The Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans faced off on Jan. 11 in a thrilling game at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. With a win from the Celtics of 125 to 114; the Celtics became the first team in this NBA season to reach 30 wins. Their win also led them to the NBA playoffs. 

Both teams were short-handed, but that didn’t stop them from working hard at court. Despite their lack of key players, it was obvious that the Pelicans were trying their best without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, and the Celtics with Robert Williams and Marcus Smart sidelined. 

Specifically, the two star players Jaylen Brown, a shooting guard, small forward, guard, and forward and Jason Tatum a power forward, small forward, guard, and forward  were on fire with their performance, picking up the team completely and leading the team to victory Jaylen Brown scored a season-high of 41 points and 21 rebound points, and Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and 10 rebounds. They clearly had a big impact on the team, working  with their other team members in tandem, and outplaying their opponents. After a poor season for the Celtics, these two players have brought their team’s performance up this season. 

Brown was significant with his breathtaking play in this game. With his sixth 40 point game, he has crossed several other players in the Celtics with a record. Brown’s strategy was to go for the mid range at court, and he wasn’t going to back down until he did what he needed to do. Brown and Tatum’s progress has been important to the team’s success, and it’s fascinating to see how they are driving the team at the moment.

Though the Pelicans were trying their best considering their situation with fewer players, they weren’t able to break through and take the lead, but rather fell behind. Two players who dominated on the court were Naji Marshall, a small forward and shooting guard, who scored 18 points, and Trey Murphy, a small forward and power forward, who scored 15 points. CJ McCollum, a point guard and shooting guard of the Pelicans finished with a magnificent score of 28. 

Jason Garabedian discussed the specifics of the game as he talked about the players performances in the game which played a big part of the results, and contents of the game. He talked about, “CJ Mcullum who was carrying the Pelicans without Zion, and putting up a fight especially being the only one to score about 20 points with four assists and four rebounds” He also talked about how, “it was too much of a fight on the Celtics side with Tatum, Brown, and Malcom Brogdon. The gap was too much for them to beat. They were already up in the 3rd and ended up significantly passing by 85 to 97 in the fourth.” 

By the time halftime hit, the Celtics were in the lead by six points, and went to 104 to 89 with 10 more minutes on the clock. However, the Pelicans got to 107 to 97 taking the lead, but the Celtics quickly regrouped and gained 11 points as they scored 3 pointers. 

This was an entertaining game to watch—to see these two teams who are playing with hard work and determination. It’s interesting to see the key players flourishing on the court. Each team had its own personality, and way of playing, and it was fascinating to watch them progress through the game. 

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