while the game’s total is sitting at 222.5.

The Celtics have gone 9-6 against Eastern Conference teams. Boston has a 12-6 record when scoring more than 100 points.

The Raptors are 9-6 in Eastern Conference play. Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference shooting 39.1% from downtown. Norman Powell leads the Raptors shooting 43.8% from 3-point range.

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Celtics won 126-114 in the last matchup on Jan. 4. Tatum led Boston with 40 points, and Fred VanVleet led Toronto with 35 points.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Tatum is averaging 26.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Celtics. Kemba Walker is averaging 12.2 points and 3.3 assists over the last 10 games for Boston.

VanVleet leads the Raptors averaging 3.3 made 3-pointers while scoring 20.4 points per game and shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Chris Boucher is averaging 7.6 rebounds and 12.6 points per game over the last 10 games for Toronto.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Celtics: 4-6, averaging 111.1 points, 41.8 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.4 points on 48.2% shooting.

Raptors: 6-4, averaging 120 points, 41.5 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 10 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.9 points on 46.9% shooting.

INJURIES:

Celtics: Romeo Langford: out (right wrist), Marcus Smart: out (calf).

Raptors: Yuta Watanabe: out (ankle), Patrick McCaw: out (knee), OG Anunoby: out (calf).

BOTTOM LINE: Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics host the Toronto Raptors. Tatum is ninth in the NBA averaging 26.8 points per game.

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BOSTON vs UTAH
When: 2/9/2021 10:00 PM
Where: Salt Lake City

TV: 10:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: UTAH , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have Utah listed as 5.5 point favorites versus Boston, while the game’s total is sitting at 220.5.

The Jazz are 9-2 on their home court. Utah is the league leader with 38 defensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 9.9.

The Celtics are 7-7 on the road. Boston ranks ninth in the Eastern Conference scoring 45.8 points per game in the paint led by Jaylen Brown averaging 11.2.

The teams face off Tuesday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Gobert is averaging 13.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks for the Jazz. Joe Ingles is averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 assists over the last 10 games for Utah.

Tatum leads the Celtics averaging 3.2 made 3-pointers while scoring 27 points per game and shooting 41.9% from beyond the arc. Kemba Walker is averaging 3.2 assists and 13.4 points over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Jazz: 9-1, averaging 118.7 points, 49.4 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 6.1 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.5 points on 44.2% shooting.

Celtics: 4-6, averaging 111.2 points, 42.8 rebounds, 22.2 assists, 8.2 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.9 points on 48.1% shooting.

INJURIES:

Jazz: Juwan Morgan: day to day (illness), Elijah Hughes: day to day (ankle), Mike Conley: day to day (hamstring).

Celtics: Romeo Langford: out (right wrist), Marcus Smart: out (calf), Jaylen Brown: day to day (knee).

BOTTOM LINE: Jayson Tatum leads Boston into a matchup with Utah. He currently ranks ninth in the NBA scoring 27.0 points per game.

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BOSTON vs LA CLIPPERS
When: 2/5/2021 10:05 PM
Where:

TV: 10:05 PM
LINE: -6.5
PREDICTION: LA CLIPPERS , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the LA CLIPPERS listed as -6.5 point favorites versus the BOSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 220.

Back to where their run of strong play began, the Los Angeles Clippers will get reacquainted with their home floor again when they play host to the Boston Celtics on Friday.

The Clippers won six consecutive home games through the middle of January then tested their new-found good fortune with a solid 4-2 road trip against Eastern Conference opponents that ended Wednesday.

The Celtics will enter the middle game of their five-game trip out west hoping they can look back as fondly on their travels as the Clippers did. They are 1-1 in two games in California so far.

Friday’s Clippers-Celtics game will be the first since 2004 without Doc Rivers as the head coach of either team. Rivers was with the Celtics from 2004-05 until 2012-13. He immediately joined the Clippers and stayed until the end of last season.

The Clippers’ just-completed trip started with stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in COVID-19 health and safety protocols. They each missed two games and are back doing their thing again with a combined 60 points in a 121-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. It helped to purge Tuesday’s 124-120 defeat at Brooklyn from their system.

“Just a great overall team road trip,” George said. “Great camaraderie. I thought we built a lot of just team chemistry.”

George had 36 points alone against the Cavaliers, his second highest total in a game this season. He went 8 of 9 from 3-point range as the Clippers combined to make 20 3-pointers and shoot 58.8 percent from distance.

