New Orleans Pelicans 114 vs 125 Boston Celtics live: stats and highlights | NBA Wednesday

The Boston Celtics rattled off their fourth win in a row on Wednesday night from TD Garden as they controlled a tough New Orleans Pelicans team for four quarters. Jaylen Brown had 41 points in the 125-114 victory to keep the C’s at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Brown drops a 40 piece

Boston came into the game with the more wins than any team through the midway point of the season looking like one of the title favorites, but they were going up against a Pelicans team that has been struggling lately.

With Zion Williamson sidelined with a hamstring injury for the next few weeks, C.J. McCollum has been taking the leading role for New Orleans and did so again on Wednesday night scoring 38 points in Boston. He came out hot from the start hitting his first six threes to give the Pelicans a narrow early lead.

Jayson Tatum started slow, electing to play a distributing role in the first quarter, but that allowed Jaylen Brown to start to heat up in the first few minutes. A 9-0 run to start the second quarter extended the Boston lead to double digits and the Celtics didn’t turn back after that.

Celtics showdown with Nets on Friday

Brown went to the halftime break with a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but McCollum was keeping the Pelicans in the game until Brown took off in the third quarter. He had 18 of his 41 points in the third quarter Boston stretched their lead to double digits for the first time.

With a big lead going into the final quarter, Joe Mazzula’s side surely had flashbacks of almost giving up a 16 point lead against the Chicago Bulls in their previous game. Jayson Tatum made sure there would be no late slip as he took over to close out the Pelicans and hand them their fifth loss in the last seven games. He ended the game with 31 points, extending his streak of 25+ point game to 13.

The Celtics will now head to Brooklyn in a battle of the top two teams in the East, while the Pelicans head to Detroit for their fifth of a six game road trip.

After Jalen Brown had 18 in the third quarter, he finished the game with 41 points and 12 rebounds to keep the Celtics at the top of Eastern Confernce.

Horford started the game with three first quarter threes, but then settled into a more defensive role for the rest of the game.

Brown was unstoppable coming out of the halftime break, going for 18 points in the third quarter.

Brown had a double double by halftime with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics started the second quarter with a 9-0 run and never let the lead go after that. Tatum warmed up but it was Jaylen Brown leading the C's tonight.

Payton Pritchard hit one of the few threes of the Celtics night, but they dominated the boards out rebounding the Pelicans 50-33.

Tatum started the game dishing the rock, but ened the game with 31 points after a big fourth quarter.

IT'S ALL OVER!!!

The Celtics stay on top of the Eastern Conference with a big win over a tough Pelicans.

Seabron with a jam as the clock hits all zeros

Hayes with another late bucket to pad the stats.

Hayes with the alley oop lay up

Lewis to the line and he hits both FTs

We are under two minutes from Boston!

Tatum drops the triple try and ignites this crowd! NO need a TO with 2:19 down by 19.

Murphy with the slam down the lane off the McCollum dish.

Tatu gets to the iron and drops the layup after Brogdon's assist.

McCollum trying to keep the Pelicans in this game, and he hits the mid range jumper.

Brown on the spot up mid range jumper.

McCollum takes the it down the lane and hits the floater.

Tatum back at the line after getting fouled by Hayes, and the hits both.

We are under 5:00 minutes in Boston.

Brogdon in tranistion and it looked like the Pelicans just gave up on that play after a turnover.

Brown sticked the pull up three ball!

McCollum out of the TO with a short floater in the lane

Williams on the lay up off the feed from Brogdon and the Celtics are back in command, forcing NO to take a TO with 6:26 to go in the 4th.

Tatum gets the bucket right under the rim and he's getting close to his 13th straight 25 points game.

Marshall fouled by Brown and he goes to the line and makes both FTs.

Tatum fouled by McCollum and Tatum hits one of two.

Murphy with the deep three ball from the top of the key!

McCollum out of the time out with a baseline mid range jumper.

Tatum gets another lay up, go get over 20 on the night and the Pelicans looking like they are starting to wear down.

TO New Orleans with 8:38 to go in the fourth.

Marshall with the easy slam after a steal on the other end.

Tatum manuvers his way to the basket and gets the tough shot to drop from under the basket.

Marshall pulls up from the mid range and hits.

Brogdon with a three ball from the top of the key!

Brogdon on a strong drive to the rack and gets the lay up to drop.

Graham opens the fourth quarter with a 22 foot jumper

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER AND JAYLEN BROWN IS LEADING BOSTON INTO THE FOUTH!

He's got 38, and had 18 in the third quarter.

Alvarardo fouled by Pritchard, and with the Pelicans in the bonus he goes to the line and hits both with 5 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Brogdon on the pull up from just inside the arc

Brown drops the 30 foot triple and everything is going in for him right now!

Marshall with the catch and shoot triple!

