Jaylen Brown scored 28 points, and Jayson Tatum added 27, including a game-winning jumper with 0.2 seconds left, as the Boston Celtics beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-116 on Friday night.
Tatum also had 10 assists, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White scored 16 points each, and Luke Kornet came off the bench to score 11 points for the Celtics.
Trey Murphy III had a season-high 40 points, Jose Alvarado added 20, CJ McCollum scored 17, and Brandon Boston Jr. had 10 points for New Orleans, which lost its fifth consecutive game. Pelicans starting point guard Dejounte Murray had to leave the game after injuring his lower right leg in the first quarter and did not return.
New Orleans trailed by five points after three quarters, but Alvarado hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth. The Pelicans got within two points five times, with the Celtics responding to the first three. On the fourth occasion, Murphy made a jumper to tie the game at 114 with 1:37 remaining.
Brown and McCollum exchanged baskets before Tatum dribbled down the clock and hit the game-winning shot from 21 feet.
The Celtics opened the third quarter with a 9-6 run, increasing their lead to 68-59. Murphy made two 3-pointers, and Alvarado and Karlo Matkovic each made one as the Pelicans took a 77-75 lead.
Brown scored eight points, and White and Payton Pritchard added three points each as Boston took a 91-86 lead into the fourth quarter.
Murphy scored 16 points, helping New Orleans take a 34-31 lead at the end of the first quarter.
New Orleans led by five points twice early in the second quarter, but Kornet made two baskets in a row to complete a 6-0 run, putting Boston ahead by one. The Pelicans regained the lead briefly, but Tatum hit two consecutive 3-pointers to start an 8-0 run, giving the Celtics a 47-42 lead.
New Orleans closed within one point twice, but White and Tatum each hit a 3-pointer, helping Boston extend their lead to nine points. Murphy’s 3-pointer cut New Orleans’ deficit to 59-53 at halftime.