After typically sitting one of the two games when the Clippers played on consecutive nights last season, Leonard requested to play Wednesday, and head coach Tyronn Lue obliged. Leonard was a solid 9 of 14 from the field with 24 points in 32 minutes.

Leonard does not have any nights off for rest so far this season. His four games out of action are two games after taking elbow to his mouth and last week’s pair of games for COVID-19-related concerns.

However, the Clippers will be without point guard Patrick Beverley (right knee soreness), who will miss his seventh straight game.

Los Angeles is 11-2 going back to Jan. 10, a run that started after splitting a back-to-back at Golden State.

The Celtics were 8-3 to open the season but are just 3-6 since and not playing nearly as well as Eastern Conference title contenders such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Nets.

Boston started its current trip with a 111-107 victory at Golden State on Tuesday before falling 116-111 to a resurgent Sacramento Kings team on Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum scored 27 points against the Kings and Jaylen Brown scored 21, one game after his 20-point streak was snapped at 10 following an 18-point effort at Golden State.

Boston was playing without three key guards in Marcus Smart (calf), Kemba Walker (rest) and Payton Pritchard (knee). Tatum played more of a point-forward role recording 10 assists, the second time he was in double digits this season. He also had nine rebounds.

“I thought we had a lot of guys that came in and gave us what they had, and I credit them for that,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said.

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BOSTON vs PHILADELPHIA
When: 2/3/2021 8:08 PM
Where:

TV: 8:08 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the BOSTON listed as -135-moneyline favorites versus the PHILADELPHIA, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

Boston guard Kemba Walker played a season-high 31 minutes on Tuesday night, and he might be dressed in street clothes when the Celtics visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Walker hasn’t played on consecutive nights this season, but coach Brad Stevens didn’t rule out the possibility after Boston’s 111-107 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The win came in the opener of the Celtics’ five-game western swing.

Of course, Walker’s availability will depend on how his troublesome left knee is feeling. Trainers will surely examine him closely to see if the knee looks ready for a second straight night of pounding on the court.

Walker has played in just seven games this season and is still rounding into form while averaging 15 points per game.

Walker scored 19 against Golden State but hit just 6 of 18 field-goal attempts. Still, that was an improvement from his awful 1-of-12 effort while scoring a season-low four points Saturday in the Celtics’ 96-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

So naturally, Walker felt he took a welcome step forward.

“After tough ones, you have to bounce back,” Walker said. “I’m not perfect. I wish I was. I just want to do what I can to help us win.”

Stevens saw the look on Walker’s face prior to the Tuesday game and sensed he was ready to rebound from the Saturday showing.

“You could tell he was waiting for another chance to play,” Stevens said. “I thought he did a good job. … I’m sure he would say he would have liked to have shot it better, but I think he looked good.”

It was a much-needed win after Boston dropped five of its previous seven contests.

The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum recorded 27 points and nine rebounds against the Warriors. Fellow star Jaylen Brown scored 18 points, just shy of his 11th consecutive 20-point outing.

Boston, on the latter end of the back-to-back, will have to contend with the speed of dynamic Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox.

Fox poured in 38 points Monday during Sacramento’s 118-109 comeback road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The rising star took over the game with a 3-pointer with 7:07 left to begin a stretch in which he scored 17 straight Sacramento points over a span of 6:34.

The explosive effort marked Fox’s second-highest outing of the season and raised his scoring average to 22.1.

“Just trying to do whatever it takes to put us on top, and sometimes it’s hitting another gear in the fourth (quarter),” Fox said. “When it’s time to make plays, you’ve got to be ready.”

Fox outscored New Orleans all by himself in the final quarter as the Kings finished with a 31-15 flurry to post their fourth win in five games.

Fox is averaging 28.3 points and 8.4 assists over the past seven games. He logged 12 assists against the Pelicans, one shy of his season high.

“I think he’s proven he’s taken that next step,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton said of Fox. “He’s been an All-Star this year.”

Harrison Barnes scored 24 points against New Orleans and big man Richaun Holmes added 17 points and 10 rebounds and had a career-best six blocked shots for the third time this season.

Sacramento will play seven of its next eight games at home. The lone road outing is a short plane flight to Los Angeles to play the Clippers on Sunday.

Boston has won eight of its past 10 meetings with Sacramento.

