BOSTON — The game was effectively over in the first 12 minutes.
Boston poured in 44 first-quarter points and stacked that with a 38-point second, building a halftime avalanche that carried the Celtics to a 144-118 win over the Pelicans on Friday night at TD Garden. The final margin reflected what the flow already suggested: Boston’s offense dictated every possession from the opening tip, and New Orleans didn’t have the personnel available to change the terms.
Game flow: Boston’s first-half blitz decided it
The quarter-by-quarter scoring tells the story with brutal clarity:
Q1: Boston 44, New Orleans 25
Q2: Boston 38, New Orleans 26
Q3: Boston 34, New Orleans 31
Q4: New Orleans 36, Boston 28
New Orleans won the fourth, but it was the kind of late push that happens when the game’s leverage has already been drained. Boston’s early shot-making and pace control created separation, and the Celtics spent the second half managing the lead rather than chasing it.
What decided it: spacing + passing, exactly as the recent profile suggested
Boston’s recent 10-game indicators were screaming “shot quality and connectivity,” and this one followed the script. Over that span, the Celtics posted a 127.7 offensive rating with a massive 97.8 assist rate and a sky-high 85.5 three-point rate. Against a short-handed Pelicans group, Boston leaned into those same levers: spread the floor, move it quickly, and turn possessions into threes and laydown reads.
The box score supports that stylistically: Boston finished with 35 assists on the night, a passing number that aligns with how they’ve been generating offense lately. And even with 13 turnovers, the Celtics’ overall shot diet and rhythm never collapsed.
Three-point math and shot profile
Boston’s team line shows the volume and intent: 29/59 from three. That’s not just hot shooting — it’s a declaration of identity. When you take 59 threes and make 29, the opponent is forced into a math problem it can’t solve without elite creation on the other end.
New Orleans, by contrast, went 9/32 from three. They did generate points at the stripe (21/30 FT), but free throws weren’t enough to keep pace with Boston’s perimeter barrage.
Injuries shaped the ceiling — and the floor
Boston entered with Jaylen Brown out (Left Achilles) and questions around Derrick White (Right Knee) and Neemias Queta (Right Toe). Yet the Celtics’ offensive ecosystem held because their process — spacing, passing, and high-volume threes — doesn’t require one specific scorer to function at a baseline level.
New Orleans’ situation was different. The Pelicans were without Zion Williamson (Right Knee), Dejounte Murray (Left Hand), Trey Murphy III (Right Ankle), Herbert Jones, and several others. That list stripped away primary creation, secondary creation, and defensive problem-solvers. Against a Celtics offense that thrives on quick decisions and spacing, the margin for error was effectively zero.
Advanced context: the pregame indicators lined up with the result
Even before the opening run, this matchup leaned heavily toward Boston.
Over the last 10 games, Boston carried a +10.1 net rating (127.7 ORtg, 117.5 DRtg). New Orleans came in at -11.5 (111.0 ORtg, 122.4 DRtg). That gap showed up immediately: Boston’s offense created clean looks early, and New Orleans couldn’t generate enough efficient counters to stabilize the game.
The CPI matchup differential was also stark: Boston 87.10 (rank 6) vs. New Orleans 19.26 (rank 52), a 67.8 differential that suggested a one-sided outcome if the Celtics played to their standard.
Rest and schedule: Celtics didn’t look like a team on a back-to-back
Boston played on 1 day of rest and had 4 games in the last 7 days (back-to-back). New Orleans had 2 days of rest with 3 games in the last 7 days. If fatigue was supposed to be an equalizer, it never materialized — not with Boston scoring 82 points in the first half and controlling the game’s tempo through shot selection.
Team stats that mattered
Rebounding: Even at 44-44, New Orleans couldn’t turn parity on the glass into extra leverage because the possession battle elsewhere was neutral (both teams 13 turnovers), and Boston’s three-point volume swung the scoring margin.
Playmaking: Boston’s 35 assists to New Orleans’ 22 was the cleanest separator beyond the shooting. The Celtics consistently created advantage, then made the next pass. The Pelicans, short on creators, had fewer ways to force rotations and produce the same quality of looks.
Bottom line
This was a Celtics win built on identity: high-volume threes, heavy ball movement, and early offensive force. New Orleans fought late, but with so many key pieces unavailable, the Pelicans didn’t have the shot creation or defensive answers to survive Boston’s first-half wave.
Boston moved to 56-26 with the win. New Orleans fell to 26-56.