The Celtics kicked off 2026 with a win Thursday night in Sacramento, knocking off the Kings 120-106 on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
Tied after three quarters, Boston outscored its hosts 32-18 in the fourth, with Derrick White scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final frame.<\/p>\n
Jaylen Brown totaled 29 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with two minutes remaining, while Sam Hauser (15 points), Anfernee Simons (14 points) and Luka Garza (11 points) all scored in double figures on another standout night for the Celtics\u2019 bench.<\/p>\n
Boston\u2019s reserves shot a combined 70.6% from 3-point range (12-for-17) in the win, offsetting shakier outside shooting from starters Brown (1-for-9 from three), White (2-for-7) and Payton Pritchard (2-for-8). Rookie Hugo Gonzalez attempted just two shots in his 19 minutes off the bench, but pulled down seven rebounds and was a team-best plus-20.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been huge,\u201d White told NBC Sports Boston sideline reporter Abby Chin after the game. \u201cAll year, they\u2019ve been huge for us. They come in, kind of change the game, bring energy, 50\/50 balls, make shots. They do a little bit of everything for us. We\u2019re a complete team, and we need everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the win, the Celtics improved to 3-1 on their season-long five-game road trip and 21-12 overall, just two games back of the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference. They\u2019ll visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET) before returning home.<\/p>\n
Slow starts have been an issue for the Celtics of late, and they got off to another one Thursday, falling behind by eight points in the first quarter for the fifth time in seven games. Brown scuffled in the opening period, starting 1-for-7 from the field with three turnovers, and Sacramento scored nine second-chance points before Boston registered its first.<\/p>\n
The Celtics trailed after one quarter for the fifth straight game, but only by one, having closed the gap with quick-strike 3-pointers by Hauser, Garza and Simons. Boston then pulled ahead early in the second amid a superb display of shot-making from its bench.<\/p>\n
The first eight Celtics possessions of the second quarter all produced points: first a Garza layup, followed by a Simons jumper, Hauser three, Gonzalez three, two Simons threes, Garza dunk and yet another Simons three.<\/p>\n
In the first half, Boston\u2019s second unit racked up 35 points on 13-for-16 shooting (9-for-10 from deep). Those included 14 points from Simons and nine each from Hauser and Garza \u2014 higher than all three players\u2019 season-long scoring averages.<\/p>\n
Simons boasts the second-best plus\/minus in the NBA<\/a> since the start of December (plus-140), and Garza has been a consistent difference-maker since returning to head coach Joe Mazzulla\u2019s rotation two weeks ago. Since then, Garza has averaged 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 67.7% shooting, and the Celtics have outscored opponents by 81 points with their second-string center on the floor.<\/p>\n Sacramento, though, went shot-for-shot with Boston early in the second quarter, and its reserves were similarly efficient. Keon Ellis and ex-Celtic Denis Schroder combined for 20 first-half points off the Kings\u2019 bench, going 5-for-6 from distance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first half was hard because both teams were shooting 50% from three,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters postgame. \u201cIt was just a pickup game. I told them the team that puts their defensive mark on the game is the team that\u2019s going to win, and I thought we did that in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n Consecutive driving layups by Brown just before halftime, sandwiched around a Neemias Queta block, put the Celtics up 62-61 at the break. Nearly all of Brown\u2019s scoring in the game came on drives, dunks and free throws.<\/p>\n Timely rim protections from Queta, who began his career with Sacramento, also boosted Boston in the final seconds of the third quarter.<\/p>\n After Brown had his pocket picked while waiting for the final shot, Queta and Gonzalez both sprinted the length of the court to deny a fast-break lob to Keegan Murray. Queta (13 points, five rebounds, three blocks) then raced back to the opposite end to receive a pass from White and lay the ball in at the buzzer. The last-second bucket tied the game at 88-88 heading into the fourth.<\/p>\n White\u2019s scoring binge in the final quarter helped Boston pull away. The veteran guard also had seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.<\/p>\n Other observations:<\/p>\n \u2014 Hauser started the second half over Jordan Walsh, who didn\u2019t see the floor for the final three quarters. Walsh played the best basketball of his career from mid-November through mid-December, but his playing time his dipped during this road trip. He played 10, 13 and five minutes in Boston\u2019s last three games.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing he\u2019s doing wrong,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s just, we can go to so many different things. I think you saw what Sam was able to do in the first half, and coming out of halftime and making a chance can kind of throw a team off to start a game. \u2026 It\u2019s really just taking any advantage we can with the entire roster that we have and just trying to win segments of the game and go on runs and try to catch the opponent off guard with different matchups and different opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Speaking of reduced minutes, Josh Minott was a DNP-CD for the fourth consecutive game. The Celtics have shifted away from using Minott as a small-ball five since Garza\u2019s reemergence, and he hasn\u2019t been able to crack the wing rotation over Gonzalez or Baylor Scheierman.<\/p>\n \u2014 Reserve big man Chris Boucher was active but did not play after missing the previous three games for personal reasons.<\/p>\n \u2014 Mazzulla told reporters that he challenged Brown\u2019s sixth foul with 2:09 remaining because he \u201creally just kind of wanted to hear Billy Kennedy,\u201d the longtime NBA referee known for his exquisitely enunciated explanations<\/a>. Kennedy, after pausing for dramatic effect, informed Mazzulla and the audience that the challenge was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n \t\t\t