BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Warriors 99 - Brown, Tatum lead dominant night

BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis started off his TD Garden return with a bang. He blocked Jayson Tatum and Neemias Quetaat the rim in quick succession, ran the floor, and earned himself a trip to the line. From that point on, however, it was all Boston Celtics.

Tatum finally snapped his cold streak from three-point land on Wednesday night. Boston ran him off flare screens, and he got comfortable pulling up off Queta screens, as the Golden State Warriors dropped just a bit too far back on defense in the pick-and-roll.

He finished the first half shooting an impressive 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. But his 16-point first-half showing was somehow outdone by his superstar teammate, Jaylen Brown.

Brown was unstoppable in the first half, but the first quarter was his magnum opus. Whether it was pull-ups, drives, or turnaround middys, Brown shredded whoever the Warriors tried to put in front of him.

It was an elite display of patience, as he never rushed. He pump-faked in the lane, hung in the air and waited for the shot to open up, and took a methodical approach against Golden State.

The result? A 19-point first quarter on 8-of-9 shooting. He ended the first half with 23 points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Boston walked into the half with a 63-50 lead, but Golden State did its best to hang around. Pat Spencer made some tough shots, but most of the Warriors' offense derived from impressive cuts around the basket.

They swung the ball around the court beautifully as Draymond Green, Gary Payton II, and Porzingis found a way to keep things moving. The Warriors tallied 14 assists on 20 made shots in the first half. However, Boston held them to just 39.2% shooting from the floor and 25.0% shooting from deep range.

As the third quarter got rolling, the Warriors made things interesting. They scored six unanswered points to start the frame, cutting Boston's lead down to seven. But the Celtics responded right away.

Green was checking Brown, and he actually found some success, but as soon as Boston found a way to get him switched off, Brown went to work. He nailed an and-one bucket against De'Anthony Melton, and then, it was Tatum's turn to cook.

The Celtics got into the bonus with 9:00 on the clock, so Tatum earned a trip to the line. And on the next possession, he blew past Porzingis for a tough bucket at the rim. Just like that, the lead was back to 13.

As the rest of the quarter unfolded, Payton Pritchardtook center stage. He found a way inside the teeth of Golden State's defense, draining mid-range buckets and feeding Boston's bigs in the lane. At the end of the quarter, he even chipped in a three-pointer.

Pritchard finished the quarter with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting (1-of-2 from distance).

The fourth quarter wasn't about Tautm or Brown as much. It was about everyone (and everything) else. Brown entered the game for Tatum at with just under six minutes to go, but at that point, Boston's lead had ballooned into 20 points (and beyond).

Pritchard continued his solid scoring night, and Derrick Whitejoined him, sinking a couple of big-time shots at the beginning of the frame.

Baylor Scheiermanattacked the glass on both ends, and Queta kept up an impressive night of screening, backing it up with a nice string of buckets.

Golden State hung around with the same offensive cutting that kept them in the game earlier in the night, but it was too little, too late.

The Celtics put the finishing touches on the night, despite the Warriors' late-game full-court press, and Brown even got free-throw-line MVP chants (as he's gotten all season). Boston walked out of TD Garden with a comfortable victory.

Big winner: The Celtics didn't need this game as proof of concept that Tatum and Brown can succeed together. That's already been proved. But Wednesday night certainly made it even clearer.

Tatum and Brown definitely took turns against the Warriors. A string of Brown buckets, then some from Tatum. But it was more than that. They played off each other beautifully.

It may not have always looked obvious. One may have simply been roaming off the ball. But the gravity that each of them provides on the court opens up space for the other.

Brown drove to the lane, knowing that Golden State wouldn't help off Tatum. If they did, he could swing it to him, and a whole world of opportunities opened up. And vice versa, the same was true.

Ouch, tough one: It was a small issue, and it didn't end up affecting the outcome of the game, but Boston committed a few live-ball turnovers in this one. At least, a few more than usual, it seemed.

On Monday against the Phoenix Suns, it was the same deal. And in their win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday, the Wizards made a second-half comeback almost solely off fastbreak points.

It's not a problem right now, and it certainly wasn't an egregious string of mistakes on Wednesday night, but keep an eye on Boston's turnovers.

(Note: Live-ball turnovers are when a team turns the ball over while play is still going, which allows the other team to get out in transition. Things like a bad pass or a steal. Dead-ball turnovers occur when a team turns the ball over, and play is stopped, meaning the other team has to inbound the ball. Things like throwing the ball out of bounds or getting called for a charge. Dead-ball turnovers aren't ideal, but live-ball turnovers are worse, because the defense doesn't get a chance to get set up.)

The big picture: Boston found a ton of great ways to get Tatum open looks on Wednesday. Up to this point, it felt like he was going a lot on his own, but in this game and against the Suns, he worked out of the flow of the Celtics' offense a bit more.

This will be crucial down the stretch of the season. If Boston can help Tatum find his rhythm by getting him catch-and-shoot looks and the clean, top-of-the-key pull-ups off screens, which have become his bread and butter, then he should be in a great place come playoff time.