Celtics restructure Rockets, lose Jabari Smith in 4-8 weeks

derrick white and jayson tatum Both teams contributed 43 points, with the visiting Boston Celtics capitalizing on a great first half offense to defeat the injury-plagued Houston Rockets 109-86.

White had 23 points and six 3-pointers, while Tatum scored 10 of his 20 points late in the first half to help the Celtics, who played without Jaylen Brown (shoulder injury), easily win.

Peyton Pritchard and Jrue Holiday added six 3-pointers, 20 points and 14 points, respectively, and Boston dominated the Rockets with their offensive accuracy, making 19 of 39 3-pointers.

Houston was unable to catch up and fell to 1-3 in the five-game home series. Jaylen Green led the Rockets with 27 points, and Alperen Sengan added 14 points and seven rebounds. But Houston overcame the absences of Armen Thompson (suspended), Tali Eason (foot injury) and Jabari Smith Jr., who broke his left hand (non-shooting) during Friday morning’s shootaround. I couldn’t.

Smith is scheduled to undergo surgery and is expected to be out for four to eight weeks.

Houston led 15-12 at the 7:29 mark of the first quarter, but Holiday made two 3-pointers and Luke Kornette added two dunks after the Celtics’ timeout. They took control with a 10-0 run.

Boston, the defending NBA champion, extended its lead to 17-4, and Houston’s double-digit lead was cut to 37-31 entering the second quarter. Jaylen Green scored 11 points on a 14-6 run to further close the gap to double digits to 53-51. Tatum took control then, making two dunks and two 3-pointers in the final 2:53 of the first half to put Boston up 65-56 at halftime.

Pritchard, Tatum, White and Holiday combined for 51 points on 20-of-34 shooting, including 11-of-20 from behind the arc. Pitcher’s three-pointer with 8:43 left in the game gave the Celtics a 93-72 lead. Boston led by as many as 28 points in the final period.

This is the 154th time the Celtics and Rockets have played against each other, with the Celtics dominating with 98 wins, and it was the third time Udoka has played against a team he has yet to win since starting on the bench. .