On Saturday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the visiting Houston Rockets 145-113 thanks to a game-high 32 points from Jaylen Brown and 27 points from Jayson Tatum.
Brown hit 11 of his 15 field goals and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Tatum also had eight rebounds and five assists before being tossed with 10:17 remaining in the game for his second technical foul.
Payton Pritchard scored 19 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 17 to help Boston climb to 19-0 at home.
The Celtics connected on 24 of their 47 three-point shots (51.1 percent). The franchise record of 24 made 3-pointers was established against the New York Knicks in 2022. Ten different Boston players hit at least one three-pointer.
Houston shot 40.4 percent (40 of 99) from the field. The Rockets shot only 7 of 30 from beyond the arc.
Cam Whitmore scored a team-high 22 points off the bench for Houston. Alperen Sengun had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
After missing nine games due to a right oblique injury, Dillon Brooks returned to the Houston lineup. In 25 minutes, he scored 12 points.
It was Houston coach Ime Udoka’s first game in Boston since being fired as Celtics head coach at the end of the 2021-22 season.
The Celtics lead after one quarter, 35-31, and 69-58 at halftime. In the first half, Boston made 12 of its 24 3-point tries. The Rockets trailed 51-50 with 5:45 left in the second quarter, but the Celtics closed the half on an 18-8 rally.
Boston scored the first seven points of the second half, with Brown contributing five, and extended its lead to 27 in the third quarter. The Celtics outscored the Rockets 43-28 in the third quarter, taking a 112-86 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Boston’s lead peaked at 36 points in the fourth quarter.
Houston’s road record now stands at 4-13.