The Boston Celtics had it easy against the Portland Trail Blazers the last time that the two clubs met at TD Garden, but things were a bit tougher at Moda Center on Friday night. Even so, the Celtics weathered a 25-point outburst from Blazers star Damian Lillard (41 points, 5 assists) to secure a 126-112 victory in Portland.
Big games from Jayson Tatum (34 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals), Jaylen Brown (27 points, 6 boards, 5 assists), Marcus Smart (14 points, 6 assists, 4 steals), Al Horford (12 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists), and Luke Kornet (11 points, 5 rebounds off of the bench) helped Boston win their second game in a row as the Celtics move to within one victory of a playoff berth.