Brown fouled by Nance Jr. on his way to the basket he hits both FTs. He's got 33, and 15 in this quarter.

Hayes with the tip in off the Marshall miss.

McCollum wiggling his way under the basket and gets the reverse to go.

Brown with another bucket, attacking the rack. He's got 31 through three quarters.

Alvarardo hit with a T, and Brown gets both FTs to go.

Alvarardo with the finger roll after crossing up the big man.

Strong baseline drive from Brown on Daniels and he muscles up makes the lay up get the foul and hits the AND 1.

Largest lead of the game for the C's

Brown on the step back from just outside the paint.

Brogdon gets fouled out of the TO, and hits both FTs.

Murphy with the tip in off the miss, and he is more than just a dunker. He can crash the boards with those big hops.

We are at a timeout with 5:11 to go in the third quarter!

Tatum drills a three ball and the Celtics three point shooting is starting to warm up.

Valanciunas with the mid range jumper.

Brogdon with the three ball and he continues to light it up from DT.

McCollum in take over mode, hits the leaner from the right side off the glass and in.

Horford drops the three ball, and that's his fourth of the night!

McCollum hits the floater draped by three different defenders.

Brown going back to the line after the foul on Valaciunas, and he hits both FTs.

Murphy with another jam and he goes WINDMILL after picking off a pass for the free dunk. We have a one point game in Boston.

Tatum with the foul on McCollum on the drive down the lane. He goes to the line and hits both FTs.

Brown fouled by Daniels in transition and hits one of two free throws.

Daniels with the layup off the feed from Valanciunas.

Brown continues his hot night with a mid range jumper, he's got 20.

Valaciunas starts the first half with a short jumper.

WE ARE BACK IN ACTION FOR THE SECOND HALF FROM TD GARDEN.

Tatum had a slow start, deciding to get his teammates involved but had 10 points in the second quarter to finish the half with 14.

BOS are shooting just 32% from DT but lead 64-58 having out rebounded 27 rebounds to NO's 15.

Brown showing a bit of everything on this play. He's got 18 points and 10 rebounds after two quarters.

Murphy has had a coulple big jams to start this game, including this one of the Marshall miss.

CJ on point

McCollum has been money from downtown at the Garden tonight. He's 6/7 from DT for 22 points.

The Pelicans are 6-10 from downtown as a team.

WE ARE DONE WITH THE SECOND QUARTER AND THE CELTICS LEAD 64-58 THROUGH 24 MINUTES.

McCollum drives left, gets bumped, banks it off the glass and gets the foul! He misses the FT, but that's about the only thing he hasn't done tonight.

Williams fouled on his drive to the basket and he hits both with under a minute to go in the half.

Brown with the put back and he's got 18 and 10 already

Daniels get the offensive board and the put back for a AND 1! He missed the FT and NO trail by 4.

Brown slashing to the basket and absorbing the contact on his way to the rim.

Reverse lay up on the baseline for Hayes

Browns sticks the fader with a hand in his face!

McCollum with another three ball, this time off the step back.

Tatum back to the line after getting fouled by Daniels, and he drops both.

Marshall puts it on the deck and blows past Williams for the lay up with under 3:30 to go in the half.

Tatum fouled on the drive and he hits one of two.

McCollum drills the three ball, and there isn't anyone that can stop him at the moment.

Brown spinning to the basket, gets the bucket and the foul! FT is good and he's got 12.

Brown gets the rebound underneath and makes the put back

ALLY OOP UP SIDE YOUR HEAD!!!

Graham threw it up and Murphy brought it down with a one handed hammer!

Timeout BOS with 6:05 to go in the 2nd quarter.

McCollum pulls the trigger off the dribble and hits the three.

Brogdon with a floater in the lane and the C's are back up by 9.

Tatum backing down Murphy and tried the reverse lay up but was fouled by Murphy. He hits both from the line.

Marshall fouled on his floater down the lane, and he makes both FTs.

Murphy on the TIP SLAM OFF THE MARSHALL MISSED THREE!!!

Marshall hits a three and ends a nearly four minute scoreless drought.

Tatum with a couple quick triples and he's in double digits in the blink of an eye and NO want a timeout with 10:24 to go in the 2nd quarter.

Brogdon fouled on the shot and makes both from the FT line.

Tatum drills the three from the top of the key.

The big man Kornet with a dunk to start the second quarter.

Tatum has just four points, but Horford has 11 on three threes and Brown has 7.

After one quarter, McCollum has 11 points and three assists while Valaciunas has 9 points and two rebounds.

We are done with the first quarter here from TD Garden! Boston lead 35-32 after 12 minutes.

Alvarado with the and 1 on the drive to the rack!! And he makes the FT.

Back door cut from Tatum finds him wide open for a one handed jam.

Marshall with a floater in the lane after getting some contact.

