Thomas Scores 30, Celtics Beat Trail Blazers 116-93
BOSTON -- The surging Boston Celtics captured their 12th straight home win and did it by blowing out a sizzling opponent on Wednesday night.
The Celtics went on a 41-15 tear in the final 2:52 of the first half and through the third quarter and ran to a 116-93 victory over Portland, ending the Trail Blazers' six-game road winning streak and handing the Blazers only their third loss in their last 15 games overall.
The winning streak is Boston's first 12-gamer since 2007, and the Celtics have the floundering New York Knicks coming to town Friday night to end a five-game homestand.
The win was also the 15th in their last 19 games overall for the Celtics (37-25), who trailed by 12 points in the first quarter before roaring back.
Isaiah Thomas, scored 30 points to lead the Celtics, who also got 15 points and 11 rebounds apiece from Jared Sullinger and Marcus Smart. Smart matched his career high in rebounds and Avery Bradley scored 17 points, Jae Crowder added 12 points and six rebounds and Jonas Jerebko came off the bench with 10 points and six boards.
Portland's star guard tandem of Damien Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who came in averaging a combined 46.3 points per game, combined for 37 points. McCollum, who had 17 but missed eight straight shots after starting the game 5-for-5 -- and the pair was 13-for-30. They did go 6-for-13 on 3-pointers.
Lillard, who had 20, had scored at least 30 points in eight of the previous nine games.
The Trail Blazers, falling to 3-10 in the back end of back-to-backs, built their 12-point lead in the first 8:24, but the Celtics had their deficit down to three by the end of the first quarter and then took a 36-35 lead 90 seconds into the second. They trailed by two with 3:09 left in the half, but then went on an 11-3 run the rest of the half to go up by six -- before exploding out of the gate in the third quarter.
Isaiah Thomas with Sean Grande, Cedric Maxwell after win:
NOTES: The game matched up the February coaches of the month, selected Wednesday -- Portland's Terry Stotts (West) and Boston's Brad Stevens (East). ... Blazers F Noah Vonleh and G Pat Connaughton, both Massachusetts natives, had friends and family at the game. "This is my first game actually playing (in Boston). I'm starting, too," Vonleh said pregame. "It's going to be good playing in front of the home crowd. Hopefully, go out there and have a good game (and) get the 'W' also." ... Portland came in leading the NBA with an average of 112.8 points per game since Jan. 22, while the Celtics' 111.4 over that same stretch was third best in the league. ... F Kelly Olynyk (shoulder separation) will be re-examined Monday. "(There is) a chance he'll up his activity Monday -- whatever that means," Stevens said.
