----- Jason Tatum finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists as the Boston Celtics won their fifth-straight game with a 129-116 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday afternoon at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Celtics used the Trail Blazers as a tune-up for the postseason Sunday afternoon at Moda Center in Portland, Oreogn.
Jason Tatum finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists and Sam Hauser scored 24 points on 8-of-10 three-point shooting as the Boston Celtics won their fifth-straight game with a 129-116 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Shaedon Sharpe led Portland (32-40) with 23 points, Toumani Camara added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Deni Avdija recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Portland connected on 17-of-47 from three-point range but Boston bested them going 23-of-50.
The Trail Blazers used a 12-0 run to even the game at 40 in the second quarter but the Celtics closed the first half on a 21-8 run to take a 13-point lead into the locker room.
The Celtics pushed their lead to 18 at 84-66 later in the third, but the Trail Blazers used an 8-0 burst to cut the deficit to 10. Boston pulled away again with an 11-2 run and took a 12-point lead into the fourth.
The Blazers never threatened the rest of the way as the Celtics held a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers finish up their seven-game homestand Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- No one is beating the Celtics in the East. No shame is losing to the defending champs. Good teaching moments for the young Trail Blazers.