Pritchard on to the floor and on to the scoreboard with a triple!

We are headed to a timeout with 2:01 to go in the first quarter and the Celtics leading 30-27

Horford makes a dash to the rack and hits his first shot inside the arc of the night.

Daniels drills a corner three to bring the BOS lead to one.

Alvarado with a lay up in transition.

McCollum hit a three, and then WHite answered back on the other end.

Brown fron the right side for three! He's started to warm up in the last few minutes.

McCollum from the elbow with a hand in his face.

Brown lost it on his way to the bucket but White was there to clean up the mess and lay it in.

Williams with the catch and shoot from behind the arc!

Brown comeso out of the timeout and gets the lay up after three offensive rebounds from the C's.

High paced first quarter and we are heading to our first  timeout with 6:43 on left and the Pelicans up 17-15 early on.

Valanciunas with a deep three ball and he's showing his range early on.

Horford with three point number three of the first quarter! He's started this game with the hot hand.

Valanciunas with a wide open jam down low, and he's already working on a double double.

Tatum with an easy lay up off the assist from White.

McCollum jacks the three ball to give the Pelicans the lead back.

Williams got the rebound, went coast to coast and finished after a eurostep in the lane.

Three ball from Horford, and he's got two early triple tries.

Step back blooping mid range jumper from Murphy gives the Pelicans the 4 point lead back.

Brown says hello to New Orleans with a mid range jumper form the free throw line.

Valaciunas drives on Williams, and pump faked under the basket. He didn't make the shot but got fouled and hit two of two FTs.

McCollum with a quick trigger three off the dribble.

Horford drills the first three of the ball game in the far corner.

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM TD GARDEN!!!

The Top team in the East going up against the third placed Pelicans in the West.

Valaciunas makes the short jump hook in the paint.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been the top dogs all year long and tonight they will lead the charge against the Pelicans.

CJ McCullom headlines the Pelicans starters tonight in Boston.

Tonight's odds

According to Bet365.com, the Celtics are 9 point favorites and the Over/Under is 229.5.

I'm taking the Celtics to cover the middle game of a 6 game road trip for the Pelicans. Nine is a lot of points, but I think Tatum and Brown take care of buisness and win by more than 9.

Williams hampered by hammy

Last week Zion Wililamson was sent to the sidelines for a third time this season, but he is in the building tonight. We still don’t know if he’ll play tonight as the injury report for New Orleans hasn’t come out yet. He sat out all of last year with a foot injury, and there are growing concerns about the durability of such a big body being able to handle the wear and tear of a grueling NBA season. He was averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4.6 assists before his injury.

Tatum toting MVP numbers again

Jayson Tatum is in the MVP conversation yet again after a fantastic first half of the season. The C’s have played 41 games, and Tatum has played 39 of those games, averaging 30.8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and has the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Tatum toting MVP numbers again

Jayson Tatum is in the MVP conversation yet again after a fantastic first half of the season. The C’s have played 41 games, and Tatum has played 39 of those games, averaging 30.8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and has the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference.

NBA Standings

Let’s take a look at where these two heavyweights sit in each of their respective conferences. The Celtics are at the top of the East with a 29-12 recored and have shown they have the consistency to stay at the top of the conference all season. The Pelicans haven’t quite showed that consistency but this is one of the many teams led by young stars that are up and coming in the Western Conference. They are currently third in the conference at 25-16, but do they have that staying power that the Celtics have shown over the last few years?

Pelicans swoop into TD

The up and coming Pelicans might be renowned for having Zion Williamson, but the young phenom is so often injured that much of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of his teammates. Tonight C.J. McCollum comes into the sacred hardwood here in Boston, looking to take down the top team in the East.

Pelican last game

The Zion Williamson-less Pelicans went into the nation’s capital and gave the Wizards a 20 point beat down in their last game. New Orleans led for all four quarters, but pulled away in the final twelve minutes of the game as C.J. McCollum dropped 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 28 points and 12 rebounds to stay in the top three in the Western Conference.

Cetics last time out

Boston returned home after a four game road swing and won their third straight game with a 107-99 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics were up by 16 at one time deep in the second half, but let their big lead slip to just 2 points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. In the end Jason Tatum and and Jaylen Brown were just too much for the Bulls. Tatum lead the C’s in scoring, rebounds and assists with 38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists to keep Boston at the top of the Eastern Conference.

We are live from Boston

Hello everyone and welcome to TD Garden where the Celtics are riding a three game win streak and currently sit in the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pelicans come in to tonight have lost two of their last three and four of their last six games but still sit among the Western Conference’s elite but look to turn things around on the in the third game of a five game road swing.

Pelicans vs. Celtics

We’ve got a mouthwatering midweek interconference matchup tonight form TD Garden as the Boston Celtics host the New Orleans Pelicans. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s early tip off from New England.