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BOSTON vs GOLDEN STATE
When: 2/2/2021 10:00 PM
Where:

TV: 10:00 PM
LINE: 2.5
PREDICTION: GOLDEN STATE , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the GOLDEN STATE listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the BOSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 224.5.

The Boston Celtics will have to deal with Stephen Curry without one of their primary stoppers Tuesday night when they visit the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

The Celtics have lost two in a row, including 96-95 at home to the Los Angeles Lakers in a national showcase game Saturday night.

Even more of a setback was the loss of defensive whiz Marcus Smart, who suffered a strained left calf in the fourth quarter against the Lakers. An MRI taken Sunday revealed a Grade 1 tear, leading the Celtics to say he could miss upward of two weeks.

He definitely will miss the club’s entire eight-day, five-game Western swing that includes marquee matchups with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and Utah next Tuesday.

“Marcus is essential to our team man. He’s been great,” Jaylen Brown gushed after Saturday’s game as the team awaited news on the severity of the injury. “Whether the numbers show it or not, Marcus has been a leader on this team. He’s been somebody that has been looking to get guys the ball in the right spots, including me. So to have him go down in the middle of the game like that definitely had everybody concerned.”

Compounding the problem is the absence of impressive rookie Payton Pritchard, who suffered a sprained right knee last Monday. He isn’t expected back until the Celtics return home.

That leaves Kemba Walker and Jeff Teague as the primary defenders on Curry, the NBA leader in 3-point field goals who is also sixth in the league in scoring (27.7 ppg).

Curry missed both of the Warriors’ losses to Boston last season, so he’s never faced Walker as a Celtic. But their matchups when Walker played for Charlotte often produced fireworks, with Curry going for 30 or more points in three of the last six meetings, including games of 39 and 40.

In 12 career head-to-heads with Walker, Curry has averaged 28.1 points, shooting 51 percent overall and 47 percent on 3-pointers, averaging 5.1 threes per game.

Curry had 38 points the last time he matched up with Teague as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018.

The Golden State standout contributed 28 points to a 118-91 home win over Detroit in the Warriors’ most recent game Saturday. The Warriors will be looking for a second consecutive victory for the sixth time this season without ever having won three in a row this season.

Curry declared after Saturday’s win that he’s just warming up.

“It follows my normal patterns of shooting better as the season goes on in general,” he said. “Definitely getting a lot more comfortable finding that balance knowing what types of shots I am going to get. Knowing what I can take and make. I don’t ever lose confidence in that respect, but you start to get a flow and carry that from game to game and you start to feel really good.”

With the Celtics having made their annual trip to San Francisco in November last season, it’s been almost 15 months since Brown, a former University of California star, enjoyed a Bay Area homecoming.

The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in his one season at Cal has exploded into a major offensive force since last seen by his college fans, having scored 20 or more points in 10 straight games and 18 or more in all 18 contests this season.

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LA LAKERS vs BOSTON
When: 1/30/2021 8:30 PM
Where:

TV: 8:30 PM
LINE: 2
PREDICTION: BOSTON , LA LAKERS

Oddsmakers currently have the BOSTON listed as 2 point favorites versus the LA LAKERS, while the game’s total is sitting at 218.5.

With two games still remaining on their demanding seven-game road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers were forced to reassess their standing after a disappointing loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

“You have nights like this in a long season. We’ll be fine,” coach Frank Vogel said in the aftermath of the 107-92 defeat, the team’s second straight. “None of us are happy with how we played tonight, but we’ll bounce back.”

Bouncing back will be no easy task as the Lakers visit the Boston Celtics in a primetime matchup Saturday night on network television. The longtime rivals have played three games decided by two points or less in the past three seasons, although Boston has won six of the last nine meetings.

The Celtics enter off a setback of their own, failing to beat the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday after coming back from as much as 15 points down. Boston was up 101-99 with less than two minutes remaining but couldn’t hold on in the 110-106 loss.

“Obviously people know what we’re capable of on the defensive end, but we just gotta figure it out,” said forward Jayson Tatum, who had 25 points in the game. “We’ve got more than enough guys that are elite defenders.

“That’s kind of what we hang our hat on being on the Celtics – competing and defending. And honestly, we’re just not doing that right now, so we’ve got to figure it out.”

Overall, Boston has dropped four of its last six games. The team’s projected starting five played together for the first time this season Wednesday after Tatum missed a handful of games earlier this month with COVID-19.

