Celtics Edge Out Trail Blazers 90-89; Evan Turner Hits Go-Ahead Three-Pointer
The Boston Celtics won their first road game against a Western Conference team by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 90-89 in Portland on Thursday night. Damian Lillard had a game-high 21 points along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists for Portland. Avery Bradley finished with a team-high 18 points for the Celtics.
Evan Turner made a go-ahead three-pointer to put the Celtics up by 1 with one second left. The Blazers were unable to score on the following possession.
Portland was of course without LaMarcus Aldridge, who has been ruled out for the next six to eight weeks with a torn thumb ligament. The injury bug hit Portland once more in this game. Nicolas Batum left the game with a sprained right wrist. The Celtics also lost a man – Kelly Olynyk left the game with a sprained right ankle.
The Celtics took early advantage of the short-handed Trail Blazers and were aggressive offensively. They shared the ball and assisted on 14 of their first 18 field goals in the first half, where they had a 44-42 advantage. Portland broke out in the third quarter with a 30-point effort, much so behind sparks from Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, but the Celtics held their ground.
Playing behind for most of the fourth quarter, Boston continued to grind and run their sets through Evan Turner, Avery Bradley, or Jared Sullinger. Their persistence paid off as Portland went cold for 17 points in the fourth quarter, where they’re one of the more dangerous teams in the league. The Celtics closed the gap with just a few minutes left and put themselves in the position they were in to win the game.
The Trail Blazers are now 31-13 and losers of five out of their last six. The Celtics are now 14-26 on the season.
