Jaylen Brown suited up for the Boston Celtics’ 102-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night despite being listed as a Game Time Decision due to a groin injury. But the 27-year-old wing was hampered by the injury as he turned in his second-worst performance of the season last night. Brown finished with 12 points on 5 of 16 shooting, including 1 of 7 from the 3-point line. He recorded six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals.
NBA Tidbits: Jaylen Brown, Matt Ryan & Jose Alvarado Update, Kristraps Porzingis Joins Elite Company and Nic Batum Returns
Boston sits atop the Eastern Conference with an 11-2 record and takes their six-game winning streak into Charlotte on Monday in the second game of back-to-backs. The Celtics are 6-2 on the road this season and 1-0 in games following no days off.
While Brown has been cleared to play against the Hornets, Boston will be without two rotational players. Al Horford and Derrick White will both sit out the contest.
Charlotte has lost four straight games and is 3-9 on the season, including 1-6 at home. The Hornets have dealt with several injuries this year. Four players have appeared in every game thus far, and four others have missed just one contest. As a result, the Hornets have used three different starting lineups already. Terry Rozier will miss his eighth straight game with a groin injury and is among five players who won’t play against the Celtics. Nick Richards, Frank Ntikilina, James Bouknight, and Cody Martin also remain out.
Kristaps Porzingis Joins Elite Celtics’ Company
Kristaps Porzingis is a significant reason why the Celtics have remained a top defensive unit despite Boston shipping off former DPOY Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies over the summer. Porzingis showed off his defensive prowess against the Grizzlies, swatting away a season-high six shots, including Memphis’ game-tying shot attempt at the buzzer. The 7-3 big man, who has one double-double on the year, also had the game-winning bucket as he threw down a pass from Jayson Tatum to give the C’s a 102-100 lead with 1:01 remainin
Porzingis finished with a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds, becoming the fourth player in Celtics history to score 25 points and block six shots. He was 9 of 13 from the floor, including 9 of 10 inside the 3-point line. It is the third time in his career that he has shot 90% on two-point attempts.
Porzingis ranks among the top league defenders in several categories. Ranked as the sixth-most prolific shot-blocker among active players, Porzingis is seventh in blocks this year at 1.8 a game. He is 14th in defensive win shares, 10th in defensive Plus/Minus, and eighth in defensive rating. Opponents shoot 44.9% from the field when he is the primary defender. Porzingis also holds opponents to 48.9% shooting within six feet of the basket, which is nearly 14% below league average, and 47.1% within 10 feet of the hoop, which is almost 10% below league average.
Al Horford, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish are the other Celtics to score 25 points and record six blocks. Horford accomplished the feat on Dec. 2, 2016. Meanwhile, McHale had four such games, and Parrish did it eight times.