“It’s been an interesting season,” said swingman Jaylen Brown, whose 27.1 points per game average leads the team. “We’ve had guys out, guys hurt. We are just trying to put everything together. Tonight wasn’t our best night.”

Players on the Lakers were singing the same tune Thursday. In the loss to Detroit, Los Angeles scored just 34 points in the second half. LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma paced Los Angeles with 22 points apiece, but the absence of Anthony Davis (bruised right quad) loomed large.

James scored just two points after halftime.

“We got to keep our minds fresh, keep our bodies fresh as much as we can to go out there and put together a complete 48-minute game, or close to 48 minutes,” James said. “Obviously we haven’t done it the last couple of games, and we just got to be better on Saturday.”

After their game against the Celtics, the Lakers will complete their road trip at Atlanta on Monday before returning home for five straight. Boston, on the other hand, will hit the road for a five-game West Coast swing that begins Tuesday at Golden State.

By winning the NBA Finals last season, the Lakers matched the Celtics for most titles in league history at 17. The clubs last met in the Finals in 2010, with Los Angeles coming out victorious in seven games.

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CLEVELAND vs BOSTON
When: 1/24/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: -6.5
PREDICTION: BOSTON , CLEVELAND

Oddsmakers currently have the BOSTON listed as -6.5 point favorites versus the CLEVELAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 214.

The Boston Celtics look to emerge from their first prolonged losing streak of the season when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.

The Celtics have dropped three straight, a stretch during which they have been without star forward Jayson Tatum as he recovers from COVID-19. Tatum was considered 50-50 to play in the team’s last game, a 122-110 setback against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

The contest was Boston’s second defeat at division rival Philadelphia in three nights. Jaylen Brown had 42 points and nine rebounds during the losing effort on Friday, though he lamented his defensive play postgame.

“I can do more,” he said. “I will do more.”

Conversely, the Cavaliers are in the midst of their best stretch of the young season, having beaten the Brooklyn Nets in back-to-back meetings to extend their winning streak to three. Cleveland held off Brooklyn 125-113 on Friday night.

“Our identity has been established,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “What’s going to get us there is the experience of doing it night after night. We will continue this; this will be a work in progress all year long until we become what we believe we can become. But you have to do it every single game, and that’s the test for us.”

Sunday’s game marks the only matchup between the Celtics and Cavaliers this season. Boston has won the past eight meetings in the series.

While Brown has flourished during Tatum’s absence, the rest of the Celtics’ offense hasn’t quite pulled its weight. The team’s four other starters combined to score 46 points in Friday’s loss to the 76ers.

Still, coach Brad Stevens, like Brown, has been more critical of the defensive effort during the skid. Boston allowed its opponents to surpass 100 points in each of the three losses.

“Everybody’s got to be in the right spots all the time; everybody’s got to be spaced appropriately all the time and play with the right connectivity defensively,” Stevens said. “… Until we’re really committed to that … I just don’t see us being sustainably competitive.”

Restoring that consistency takes on extra urgency for the Celtics looking ahead to their upcoming schedule. After Sunday, the team plays seven of its next eight games on the road, including a five-game western swing.

Cleveland, meanwhile, can look ahead to six of eight games at home beginning Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavaliers received a boost when guard Darius Garland returned from eight games missed with a shoulder injury to score 11 points in Friday’s win.

“When we’re a whole, healthy team, we’re very tough to beat,” center Andre Drummond said. “These were great games for us. We have all the tools to be a great team.”

The key to Cleveland’s turnaround has been third-year guard Collin Sexton, who has scored at least 20 points in each of the 10 games he has played this season. Sexton poured in a career-high 42 points in a double-overtime win over the Nets on Wednesday.

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NEW YORK vs BOSTON
When: 1/17/2021 1:00 PM
Where:

TV: 1:00 PM
LINE: -7.5
PREDICTION: BOSTON , NEW YORK

Oddsmakers currently have the BOSTON listed as -7.5 point favorites versus the NEW YORK, while the game’s total is sitting at 212.5.

The Boston Celtics surely would have preferred to build the longest active winning streak in the Eastern Conference in a more traditional fashion.

For the New York Knicks, the longest active losing streak in the East has unfolded with an unfortunate sense of familiarity.

The Celtics look to continue getting back into the rhythm of the season and extend their winning streak on Sunday afternoon when they host the Knicks in a battle of longtime rivals.

Boston returned to action after a week-long break due to health and safety protocols Friday, when it won its fifth straight game with a 124-97 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic.

The Knicks continued skidding Friday when they dropped a 106-103 decision to the host Cleveland Cavaliers.

The return to action went as well as possible for the Celtics, who hadn’t played since Jan. 8. The next three games on the schedule for Boston — against the Miami Heat on Jan. 10, against the Chicago Bulls two days later, and versus the Magic the following day — were postponed because seven players were sidelined while waiting for the results of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

The Celtics woke up Friday expecting to have just the minimum eight players available, but four others were cleared to play by the opening tip. All 12 players in uniform ended up playing and scoring, as Boston shook off the rust and maintained its Eastern Conference-best record by recording its most lopsided win of the season.

“We missed each other,” said Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who scored 14 points and was one of six Boston players to reach double figures.

“We missed being on that court. It was a unique night where everybody that usually doesn’t get to play or doesn’t get much time was able to go out there and showcase their talent and showcase everything they’ve been working on.”

The Knicks’ five-game losing streak has served as a reminder of how most of their seasons have unraveled since the team last made the playoffs in 2012-13. After opening the skid with three straight double-digit losses, New York needed a game-ending 14-2 run to pull within single digits in a 116-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

On Friday, the Knicks overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit and led briefly in the fourth before ill-timed mistakes cost them a chance to take the lead in the waning minutes. With New York down 98-97 with 1:18 left, RJ Barrett turned the ball over and Julius Randle committed a clear path foul seconds later. The Cavaliers never led by fewer than three the rest of the way.

“It’s a tough one especially because we really played hard,” said Barrett, who scored 20 points in the loss.

“It’s over now. We have to learn from those little mistakes, move on, and try to get a win. I think we’re trying. We’re all putting in the work, fighting as much as we can. I think we’ll be all right.”

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BOSTON vs DETROIT
When: 1/3/2021 3:05 PM
Where:

TV: 3:05 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: DETROIT , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the DETROIT listed as point favorites versus the BOSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at .

The revisions made to the NBA schedule to decrease travel give the Boston Celtics a swift shot at redemption in Detroit.

The Pistons collected their first victory of the season at the Celtics’ expense, 96-93, on Friday. The two Eastern Conference clubs will match up once again in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Boston got off to a very slow start, righted itself and then fell apart offensively in the late going. The Celtics scored just 12 points in the first quarter — their lowest-scoring quarter of the young season — and trailed by double digits most of the first half. They rallied behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to take a 93-88 lead but went scoreless in the last 4:15.

“We had a lot of wide-open shots,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “I think what we did was we started off so poorly in the first half, we just decreased our margin for error and every one of those shots was way more meaningful than if we played with better substance in the first half. That might have been the basketball gods’ way of saying that we didn’t deserve to win the game.”

The Celtics generally blamed a lack of energy for their sluggish start. They were playing their third game in four nights after recording wins against Indiana on Tuesday and Memphis on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to start the game better and set the tone for the rest of the team,” Tatum said. “The older guys, that’s on us. The second half, we played with a lot more purpose and played a lot tougher and gave ourselves a chance to win. But we missed a lot of good looks towards the end of the game.”

“I just didn’t think we ran hard,” Stevens added. “We did at the end of the game, we did a good job, but these guys are long, athletic, they are well-coached, they are going to be really hard to score on if we start offense (late in the shot clock) and it’s not really crisp.”

Tatum and Brown combined for 53 points and they might be even harder to contain if the Celtics play with more purpose from the start.

Detroit had trouble closing out games prior to the Celtics’ visit. It held fourth-quarter leads in three of its previous four games.

Sixth man Derrick Rose, who scored the go-ahead basket with 1:20 remaining, was pleased the way his team dug in during the closing minutes.

“Your shots are not going to fall every night but something that should be consistent is your defense,” he said. “We harped on that from the beginning of the year. Everybody’s got to have one common goal and that’s to let teams know when they come here it’s going to be that kind of grimy game.”

Rookie Saddiq Bey started for injured forward Blake Griffin and provided a perimeter threat, scoring 15 of his 17 points from long range.

“Right when we picked him, I knew we had an asset,” Rose said. “He’s a shooter. Whenever I’m out there with him, I always keep an eye on him and see where he is on the floor. (Friday), he played great.”

Detroit will likely have to go without Griffin once again. He’s in the league’s concussion protocol.

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